Page 14 - GRIT_75

BLAKE BAGGETT
450 SX / 3RD
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> If you can remember back just a few short years ago, Jon Huntsman was governor of Utah and a huge advocate for bringing sports such as Supercross to this great state. An avid action sports competitor himself, Huntsman played a major role in garnering attention to all motorcycle genres and shedding positive light to the sport in which we
all love. It’s an atmosphere that riders are thankful for, and one that Blake Baggett loves coming to. His morale was beyond considerable measure as he ew into Salt Lake,
and knew that great results would ensue, after displaying a positive mentality. Wheel- ing into the rst rhythm lane, he had a mystic combination of letting the front forks slap the rst single, and jump onto the next table-top. This track was littered with combina- tions, and he felt that he had multiple tricks within his arsenal, if and when trouble would strike, come time for racing. The heat race began with a bottleneck effect to the rst turn, the inside of the left-hander really beginning to get jammed up. The insides of
most turns were a little spongy, but the track was actually grooving up rather nicely. He and Marvin Musquin were harnessed as one for a bit, the two gauging each other off of their peripheral vision; with Musquin being a tad better. These heat races are so short, that he knew that his effort must be full of fast-twitch instincts, and sprint-type author- ity. He would remain through this realm of thought. Tripling through the opening rhythm lane he would roll through the last lap, ahead of Malcolm Stewart and nishing second. The main would then commence, and he would try his best to assert himself as alpha, throughout the opening laps, after pulling the holeshot. Scrubbing the inside single, of the two-way left-hander, he really felt he could he could gain considerable time through these paralleled juggernauts. Bar to bar with Musquin, following his holeshot, there was no shortage of urgency, as the laps continued to add up. The track was becoming slick, and the tires almost digging through the topsoil, just to remain upright. With Tomac giv- ing him aggressive antics, it was all he could do to keep the three at bay; and he would, until the nal moments, where Tomac would get around. It would be very easy for most to lose focus, and begin to get complacent with their charging technique; but he would do no such thing, after being past like that. He’d been here before, dozens of times on the practice track, and would continue to buckle down. Finally, with the checkered ag in sight, he would hold off Christian Craig, taking home third place for the evening.
14 GRITMOTO • APRIL 29, 2018