Page 28 - ISSUE-81

AUSTIN FORKNER
250 MX / 8TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Austin Forkner has endured a very up and down year here in 2018. His 250SX East Coast championship campaign was embodied that description. He ripped off two straight wins at rounds two and three and even held the points lead at one point. Then he started to head to the low points. Crashes and shaky performances plagued him, and it led to him crashing hard in the nal main event of the Triple Crown format at Minneapolis. He’d break his collarbone sidelining him the remainder of the season. He wasn’t sure if he’d be ready to line up at Hangtown, but he showed up and cranked out a fourth in moto one only to dislodge a few ribs in moto two. He struggled again at Glen Helen but has slowly turned things around. He enters Muddy Creek on a hot streak after a fourth and
a second overall at the last two rounds. Forkner did not mesh well with the track during the morning qualifying practice sessions. He looked great in the rst practice session
but then struggled in the second one. He would end up qualifying with the tenth fastest lap time, but he was not worried. He geared up and got ready to put in work in the pair
of motos that lay ahead. Forkner kicked off his day with a seventh place start in moto one. He was in a decent position and was essentially locked into it. The racing was fast and furious in the opening stages but not many passes were made. He nally applied enough pressure to Jordon Smith to pass him on lap four. He then attempted to run down RJ Hampshire. Hampshire but up a good ght and whenever it appeared Forkner would make a pass. Hampshire would deny it. Forkner would end up gaining another position due to an Alex Martin crash to move into fth but that would be as far as he’d go. Hampshire remained stingy all the way to the nish. Moto two did not begin as well for Forkner. He started off in tenth place and could not make any quick moves. Things got even worse when he crashed on lap three. This sent him all the way back to eighteenth. He would be left with no other option than to claw his way forward. The Monster Energy/ Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider fought tooth and nail for each inch on the track the remainder of the race. When the dust settled, he had worked up to nish a modest ninth place. His 5-9 moto nishes would net him eighth overall. This was a slight setback for Forkner after a string of fast and impressive nishes, so he will look to forget about this one and bounce back at Southwick.
28 GRITMOTO • JUNE 24, 2018