Page 66 - Issue43

DAVI MILLSAPS
450 SX / 13TH
IMAGE / LANGSTON WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / WILSON
>> The former St.Louis Rams made a lot of foe’s with their move to Los Angeles earlier this year. A staple in the Midwest, the team had some bright spots in last few years in its tenure here, making some interesting picks in the draft, yet paying off in the end with some of the league’s most daunting players. The running back everyone in the league had been talking about in the past few years, was that of number 30, Todd Gurley, a young Georgia Bulldog. The rookie had been riddled with injuries throughout his career, but people in the Rams front office knew that he had a few distinct characteristics that couldn’t be taught and weren’t often found: speed and natural flow. Davi Millsaps embodies these as well. You will be hard to find a rider with more natural grace than that of his, as his technique has been groomed from the time he was put on the motorcycle, a natural flare from riding wheelies and throwing whips as a child, has translated to an eye catching style that not only translates to speed, but gets fans coming to the tent, hoping for a picture and autograph of their favorite rider week after week. The whips he was throwing off the triples all day long, even in traffic were quite the picture, all the while revving the 450 to the moon, keeping the RPM’s pegged to the hilt, and St.Louis soil roost-
ing anyone behind him when he landed. Getting through the heat, semi, and LCQ qualifying process, the lapse of time had made the track a little bit different than the practice sessions; a little bit drier had the surface feeling a bit like marbles, and he would go back to make a change to the stiffness of the front forks, and dropping the pressure of the tires to let the tread sink in. And it was time, as the gate collapsed, you had the likes of Dungey, Tomac, and the rest of the field shooting for that lead spot, all wanting to get out and ahead of the field. An initial placing that wasn’t too bad within the top 5, we saw him a bit overwhelmed, and playing it safe while the field would sort themselves out. However, hitting the triple and finish line three wide seemed to be a page taken out of his notebook, no big deal, and he would begin to chip away. He knew he had to make moves, as the great Jeremy McGrath once said, you can’t pass anyone while following them, and with that being said, he would begin to joust. The insides here would allow some peg dragging ruts in a few places, as the turn before the dragon’s back saw him making moves, and cutting across the momentum of riders ahead of him, not enough to take out their front wheel, but just the push that was needed to assert himself as the faster competitor. After fading and crashing in the left hander before the whoops, he was now to be found battling near 13th and 14th for some time, he was fighting fiercely, all the while knowing he had a force com- ing in 15th; it would push him just enough to propel to the 13th position by race end, sneaking by, and leaving every last bit of energy on the floor of the Dome.
66 GRITMOTO • APRIL 2, 2017