Page 40 - Issue-48

AUSTIN FORKNER
250 MX / 5TH
IMAGE / CAVAZOS WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / WILSON
>> The days of Supercross are behind, a simple afterthought in the grand scheme of many of these competitors lives. They have been forced to reiterate the thought of for- getting the past, and focusing on the present, especially if what had happened months ago can be viewed in a negative connotation. On the other hand, with the cruelty of this game, you’re only as good as your last race, therefore Austin Forkner knows he must set the tone early, and put the trails and tribulations of the SX season behind. Boy could you tell it as the referee signaled the motion for practice, as he hovered toward the middle of the start stretch, trying his hardest to get out first, on a clean track. Throwing caution to the wind, he was dragging the footpeg up the monster of a triple down the backside, crouching in aerodynamic fashion as he crested the triple landing and into the next turn. It was bits like these, that had both team manager and mechanic applaud- ing, only if he could replicate it once the gate dropped. The pack was loaded, the pin fell, and the barrage of 250 warriors roared going into the opening bend, a stampede
of the fiercest machines on the planet. With chaos swarming, he found himself down early, with a mishap, pulling into the mechanics area, and the AMA debating on whether to issue a penalty; because of stopping for parts. Fighting tooth and nail, he had a few uncharacteristic lines, and it was a pendulum scale of activity so to speak; he would
go outside in the bowl turn before the first step-up, and next lap, choose the inside.
The variety was good, but he could lose a bit of time, if not choosing the precise line carefully. His laptimes were absurd cutting through the field. He would fight so hard to get back to the top ten, but just come a hair short with an eleventh. As his gatepick was chosen by position for the second moto, his was solid, just enough to where he could arc the lefthander just right, if he could get a decent jump. The plan was completed, and he came around in an enticing spot for the head of the field. He was battling hard this round, it seemed as though the competiton was pushing towards the ropes. A slight bobble prior to the ledge drop, prior to the ravine, caused him a bit of time, but he held on solid, chasing down the likes of Aaron Plessinger and others. He would rally, his laptimes staying close to the mean average of his total, and charge to a spectacular second palce! He was rewarded with a fifth overall to end the day.
40 GRITMOTO • MAY 21, 2017