Page 54 - Issue43

GANNON AUDETTE
250 SX / 8TH
IMAGE / LANGSTON WORDS / KILPATRICK DESIGN / WILSON
>> Gannon Audette has made consistent improvements since the opening round of the 250 East SX series kicked off at the end of February in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Kawasaki rider found himself battling on the edge
of the top ten throughout the next couple rounds, showing that he has the speed to mix it up with the factory riders. Audette is fresh off of his best result of the season, an eighth place in Detroit, and he’ll be hoping to carry that form into the Show-Me State when racing gets underway for the seventh round of the 250 East SX series. The Minnesotan put in a solid qualifying performance in The Dome at America’s Center as he took the fourteenth fastest time into the night show. The smoke settled from opening ceremonies’ festivities and the gate dropped on the first 250 heat race; racing got off to a solid start for Audette as he found himself within the top ten in the early stages of the moto. He was able to press forward with aggression on his KX250F throughout the first couple of laps, forcing his way from eighth to fifth position within a matter of three laps. He continued to charge toward the front as he found his way around the KTM of Steven Clarke just past the midway point of the race. Although Audette came under pressure from Antho- ny Rodriguez and submitted fourth position late in the race, he showed promise for the main event with a healthy display of early race aggression that cemented him in a transfer position. The main event provided a dream start for the Kawa- saki rider as he found himself in third position when the first lap chaos came to a close. Audette sat behind Joey Savatgy and Jordon Smith for the opening couple of laps, but he was under immediate pressure from Adam Cianciarulo and com- pany. He was able to hold strong in third position for the opening four laps of the race, but an attack from Zach Osborne on the fifth lap was too much to bear and Audette conceded the position. Shortly thereafter, the Kawasaki lost a couple of positions to the likes of Dylan Ferrandis, Adam Cianciarulo, and Christian Craig, but he remained steadfast with his sights set on his best finish of the season. The #54 Kawasaki found himself in a battle for seventh place with Mitchell Harrison at the midway point of the race, but he wasn’t able to keep the Yamaha rider behind him. Once Audette settled into eighth position, he kept his focus forward and never wavered en route to his second top ten of the season.
54 GRITMOTO • APRIL 2, 2017