Page 20 - Issue_56

BLAKE BAGGETT
450 MX / 5TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / TILLS
>> Blake Baggett’s 2017 campaign sure has been entertaining. The Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM rider started the series quietly with a sixth at Hangtown and a third at Glen Helen. Then things escalated quickly in Colorado when he went out and wrapped up a huge win and backed it up with another one at High Point. He assumed the points lead and did some trash talking along with it. This arguably backfired for him as it only motivated his rivals like, Jason Anderson and Eli Tomac to go after him even harder. The next few rounds he took a step back struggling a bit with starts and mistakes. He then injured ligaments in his thumb after a run-in with Anderson at Red Bud forcing a poor result and a loss of the points lead. Since then, he has been strong
in the results but just a tick off where he’d like to be speed wise. He entered Washougal down twenty in the standings to Tomac wanting to minimize the damage.
Despite his injured thumb, Baggett looked exceptional and aggressive in qualifying practice. He was launching everything on the track as hard as possible and was fast in doing so. He finished the two sessions with the fifth fastest lap time and was ready to compete in the races.
Baggett suffered from a dreadful start in moto one, the complete opposite of what he needed. He emerged from the first lap buried in thirteenth position. He got right to work knowing time was of the essence. He jumped up to ninth by lap three and then passed the returning Matt Bisceglia for eighth on lap four. He had to string together some quick laps to catch the rest of the pack and finally found another rider to pass at the midway point. That rider was Christian Craig and Baggett would pass him for seventh. He then set his sights on Weston Peick for the remainder of the moto and they would have a fascinating battle. Baggett applied some serious pressure but Peick refused to budge. Both riders upped their pace but Baggett would make few mistakes and run out of juice with a few laps to go. He would stay behind Peick and finish seventh. A tough moto that he’d like to forget about as he geared up for moto two.
The second moto began much better for Baggett. He emerged from the finish line whoops on the opening lap in third position. Musquin would bump him back to fourth on lap two but Baggett would regain the spot after passing Bogle. This did not last long as he would get bumped right back to fourth by Eli Tomac. A few laps later once the top group was all settled in, Baggett went after Martin Davalos for third but could not make a move. Davalos was stingy and repelled all
of Baggett’s pass attempts. Baggett would eventually lose track of Davalos during the moto
but hold on to finish in fourth. His 7-4 would be good enough to earn him fifth overall. On the podium, he expressed the discomfort his thumb was causing him and how he was just trying to surge forward to finish the season. With three rounds left and down thirty-two points to Tomac, Baggett’s title hopes are looking grim.
20 GRITMOTO • JULY 31, 2017