Page 88 - issue28

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Zach Osborne rolled into Budds Creek ready to make amends after a pair of mechanical failures last week at Unadilla. Wacko Zacko was fired up and it translated to a swift fourth fastest lap time in qualifying
practice. He was ready to go out and redeem himself after a streak of bad luck. Osborne got out to a relatively good start in the first moto rounding the opening lap in sixth place. He immediately locked in behind Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Austin Forkner and followed him forward. The pair slowly made up ground on the front-runners and slipped by Jordon Smith for fifth halfway through the moto. Shortly after he passed Smith, Osborne decided it was time to make the move on Forkner as well and hopped by him into the fourth place position. He then set his sights on Joey Savatgy in third but just ran out of time to make a run at him and would have to finish in fourth. His day was already off to a great start. The second moto started pretty well for Osborne just as the first one did as he emerged from lap one in fifth place. This moto I sensed something different about Osborne. He looked fresh, loose and feisty on the track and was flowing really well. He quickly moved by Taft and Savatgy on lap two to hop up to third. He then spent the rest of the opening half of the moto tracking down the two leaders eventually passing Cianciarulo around halfway. That left only Austin Forkner between him and first career overall win. Osborne realized the opportunity and dropped the hammer. He caught him in a matter of laps and made a nice, aggressive move up the inside of Forkner to take over the lead. It was clean sailing the rest of the way for the Husqvarna rider as he would go 4-1 for his first overall win of his career. In a ten-year journey of ups and downs that saw him even go to Europe at one point to try and save his career from the brink of disaster, Osborne finally tasted the sweet sensation of victory. What a way to make up for such a demoralizing race just a week ago at Unadilla.
88 GRITMOTO • AUGUST.22.16
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