Page 75 - MPG26

MAMMOTH
theGRIT
Again in heat one, Gage hesitated off the line and found himself outside the top ten in 13th before pushing upward. Into 9th crossing lap two, Gage ended up picking up three positions by the end of lap 5 to finish 6th and headed into moto two on a positive note. Again suffering from a mediocre start, Gage found himself in 12th before a major mistake had him outside the top twenty to begin lap three. Putting the war-lid down, though, Gage muscled back into 15th by the end of lap three and up to 12th to finish. Maybe not quite what he was hoping for but in a severely stuffed division, it was a well-earned finish to day one, and day two would prove to be just as fruitful.
With day two underway, Wilcox focused in on his 10-11 class for heat one where he rode unbelievably to finish 4th, setting the fastest time of the race on the final lap of his comeback crusade from 7th on lap one. Picking up where he left off, Gage started moto two in 4th, allowing his charge to face less resistance. Picking off Noah Viney on lap two, then Freddy Aquino on lap three, Wilcox was into 2nd ear- ly on and held it there, maintaining the gap that race winner Hunter Yoder had stretched out. The result earned Gage a 2nd place finish and his 2nd top five in as many days. With the tougher of his two classes being 65cc Open, day two was just beginning. In fact, Gage put in an extremely solid ride, starting heat one in 5th. With all the riders so closely matched, he was unable to muster any significant charge but did happen to pick up 4th, again stealing a spot from Noah Viney before the finish. At this point, everything seemed to be great for Gage heading to line for his final moto of day two but disaster struck with a mid-pack start, putting Wilcox in 10th across lap one. Another lap two mishap, though, pushed Gage outside the top twenty for the second time, again forcing a comeback charge. Compiling all of
his energy into his final laps, Gage found himself in 14th by lap three where his internal drive picked up one more spot by the finish line. Ending the day with a 2nd and a 13th respectively. On the rise and gaining experience, the next few years should prove to be exciting for the young talent of Gage Wilcox. You heard it here, first.
words/BRENTECKERT
MPG DIGITAL / JUNE 2016
75