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SEAN CANTRELL
250 SX / 9TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / LANG DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Troy Lee Designs KTM Rider Sean Cantrell showed some promising speed last fall
in the Red Bull Straight Rhythm event. Jumping huge rhythms and scrubbing lower than anyone, Cantrell gave us a taste of what was to come. Although he has never competed in a Monster Energy Supercross event, you would have never known from his performance in Dallas Stadium. Executing his start nicely in heat race number two, Cantrell came around the rst turn 2nd behind Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Martin Davalos. Cantrell held strong in
2nd, handling the pressure from Rockstar Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne for multiple laps. Af- ter giving up the position, things seemed to happen pretty quick for the rookie rider as he also allowed Geico Honda Rider’s Jeremy Martin and Cameron McAdoo by along with his teammate Jordon Smith. Cantrell ended the heat race in 7th and transferred directly into the Main. Another spectacular start for Sean in the Main Event as he again came across
the line in 2nd place. Immediately striking for the lead making multiple pass attempts on leader RJ Hampshire. After a few missed shots, Cantrell settled in and was riding a solid race in 2nd place. He started to receive some pressure from the defending champion Zach Osborne, but Sean showed that the red plate holder did not intimidate him. Osborne made a pass on Sean and Sean struck right back. The two went back and forth for a few corners before Osborne made the pass stick. Even after the pass, things were looking amazing for the rookie rider as he was still in a podium position. Some veteran riders were on their way to the front though and had their eyes on the podium. Cantrell had his hands full around the half waypoint trying to ght of Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha’s Colt Nichols. An unfortunate mistake in the whoops left him slamming the ground and loosing a handful of positions. Luckily for the rookie, he landed on the tough blocks and bounced up rather quickly, only dropping back to 9th place. He would ride the rest of his race here and nish up his night 9th place overall.
50 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 18, 2018