Page 74 - GRIT30final

BLAKE BAGGETT
Blake Baggett will be looking forward to a fresh start with
a new team after a dreadful 2016 season by his standards. A former 250 outdoor cham- pion with Pro Circuit Kawasaki, Baggett expects to be fighting for podiums on the regular and he started the season by doing just that, passing Eli Tomac at Hangtown late in the first moto to snag the final spot on the rostrum away from the Monster
Energy Kawasaki rider. Unfortu-
nately, he made a mistake towards the
end of the second moto which resulted
in a broken collarbone. He immediately
had it plated and attempted to race the
following weekend at Glen Helen, but
he only exacerbated the injury and dam-
aged the other shoulder in the process.
Baggett returned to action for the Yo-
shimura Suzuki squad at the Tennessee
national and put together an impressive
streak of top 10 finishes all the way until
the seventh round of the nationals at
Southwick, Massachusetts. He had a
gnarly get off in qualifying and reinjured his shoulder, forcing him out of the remainder of the season. Baggett has had a rough go of things since moving up to the 450, although he has showed signs of the massive potential and late race fitness that he displayed during
his 250 days. He was one of the many riders with no contract left at the end of the 2016 season; he was also the most aggressive in working out a deal early, so that he could get on a solid program to prepare for SX. He will line up on the gate at Monster Cup representing the Butler Brothers MX ran team of Rocky Mountain ATV/MC-WPS-KTM team, formerly known as BTO Sports KTM. The freshly plucked KTM rider will be looking to get used to the new bike and put in some solid results, so that he can come into the 2017 SX season healthy and ready to rip.
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74 GRITMOTO • OCTOBER 2016