Page 82 - Issue-48

SEAN CANTRELL
250 MX / 12TH
IIMAGE / CAVAZOS WORDS / KUHLHOFF DESIGN / WILSON
>> Troy Lee Designs / Redbull / KTM rookie Sean Cantrell truly came out swinging for his first-ever pro race at Hangtown. This Murrieta, California native definitely did not let the pressure of his seasoned competition get
the best of him when the gates dropped for the first moto and he found himself in an impressive second place position behind Adam Cianciarulo in first. Even after a block pass by aggressive title contender, Zach Osborne, Cantrell stayed cool in the ninety-degree heat and held his own. With twenty minutes remaining, Plessinger made an outside pass on Cantrell but once again, the number 129 machine did not falter and stayed strong. At the half- way point, the track was becoming more deteriorated and more experienced top ten riders were starting to find their “end of the moto” drive. These factors caused Sean Cantrell to fall back a few spots into ninth place and with one lap remaining, he moved into the tenth place position behind Mitchell Har- rison. A top ten finish for his professional debut was an awesome place for Sean Cantrell to be in heading into the second moto. With confidence in his corner, we were all rooting for the rookie to grab another incredible start. The thirty-second card was up, the gates were down, and the second 250 moto of round one was underway! Unfortunately, Sean Cantrell could not find the same momentum on the start and found himself sitting in eleventh place early in the race. With fifteen minutes remaining, Sean was in tenth and was hoping to hold onto it. Once again, lacking a little bit of that “second half of the moto fire” got the best of him and he fell back to thirteenth with a couple of laps remaining. With consistent 10-13 finishes, Sean Cantrell was able to grab a very commendable twelfth place overall finish. With a little bit of end of the moto gumption and more starts like he had in the first moto, 17 year old Sean Cantrell is bound to be a force for the remainder of this season.
82 GRITMOTO • MAY 21, 2017