Page 98 - Issue43

PAUL COATES
250 SX / 16TH
IMAGE / LANGSTON WORDS / ARMSTRONG DESIGN / WILSON
>> The Triggr Racing Yamaha rider of Paul Coates is looking to turn his rough season into a respectable one. Rounds one and two where nothing that Coates
is proud of but they went much better than round three in Toronto. As the series headed North, to the only round held outside of America Coates sustained a broken wrist in practice and was forced to site out the rest of the night and the two rounds following. Paul returned to racing in Detroit scoring his first and only top 15 so far
in 2017. The Englishman carried his momentum from round 6 instantly when he
hit the track in St Louis. The #65 finished up qualifying 11th fastest out of the 250’s and looked to have the speed to better his position from a week before. Rapidly making moves in his heat race Paul moved from a 6th place start to 3rd position
by the end of the opening lap. AC, Renzland and Alix eventually made their way back by around midway. Only a few laps remained but it probably seemed like a 20 minute moto out there for Coates as he began to take heavy fire from Cunningham, Short, and a handful of other riders who where knocking on the door for a qualifying position. Paul dug deep for his family in the stands watching and held on for 7th. Most riders are able to have their family attend a few races throughout the duration of a season but given that Coates is from England and his family resides in their home country, Paul is only given such luxury once a year. The blacked out Yamaha rider got a 16th place start but was running 14th after the green flag. Coates got pushed back to 15th after 4 minutes into the main event where he would stay for the majority of the race. After the midway point Coates found himself battling for po- sition with the likes of Noren and Cartwright for a consecutive top 15. Unfortunately while in the fight for position Coates got caught up being a lapped rider and tangles up with points leader Joey Savatgy. It was unintentional for both riders and they both managed to stay off the ground but the damage was done to the pair of them. Coates eventually settled for 16th and although it is one position further back than last weekend, he has to be proud of himself for lining up on the gate with a broken wrist and battling with the top 250 riders the world has to offer.
98 GRITMOTO • APRIL 2, 2017