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BEN LAMAY
ARENACROSS
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / KILPATRICK DESIGN / WILSON
>> Ben Lamay flew under the radar in practice as he clocked sneakily good lap times in relatively comfortable fashion. The TiLube / Jack Link’s / TUF Racing Honda rider settled in just behind his teammate as he put in the 6th fastest lap time of
the day with a 21.06. Lamay threw down an exceptional start
in his heat race and found himself in 2nd place just behind the scorching green machine of Jacob Hayes. He wasn’t quite able to match the pace of the leading Kawasaki, but he had enough speed to build himself a comfortable gap over the home state hero of Daniel Herrlein back in 3rd, eventually bringing his Honda across the finish line in 2nd place with a comfortable margin on either side of him. The Honda power was working good off the line in the main events as Lamay did his best to stick to the red rear fender of his teammate into the first corner; he pulled a 3rd and a 2nd place start, respectively, in both main events. In the first main event, he was shuffled backwards to 5th place within a couple of laps by the charging Babbit’s duo of Jacob Hayes and Gavin Faith, but the second main event was a different story. Lamay turned laps on par with his teammate
at the head of the field and was able to hold onto a podium until the final breath of the moto when he lost the position to Goerke. The Honda rider will be looking to redeem himself in Grand Rapids by finishing a main event on the podium, and his reac- tion time out of the gate will certainly be a key to his success.
48 GRITMOTO • JANUARY 9, 2017