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With the 2016 Supercross season over and done, what a season it was for Nichols and the #69 Yamaha. With no sunshine in sight, the tables were cleared and the ante’s upped in suspense of the all or nothing east/coast showdown of drastic implications. As the night got underway, Colt hit a rough patch in the west coast heat race finishing 12th after an extremely disappointing start in
14th. Facing the LCQ, Colt decided to go all-in and jumped over Zach Osborne near the beginning of the race before pulling out to
a commanding win. With Osborne being his main competition in the series, the night looked to be favorable for Nichols top four inten- tions. Using the momentum he built in the LCQ, Nichols got out to a fantastic start in the main event, crossing lap one in 2nd behind Joey Savatgy. The two duked it out hard on the first few laps whereas when lap two came to a close, Nichols moto’d with crazy speed over the finish line to take his first ever lead in a 250 main event. Battling with Savatgy over the next two laps, Colt lost the lead by the end of lap four and faded back, allowing the #37 of Savatgy to pull out a sizable lead over the entire class. It was here where the flip was unfortunately switched to off and Nichols lost every ounce of speed he had fostered up until that point. His confidence faltered, his lines become uneducated and the mistakes apparent. Over the next 8 laps, Nichols fell four more positions to finish a distant 6th by the end of the night. Not his best finish of the year, but possibly the most impressive ride, Colt has a lot to be proud of for 2016 and has made a name for himself as a threat for years to come. This definitely won’t be the last time we see Nichols out front with 2017 possibly being a year of an even bigger step forward into the future of #69. Keep the eyes peeled for the Oklahoma native and the out-of-nowhere speed he seems to have mustered out of thin air and hard work.
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