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JOEY SAVATGY
250 MX / 4TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> 2018 has been a big head scratcher for Joey Savatgy. The perennial title contender in both motocross and supercross has mightily struggled in both series’. He has struggled to even nd the top ve at times this summer in Lucas Oil Pro Motocross, but he nally seems to be turning the right corner. After nishing outside the top ten at four of the rst seven races this season, Savatgy has nished top ve overall at our last two rounds and broke through to win his rst moto of the year, and get his rst moto podium of the year, at our last round at Washougal.
A crash in the rst turn of the second moto derailed his chances at an overall victory but he did manage to salvage a third overall for the day. He was hoping to keep the momentum of that strong performance rolling as the season headed to Unadilla. Savatgy certainly kept the momentum going at Unadilla because he was a force to be reckoned with in the morning qualifying practice sessions. In session one, he threw down the fastest lap time of the class by over a second. He seemed very comfortable and con dent. His time in session two was not the greatest as he wasn’t able to log a fast lap time in the rain. However, he is known for being a good mud rider so there were no worries as he lined up for moto one. Savatgy got his day
in New York going by notching a very strong start. He was battling in the top three but just as the lap was coming to a close, he got caught up in the sloppy mud and got sent careening off his bike and off the track. Luckily it was a light dismount and he was able to get back going in fourteenth. He would spend the rest of the moto ghting through traf c and dealing with very poor visibility. He would hop into tenth on lap three but struggle to make many more passes. The riders were spread out as they tend to be in the mud and despite climbing up to seventh at one point, Savatgy would nish the moto in eighth. Savatgy got off to another nice start to begin moto two. This time he rounded lap one in fth and did not crash. He hopped into fourth on lap two and started pressuring Dylan Ferrandis and Mitchell Harrison. Not long after this, Aaron Plessinger started pressuring Savatgy and turned it into a four-rider battle. Savatgy held off Plessinger for a few laps but Plessinger would get by. This put Savatgy back to fth, but he would quickly regain fourth by passing Cameron McAdoo who was the early leader. Savatgy would ride the next big chunk of the moto just out of striking distance of the top three riders. However, he stayed close enough to be able to pass Harrison after he had a tip over with just three laps to go. Savatgy claimed that third place position and held it down until the end. His 8-3 moto scores were enough for fourth overall. A solid result but he was bummed because that one early mistake in moto one cost him a chance at the overall. Nonetheless, he is still riding great and will aim for an overall victory at one of our last two rounds.
16 GRITMOTO • AUGUST 12, 2018