Page 28 - ISSUE_58

MATT BISCEGLIA
450 MX / 8TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / TILLS
>> Matt Bisceglia’s 2017 season got off to a late start but he is making the most of it now. Filling in for Broc Tickle on RCH Yoshimura Suzuki, Bisceglia has been turning into a holeshot machine. He is basically the human cheat code when it comes to holeshots. He is getting out front early and putting in solid rides which is exactly what teams look for in a re- placement rider. His results have not exactly shown that because of some crashes but do not let that fool you. His speed and endurance is getting better at each round and he is putting forth his best auditions for a full time ride next year.
Bisceglia looked smooth early in the morning qualifying sessions. When those practices were, all said, and done, he had the eleventh fastest lap time and was ready to go racing.
Bisceglia lived up to the hype in the first moto by ripping the holeshot. He rounded lap one
in first place but got shuffled back to fourth on lap two. There he made a stand and led a big group of riders doing battle. Peick, Baggett and Musquin were all three right on his tail swap- ping positions for several laps. Peick actually made a pass for a lap but Bisceglia found a way back around him the following lap. Bisceglia then held onto fourth for a little while longer until Musquin came through and made a pass stick. Back in fifth, Bisceglia continued to keep the pace and ride strong all the way until the final lap. This time Baggett tried to make one final charge and it worked as he would get by him on the final lap sending him back to sixth. Despite getting passed on the last lap, it was still a fine performance from Bisceglia who would look to duplicate it in moto two.
There was déjà vu to kick off the second moto. Bisceglia ripped yet another holeshot and led them to the green flag. Unfortunately, after a couple minor bobbles he got shuffled all the way back to eighth place by lap three. He held onto it for a few laps until Musquin and Davalos came through and passed him sending him back to tenth. Around halfway he picked up a spot after Davalos DNF’d the moto. He looked strong in ninth nearly the entire second half of the moto until there were three laps remaining. Christian Craig slowly but surely reeled him
in and made the move sending him back to tenth where Bisceglia would ultimately finish. His 6-10 moto scores were his first two solid motos he’s paired together so far this season. They would be good enough to earn him eighth overall tying his career best and easily his season best. Bisceglia will aim to repeat a similar performance at the finale at Ironman.
28 GRITMOTO • AUGUST 20, 2017