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Martin had a rather unusual day of qualifying; he played with fire
and only posted a time in the last session, not allowing himself any
room for hiccups to occur. Placed in heat two, Alex attempted to creep around turn one; glancing the hay bails, he pushed to third after the opening rhythm lane. The sand sec- tion looked to be a strongpoint of Martin’s attack, as the Minnesota native is accustomed to the infamous Millville rollers. With sights set on his fellow ClubMX attendant, Zach Osborne, Alex impressed many by holding is own for the remainder of the race and finishing on the last step of the box.
The first turn of the San Diego layout was very tricky; an uncharacteristic right-hander, coupled with a racing surface that resembled a buffered hardwood floor, almost guaranteed some type of chaos for each gate-drop. Unfortunately, Alex was a recipient of the difficult conditions and found himself on the ground in corner number one.
The word quit can’t be found in the vocabulary of Alex Martin, and this round proved no different. After the fall, Martin began to dig, taking 18th by lap three. 17th on lap six was refined to 15th by lap nine, and 14th on lap eleven. Proceeding past Hayden Mellross as the white flag neared, Alex took over 13th, only to let both Mellross and teammate Mitchell Har- rison back by as the checkered flag flew. Martin would take 15th on the evening.
32 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY.15.16
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