Page 103 - MPG20

theGRIT
IMAGES / dustyOLIVER
Starting the day with a lackluster 17th in timed practice, Fredrik didn’t have too much to rely on as the racing got underway. Watching moto one of the 250 class helped Noren out with his line choices and the
#43 needed it as he came out of the gates in 19th in the first moto. Wasting no time, Fredrik was into 15th in the early lap and began to hit obstacles as the race unfolded. Dropping to 16th over the first five minutes, Noren made his way back into 15th after Broc Tickle went down. Relentlessly pushing forward, Noren got by a struggling Andrew Short for 14th and then into 13th once Jason Anderson pulled off with what was reported later as chest pain due to the elevation. Residing in 13th for a little while, Noren took advantage of Nicoletti’s misfortune and found his way into 12th by the finish and headed into moto two with one step closer to the where he belongs. As moto two got underway, Noren was off to a slightly better start in 14th. Quickly getting into 12th around Benny Bloss, Fredrik had the opportunity of dicing it up with Ryan Dungey who went down early and was forced to work from behind. Trading places with the #1 KTM rider, Noren settled for 12th behind Bisceglia who was the next victim in Dungey’s mid-race pursuit. Preserving the points, Noren cruised in 12th before picking off a tired and crumbling Justin Bogle with ten minutes to spare. Well behind the riders in front of him, Fredrik maintained the pace enough to solidify 11th and 12th overall on the day. Same result as last week but Noren is happily heading to Pennsylvania in two weeks knowing that he’s got a short gap to close to return to the 10th place predictions his previous years have placed on him.
words/BRENTECKERT
WWW.GRITMOTO.COM 103