Page 92 - ISSUE _38

BROC TICKLE
450 SX / 14TH
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / KUHLHOFF DESIGN / WILSON
>> After a solid seventh place finish in Minneapolis last weekend, Broc Tickle’s confidence was high coming into Atlanta Moto Fest this week- end. The RCH Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing rider let that confidence shine as soon as his tires hit that Rusty Georgia dirt. The Holly, Michigan rider lined up for the first 450 heat of the night and came into the first
turn with precision and speed as he grabbed the holeshot. Tickle had the lead with Dungey right on his tail. Traction was hard for the riders to find tonight, and after a slightly unfortunate bobble, the number twenty ma- chine was passed by Ryan Dungey putting Tickle in second place. Soon after moving into second, a very determined Chad Reed passed Tickle, putting him in the third place spot at the finish line. Finding himself in a top four transfer position, Broc Tickle was heading straight to the Main Event. After Semis and LCQs came to a close, the track was challenging. Roman Philosopher Seneca said, “Luck is what happens when prepara- tion meets opportunity”. This Main Event was going to be a true test of patience and preparation. Unfortunately, luck was not in Broc Tickle’s fa- vor tonight. Off to a rough start, Broc was in nineteenth place on lap one after being hung up in a sand storm. For the first half of the moto, Tickle and Canard found themselves battling back and forth while also trying to work their way through the pack. By lap nine, Canard had the position on Tickle. Broc Tickle stayed strong for the remainder of the moto and finished in fourteenth place. We definitely were not expecting the talented Broc Tickle to be outside of the top ten, let’s hope luck is in his corner in Toronto next weekend where he will be arriving sitting in tenth place in overall points standings.
92 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 26, 2017