Page 45 - MPG4

theGRIT
Just a week off of suffering a concussion and being diagnosed with strep throat, Hannah Hodges made the trip to the JS7 Freestone National ready to dig deep and come out with some wins. In her
first full year on big bikes, the Team Green star signed up for 250 B and the WMX national class. In her first 250 B moto, she ran into some problems early and ended up having to pull out of the race. With a bad result and the ailments she was dealing with prior to the event, she decided it was best to opt out of the semi race and commit herself to being 100% for the WMX race at the end of the week. It was the first round of the WMX series and she knew a win would be a great start to the series and send a message to the rest of the girls that she will be the one to beat.
Hodges recuperated for the WMX practice and set down some blazing fast lap times. She was at least three seconds faster than the rest of the field and easily secured the pole position gate pick for the first moto. She was ready to contend for the win as they lined them up before the race. When the gate dropped, Hodges could not take advantage of the first gate pick and suffered an average start. But she quickly got down to business and started picking off riders. Her hair was flowing out of her helmet as she was flying around the track mak- ing it easy to tell she was going all out to get the win. She quickly moved up through the pack but she had company while doing so. Kylie Fasnacht started just behind Hodges and did her best to follow her up through the pack. Hodges moved into the lead on lap 4 with Fas- nacht right in tow. The stage was set for a showdown to the end and Fasnacht got close enough to show Hodges a wheel with two laps to go. Hodges retaliated by throwing down the fastest laptime of the race on the final lap to secure the victory. It was a fascinating first moto as Hodges was pushed to her limits but she stayed strong for the win.
Moto 2 was much easier than the first moto for Hodges as she grabbed the early lead and never looked back. At one point in the race she had a ten and a half second lead. It was a dominant performance and the perfect way to cap off a flawless 1-1 first overall. Hodges powered through some adversity to get to that result and she set the tone for the rest of the WMX series.
words/SETHHARNISHFEGER
WWW.GRITMOTO.COM
45