Page 20 - GRIT_76

JASON ANDERSON
450 SX / 5TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> The infrastructure of a championship athlete consists of a multitude of things. The will to succeed, the perseverance to push through adversity, the determination to never give up, and the fear of taking every risk necessary. And sure, you nd those attributes at the professional level of all sports, but Supercross in particular. There aren’t too many popular professions, where life and limb are risked at every possible moment of competition. It’s
a thought that doesn’t creep into Jason Anderson’s mind, as he’s simply okay with the chances he takes, once he hops aboard the motorcycle. And the practice session in Las Vegas was true testament to that, as he was one of the rst to launch into the sand sec- tion, three and four rollers deep. It was a game of the long ball, seeing who was willing
to take the bigger leap. He knew, if he could outlast and push fear to the wayside, that he’d be in the competition’s mind, long before they ever stepped foot behind the gate. And it was the same mentality for the heat race, as even though he was slightly pinched going into turn number one, his bike would scream the loudest. The left hand would pull in the clutch, the throttle would be pinned, and all who were around would notice and hear his presence. He would have to do a tad more than that to get around Marvin Musquin though, who was residing in front in the early going. Stepping on and off the series of triples, in the middle of the track, he would try his best to square up the right hander, and duck down underneath. It would garner into strong laptimes, but not enough to hurl his way past his championship rival, Musquin. He would nish second. The thirty-second board would go sideways, and all hell would break loose for the main event. It was pure chaos, with sand particles ying into the stands, as twenty-two of the world’s fastest rac- ers set sail onto the track. Mastering solid triple combinations in the section before the n- ish line, his speci c algorithm was the one to unlock fth place, and around Benny Bloss in the whoop section. He kept climbing and keeping an astonishing ow around this slick raceway, noticing his number on the leader board just ahead of the nish line. It was an indicator of his efforts; and while Eli Tomac was at the top, he knew if he was within some- what relative proximity of both he and Musquin, he’d done a solid job for the evening. And as of the white ag, there he sat; in fth place. This was enough, the championship was within his grasp. Holding on for one nal go around, it was his for the taking! Anderson had done it, and claimed the title for the year!
20 GRITMOTO • MAY 6, 2018