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SHANE MCELRATH
250 MX / 3RD
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / ARMSTRONG DESIGN / TILLS
>> Shane McElrath has been struggling as of late and a sense of urgency was shown this weekend as the TLD KTM rider seemed to be back on his game at Budds Creek. Shane started his weekend off with qualifying 5th fastest with a 2:06.638. In the first race Shane started in 4th and stayed in that spot for the next 30 minutes +2 laps. That would mark his second best finish of the year
so the stage was set for a possible podium position overall. In race two Shane was banging bars with Jeremy Martin for the holeshot. McElrath just fell short of crossing the line ahead of J. Mart but quickly took the lead in turn two and started to sprint. At this point in time Shane actually had the Overall in his hands as his 4-1 moto scores tied him for most points on the day and in case of a tie the best 2nd moto finish between both riders receieves the overall. For the next 17 minutes Shane lead the field around the Budds Creek circuit until surrendering the lead to Osborne. Shane eventually got chased down by Adam Cianciarulo with two minutes remaining and got pushed to 3rd where he would finish. 4-3 moto scores gave Shane 3rd overall which is his best result this year. After a close title fight in Supercross in the 2017 season it is refreshing to see McElrath regain his composure heading into the off season.
36 GRITMOTO • AUGUST 20, 2017