Page 140 - ISSUE _38

JESSE WENTLAND
250 SX / 17TH
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / LANNAN DESIGN / WILSON
>> Jesse Wentland turned a lot of heads last year in 2016 Super- cross. He was able to capture multiple top tens and even a top five when the series went north to Toronto. Jesse was ready to keep the ball rolling when his 2017 season began last weekend, as he came away with a solid 11th place. He looked equally comfortable and confident as practice began in the Georgia Dome on saturday. He put in some fast laps and was ready to do battle in the red clay. Jesse was pinched off quickly after the gate dropped for the first race of the night. He struggled to keep his Honda on two wheels but was then able to hold tight to the inside of the first corner as many riders went wide. Jesse’s race was suddenly looking bright as he was running an impressive 6th place after a smart first turn. He put himself into 5th place quickly and was looking strong and steady. Then, with two laps to go, Jesse lost his traction going into the bowl turn before the whoops and became face to face with
the Georgia red clay. He got up in a hurry and was able to get remounted in 10th position. Fortunately for Jesse, another rider went down which in turn handed the qualifying position back over to him with just a lap or two to go. When the Main Event began, Jesse got a poor jump off the gate but was luckily able to avoid some of the first turn chaos. He was running near the middle of the pack but not for long as the Atlanta track forced a mistake out of the Honda rider. Jesse was now being scored in 18th place. By the time the checkers flew, Jesse had made his way into 17th position.
140 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 26, 2017