Page 132 - ISSUE _38

ALEX RAY
450 SX / 21ST
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / COPELAND DESIGN / WILSON
>> Ray has shown throughout the early goings of this season that he has what it takes to put his privateer effort into the main event. Whether he must fight his way through the semi’s or even the LCQ’s, the Husqvarna rider has shown he will persevere and find a way to make the main, qualifying for 3 straight. His round would start off with a positive qualify- ing position of 19th, which showed that he had the speed required to run in a position this weekend that would lead to a spot in the main. His heat raced would not go as planned though as he would finish in 11th and moved into the night’s second semi race. The semi also was a struggle for the Tennessee native, he didn’t get a great jump on the start and was 10th on the opening few laps. He would charge as hard as he could and climbed two spots by the end of the race, finishing the race in 8th place and unfortunately placing him in the nights last chance qualifier, where
it is make or break time for every rider that lines up on that gate. Ray wouldn’t get the best jump in the LCQ but he would manage to find his way into 3rd on the opening lap after banging bars with Kiesel to com- plete his pass in an inside rut. He found a way to stay in that spot the entire race as there was carnage behind him. He had made the main with only one position to spare. His main event wouldn’t go smoothly. Starting outside of the top 15 and at one point finding himself dead last, it wasn’t what Ray had in mind for sure. He would go on to struggle for the remainder of the main on the chewed up track, falling into last place briefly before finding his way around Champion and eventually cross the line in 21st position. Not the finish he was hoping for but he was able to successfully qualify for the final Supercross in the Georgia Dome, an ac- complishment in its own right.
132 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 26, 2017