Page 84 - MARCH_ISSUE

DONNY BROWN
OPEN A
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / KILPATRICK DESIGN / WILSON
>> Michael Mercer pulled another exceptional start on his Kawa- saki, but he immediately found himself in a heated battle with the Yamaha of Donny Brown. The two of them swapped positions throughout the second corner as they squared one another up, but Brown was eventually able to secure the advantage and began to stretch out a lead over the Ohio native. The leading duo separated themselves from the rest of the pack within a matter of laps, find- ing themselves in a race of their own, but the Tennessee native in the lead had a little too much pace for Mercer to handle. The #94 machine accumulated a gap of practically one entire rhythm lane just before the white flag was flown, riding his own race as if he was simply spinning laps on the practice track. As the laps wound down, the battle for second place began to heat up as Mercer came under pressure from Addison Emory IV. The Yamaha rider was able to make the move after squaring up the Kawasaki just before the second rhythm lane, forcing his way up the inside in the ensuing corner. Emory IV had the pace to run with Brown at the front of the pack, but he was hindered by his poor start and was forced to settle for second position as Brown secured the victory with an excep- tional ride.
84 MPG • MARCH 2017