Page 74 - Issue-48

MITCHELL HARRISON
250 MX / 10TH
IMAGE / CAVAZOS WORDS / KUHLHOFF DESIGN / WILSON
>> Michigan native, Mitchell Harrison was coming into round one out of eleven at Hangtown with a little bit of confidence after surprising people at two USGPs and a decent Supercross season, but in Rancho Cordova’s “Prairieland” the motos were long, the temperatures were rising, and first race nervousness was filling the Califor- nia air. The number 45 Yamaha lined up for the first 250 moto of the day beside some of his toughest competitors. As the 30-second board rose toward the bright and burn- ing sun, all of these racers had the keys to the race reeling through their minds: get a good start, shake off those opening round jitters, and find your race rythmn. The gate dropped and Mitchell was immediately able to check the first box off of the list and got himself a nice start. The second season Yamalube / Star Racing / Yamaha rider found himself in sixth place coming out of the first turn. Within arms reach of the top five or even the podium, Mitchell Harrison would have to dig deep and work if he wanted a top five heading into the second moto. With all of the factors that come into play with outdoors, falling back during a long thirty minute moto can happen in the blink of an eye and unfortunately for Harrison, he found himself in thirteenth halfway through
the race. Finding some fire within the last few laps, Harrison was able to gain some positions back and was in ninth place when the checkered flag flew. Being within the top ten heading into the second moto was a good place to be for Harrison, but with conditions becoming more challenging and hydration becoming more of an issue, these riders would have to be mentally and physically prepared to grab the results that they desired. In moto two, Mitchell was off to another great start and was sitting in the seventh place spot early in the moto and by the halfway point he was in ninth place, where he then made a pass on Adam Cianciarulo to capture eighth. Mitchell Harrison then passed Savatgy, finding himself in seventh place again showing us all that he truly possessed “end of the moto” grit. Harrison was not the only rider giving
it his all though and he was passed by a determined Josh Hill and Shane McElrath. Mitchell Harrison finished his second moto in eleventh. With a consistent 9-11 finish, the Yamaha rider was able to grab a tenth place overall: An awesome place going into round two.
74 GRITMOTO • MAY 21, 2017