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DYLAN FERRANDIS
250 MX / 1ST
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Dylan Ferrandis has solidi ed himself as a threat to win every time they line up and go racing.
The newly deemed 250 representative for the French MXDN team has enjoyed a successful outdoor national season despite missing the rst three rounds of the series. The only times he hasn’t been battling in or around the top three is when he suffers abysmal starts. But even then, many times he still manages to make strong charges forward to counter that. He struggled in moto one at our last race
at Washougal, but he managed to salvage his day with a strong second place in moto two. He enters Unadilla looking to contend for a win once again. Ferrandis enjoyed a great pair of morning qualifying practice sessions in the rolling hills of New York. He was the second fastest rider in the rst session and in the second sessions when the rain started to come down, he threw down the fastest lap time
of the class by nearly two seconds. He showed that he would be a strong force to be reckoned with in the mud motos that lay ahead. Ferrandis nailed a crucial good start in the opening moto and positioned himself comfortably in the number two position. It took him a few laps to get situated and comfort-
able and that allowed early leader, Michael Mosiman, to build a decent cushion. As the race wore on, Ferrandis started to nd his groove and soon pulled within striking distance of Mosiman. He started applying pressure on lap ve and ended up making the pass easy thanks to Mosiman crashing on
his own accord. Ferrandis inherited the lead and aimed to pull away from Mitchell Harrison and Aaron Plessinger who were the next riders in line behind him. And pull away he did; Ferrandis would go on
to win the moto by nearly thirty seconds despite some scares midway through the moto with some steam coming out of his machine. He conquered the conditions in moto one and would look to nish it off in moto two. Ferrandis would get out to another nice start to kick off the second moto. He rounded lap one in fourth but would manage to pass Harrison and Jordon Smith on lap two to take over second place. However, on lap three, Harrison would ght his way back in front of Ferrandis and send him back to third. Ferrandis, like in moto one, was a little sketchy in the early stages and it seemed to take him a few laps to nd that smooth groove. He and Harrison were yo-yoing back and forth for the rst half of the race. This carried over into the latter half of the race when both riders would be able to pass leader Cameron McAdoo putting the Harrison-Ferrandis duo into rst and second. With time winding down, Ferrandis sensed he needed to make a move on Harrison if he wanted the win because he had Plessinger breathing down his neck. He went for the pass for the lead on lap ten and made it happen, but this led him to a slow line and it allowed both Harrison and Plessinger to pass him back. Later that lap, Harrison would bump into a lapper and go down. This also slowed Plessinger up and allowed Ferrandis to hop onto the rear wheel of the new leader. On lap eleven, Ferrandis dove to the inside
of Plessinger in the same spot he got passed just a lap ago, but this time he made the pass stick. He would ride out the last few laps comfortably in the lead and bring home his rst career 1-1, rst overall performance. Ferrandis was beyond happy on the podium and will look to carry this momentum into the last two rounds of the series.
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GRITMOTO • AUGUST 12, 2018