Page 26 - GRIT_75

WESTON PEICK
450 SX / 7TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> With the series running all across the country, each rider must be able to conform, and adapt to a series of variables at every stop. Some of the eastern tracks, provide more a of a clay base, lled with ruts and etched out bowl turns. Tampa provided a bit
of sand for a great equalizing factor, with Seattle doing the same, but on the opposite end of the spectrum: pure slop. However, when rolling into Salt Lake, you will nd a bit
of mixture of all things, meeting up in somewhat of a “grey” area of composts. Weston Peick was well aware, and prepared for all circumstances, in the week ahead. Swap- ping out both hard-packed, and mud tires, he even dabbled into a bit of outdoors, to get accustomed to a more-rutted feel. It would pay off, as qualifying saw the track develop adequate lines, and above-par grooves. He would rally all through the session, satis ed with his efforts by the nal lap. The heat race saw controlled chaos, throughout the rst lap, where he blitzed by the referee, and into a miraculous rst place. It was here, where he decided to ip the switch and make time on the rest of the eld, including heavy-hitter, Eli Tomac. Lap after lap, he would chip away at the pole position time of the day, which was in the sub forty-seven second range. He was consistent, yet still aggressive through- out the duration of the moto. The results of all his hard work, would keep him in rst place, by the checkered ag. Launching off the pad, his engine roared off the line for the main event. Elbows, staggering out like roadblocks, he power-drove his way to a sub-par thirteenth place position across timing on scoring, on lap number one. Outside, inside,
he was really searching for every line possible, as this track was beginning to resemble a hardwood oor that’d just been buffered. Slick, greasy type terrain, played into his advan- tage, as he was being very calm and calculated. You could see him on the left-handed bend that past the mechanics area, putting his weight to the right, and keeping the right elbow cocked high, in order to obtain optimum traction. He would battle with Justin Bray- ton towards the end of the moto, after battling a tad with Benny Bloss; but once pushing ahead and staying there, he would glance with a subtle look over his shoulder, over the biggest of triples. With the race winding down, he knew he had seventh in the bag, and would stay there, knowing he only had one more round to prove himself.
26 GRITMOTO • APRIL 29, 2018