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Jace Kessler put in the 14th fastest time of the afternoon in the Supermini class, coming across the stripe with a 1:16.4 in the second session of the afternoon. This proves how insanely close the racing is in the
Supermini class, as Kessler had the pace to battle for top 5 finishes throughout the night of racing. Kessler was able to nail the downhill start in his first moto, putting himself in the top 5 right off the bat and crossing the line in 5th place behind Aiden Tijero on the opening lap. Kessler got overtaken by Devin Xindaris on the following lap, but he was able to latch onto the pace of the Kawasaki rider and hang onto 6th position for the remainder of the race. Kessler put his Husqvarna nearly a second behind Xindaris over the finish line, almost taking the 5th position back at the last breath of the moto. In the second moto, Kessler had an even better start as he battled with the winner of the first moto, Seth Hammaker, on the opening lap. The two of them traded positions through the tight section before Monster Alley and Kessler was riding aggressively to try stake his claim in the battle for the lead. Hammaker made a move down the inside of him through the sweeper, demoting him back to 4th position. Kessler lost positions on the 4th lap to Varize and Miller as they worked their way through the field, but he didn’t let them get away. He was able to get back past Miller as the two of them battled with Tijero, and they all swapped positions as time wound down in the moto. Hammaker went down in the battle for the lead and they all gained a position, making their fight for position count for 4th place. Tijero and
Miller were able to squeak by Kessler on the last lap, but the 6th place position would still be enough to wrap up 5th overall for the
Husqvarna rider.
words/LAKEKILPATRICK
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