Page 16 - Issue_78

ZACH OSBORNE
250 MX / 4TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Fresh off another 250SX East Coast Supercross championship, Zach Osborne was the favorite once again heading into the outdoor season. The seasoned veteran was his usual dominant self in Supercross and looked as good as ever going into Hangtown. Not only would he begin his title defense there, he would begin his quest to become the rst 250 rider to win four championships in two years. Of all the great rac- ers we have had in this sport, no one else has been able to accomplish such a feat. And after Osborne’s completely dominant 1-1 performance at Hangtown, it’s safe to say that he is more than capable of reeling off another title. However, he has had his share of struggles at Glen Helen in the past and he has a host of hungry riders nipping at his heels.
Osborne looked solid in the morning qualifying practice sessions. He ended up putting down the fourth fastest lap time but was three whole seconds off the fastest time set by rookie Justin Cooper. There was no sense of panic from Osborne because he has proven in the past that he is able to overcome anything and everything once that gate drops.
Not really being a fan of Glen Helen, Osborne got exactly what he needed at the start of moto one. A hole- shot. This moment was only brie y lived because local privateer Gage Schehr made his presence felt by passing the reigning champion for the lead. Aaron Plessinger was also able to pass Osborne on that open- ing lap. Osborne regrouped on lap two, passing Schehr and situating himself behind Plessinger. Osborne kept things close early but Plessinger would be able to build a slight cushion. He never really let Plessinger stray too far over the course of the moto and that paid off when Osborne dropped the hammer with just a handful of laps remaining. He pulled up right behind Plessinger and was applying some heavy pressure. It looked like it would be a duel to the nish, but Osborne would get too aggressive and tuck the front end and go down. He had such a big gap over third that he was able to remount calmly in second and nish the race in that position. A solid ride and nish with the crash and he was still set up nicely for the overall heading into moto two.
Osborne could not match his great start in moto one and instead rounded the opening lap in sixth place. He did not waste much time dicing to the front as he latched onto the rear wheel of Jeremy Martin. The two of them picked off a couple riders in the early going and Osborne got settled into fth by lap four. It looked like Osborne was going to keep moving forward but his drive slowed down just enough. He stayed close to Mar- tin, but they just did not have the initial pace to keep up with the two leaders. Then in the latter half of the race when Osborne started another push forward, he swapped viciously in the rollers and went down hard. His bike ended up hanging on a fence but he somehow managed to remount only losing one position. His bike was battered but he managed to salvage a fth-place nish on the moto despite getting a little scare in the nal stages from Austin Forkner and Justin Cooper. His 2-5 scores earned him fourth overall for the day. A great result considering this is his least favorite track and he suffered two tough crashes during the day. The bad news from the result is that he is no longer in sole possession of the points lead. He is now tied with Aaron Plessinger heading into round three.
16 GRITMOTO • MAY 27, 2018