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VINCE FRIESE
450 SX / A-1
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / LANNAN DESIGN / WILSON
>> Vince Friese isn’t necessarily known for laying low in the sport of Supercross. Many people wonder what’s going to happen next with Vince but it seems he is ready to have a less confrontational sea- son. Vince began his day aboard his Motoconcepts Honda on the slightly dampened California dirt in the first 450 A timed qualifying session. He looked comfortable and was eager to see what would come when the gate dropped. When 450 Heat 2 began, Vince got a decent jump and made his way into the top ten early on. Vince was looking quick as he powered by a couple more riders and was sitting 7th by the halfway point. Unfortunately, Vince didn’t have enough
to get into qualifying position. In the second Semi, Vince was eager to get into the Main and it showed as he charged off the gate. He muscled his way into 2nd place early on and focused on minimizing the mistakes. Friese lost one position to Davi Millsaps but continued to hold down 4th with a ton of pressure behind him. He was now doing everything he could to hold off his archenemy Weston Peick and teammate Justin Brayton who were now in tow. Friese was holding his composure well and was able to avoid the last corner pass attempt by Peick and would go to the Main Event. Vince got
a good jump when the gate dropped for the Main but was forced to let off because the front wheel started to lift. He rounded the first corner near the back of the field and knew it was going to be tough to improve in the stacked field ahead of him. Vince shuffled around a bit with the riders around him but for the most part, rode a pretty quiet race. He would finish an impressive 17th place in a very deep field of 450 riders.
108 GRITMOTO • JANUARY 9, 2017