Page 54 - GRIT_ISSUE_60

THOMAS KJER OLSEN
250 MXGP / 8TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / TILLS
>> Once landing in the state of Florida, you are surrounded by a multitude of colleges. UCF, University of Florida, and behold, the Florida State Seminole. A mascot symbolic of the fighting warrior spirit, is something that plans to be rep- licated by Thomas Kjer Olsen. The Denmark native, although far from home, was looking to put his country into the motocross spotlight, as there isn’t too much recognition of the game, in his native land. Soaring into the stratosphere in qualifying, he was enjoying the massive amount of airtime this track provid- ed. Coming into the moto’s the fulfillment of being in America was replicated
in his riding style for the first moto. A little more of a flare was presented over these peaking tabletops, as he found himself dicing it up with Chase Sexton on his Honda machine. Never batting an eye, that he was competing with a fomer Horizon award winner, the number 19 remained strong with the pres- sure from behind him. Stretching his bike as far as it could go, along side the double-double section (that they’re tripling into), he would fight off the likes of Brian Bogers as well, chasing Mitchell Harrison. Taking the final flag, it was a fifth place finish for the Yamaha pilot. As the track began to get rougher in the second moto, he was beginning to excel. Wheel tapping through the rollers, he was launching the next single every lap. Running in the 2:08 laptimes, he was having a bit of trouble with the likes of Brian Bogers and Mitchell Har- rison. Cresting the final few singles, he was only a few moments away from the final flag. He made the best of his circumstances this go around, coming across in eleventh place, cumulating into an eighth overall for a total score on the day.
54 GRITMOTO • SEPTEMBER 4, 2017