Page 82 - GRIT30final

JAYCE PENNINGTON
Jayce Pennington has showed undeniable speed throughout the 2016 season, but his results have been marred by bad luck and unfortunate circumstances. The Seven MX rider showed the aforementioned speed at the Loretta Lynn’s National Championship by qualifying in the top 5 in all of his classes, but a
broken clutch cable in his first moto hindered his ability to fight at the front of the field. He was going for the holeshot in his second moto, but he slid out in the mud and got ran over by another rider, breaking his elbow in the process. He attempted to ride through the injury, but he smartly opted out of racing for the remainder of the week. Pennington took about a
month off of the bike before returning to action at the at the Ironman National Amateur Day, taking first place overall in all three of his classes, beating out top tier riders and getting some redemption for his unlucky week at the Ranch. He will be looking to carry the momentum he gathered at Ironman and take it into the Monster Energy Cup. He has proven his technical ability on a supercross track on multiple occasions with podium finishes at Mini-O’s back to back in 2014 and 2015. He is one of the only riders that will be lining up on the gate in Vegas with motocross suspension on his bike, allowing little room for error, but giving him a huge advantage in some of the slick, choppy Vegas corners. It’s a bold move by the Illinois native, but his pinpoint accuracy on a dirtbike will assist him in riding a mistake free race and putting his Kawasaki up on the box. Pennington will be looking to put the misfortune of Loretta’s 2016 behind him and shine bright under the fluorescent lights of Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday night in Vegas.
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GRITMOTO • OCTOBER 2016