Page 20 - Issue_78

JOEY SAVATGY
250 MX / 5TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Ever since losing the 250SX East Coast Championship at the nal round one year ago, Joey Sa- vatgy just has not looked the same. Sure, he came out and won three rounds during the outdoor moto- cross series last year but other than those wins, he had only one other podium nish. He struggled to nd his groove in the 250SX West Coast Championship earlier this year as well. He only notched one win and had only three other podiums. It was a bit shocking because he was pegged as one of, if not the favorite to win the title. He was hoping he would be able to nally right the ship when the outdoor season began at Hangtown last weekend where he has nished 1-1 in the past, but he struggled mightily to an eighth overall. Surely, he was anticipating a much better performance this weekend at Glen Helen.
Savatgy looked good in the morning qualifying practice sessions. The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider found a rhythm in the rst qualifying session and managed to throw down a time good enough for third fastest in his class. His raw speed was there and now he just needed to put it together in the races.
Savatgy did not get the greatest of starts to kick off his day of racing. He came out of the rst lap in eighth position. He hopped into seventh on lap two and began latching onto the rear wheel of Jeremy Martin. Savatgy would yo-yo back and forth with Martin meaning Savatgy kept closing the gap and Martin kept opening it back up. It seemed like an endless cycle until Garrett Marchbanks, who was right with Savatgy that entire time, snuck his way around Savatgy after he committed a few mistakes at the halfway point. This seemed to shake Savatgy up a bit and he reignited his charge. He hounded Marchbanks during the second half of the moto while also managing to pass Shane McElrath to regain seventh. Savatgy kept his focus on Marchbanks and it would pay off when he nally passed him back on the nal lap to secure the sixth-place nish. it ended up being a decent performance from Savatgy, but he still was searching for more heading into moto two.
Savatgy got a better start to begin the second moto. He came out of the rst lap in fourth place but made a bad line choice on lap two and in the blink of an eye he was back to sixth. Both Osborne and Plessinger swooped through so fast on the passes that it caught him off guard. Rather than get us- tered, he settled down and latched onto them. He stayed with Osborne and even followed him right by Austin Forkner to take over fth on lap ve. Savatgy continued his effort to stay right with Osborne over the next few laps in rather impressive fashion. It nally paid off on lap ten when he would be able to capitalize on an Osborne crash to take over fourth. He continued and nished the rest of the race there for his best moto nish of the four raced so far. His 6-4 moto scores earned him a solid fth overall. Savatgy showed some better speed and ght which is a sign of good things to come as the season roars on.
20 GRITMOTO • MAY 27, 2018