Page 128 - MPG4

theGRIT
Consistency, performance, control and speed, Papi successfully put himself back on the map. Racing in heat two for both Schoolboy divisions, Papi had practically identical qualifiers. Starting the first lap in 5th for both motos, the bLU cRU Yamaha made its way into 3rd in his
heats to qualify directly into the moto two’s. These final races of the Schoolboy class were not quite as similar, though, with Schoolboy 2 on the short end of the stick. Mitchell Falk and Jordan Bailey both ran 1st and 2nd for the entire race with Papi in 3rd. On lap four, Cade Autenrieth got by Brock pushing him back to 4th for the remainder of the moto. Still a great result, the lost position was purely a result of lap times fading near the end. In Schoolboy 1 on the other hand, Brock rode consistent all six laps, trying to make a push for Jalek Swoll in 1st. With Swoll being too much to handle, Papi settled for 2nd in the moto, and a 2nd overall for a solid two moto performance finishing both Schoolboy divisions with some pizazz. An incredible ride to put the RCSX away for good.
In the more specific divisions, the 250 All-Star class was full of consistent performers with Falk and Bailey remaining up front
in both motos. For Brock, even though the results saw two different 3rd place riders, he finished the day with two 4th place finishes, falling a bit off the pace in both motos. Another 4th overall, the #144 had one more opportunity at the box before hanging the helmet and heading back home to Clermont. In the forth and final of Brock’s classes, 125 12-16, witnesses observed an extremely similar result from Papi to Schoolboy 1. The difference here that instead of qualifying heats, the class followed the more familiar, classic two-moto format. In the first moto, Papi followed Swoll and Pierce Brown to the final flag from lap two onwards; all three riders implementing dominating performances. After pulling out of moto two in the Schoolboy 1 class, Brown’s weekend was done, allowing Papi to again follow Jalek to the finish line after a much more heated battle in moto two than before. Crossing the checkers only 2.6 seconds back of Swoll, Papi got the nudge for 2nd overall with Swoll again portraying the nemesis. Finishing Texas with two 2nd’s and two 4th’s, an impressive showing of Papi’s confidence levels, Brock left Texas hungry for more. Adding to the appetite by bouncing back from earlier in the month, it’s clear that Brock can compete deep into the race as the season gets deeper into the schedule.
128 MPG • APRIL 2016
words/BRENTECKERT