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theGRIT
The Team Green Jimmy Johns Kawasaki racer Ryder DiFrancesco put together a solid
week down at the JS7 Freestone National where he walked away a champion yet again.
The electrifying young talent from Bakersfield, California had a full plate this week with five competitive classes. He raced both 65 (10-11) and (7-11) classes while also racing 85 (9-11) limited and 85 (9-12) classes. With all those motos to race it is hard to stay consistent but for the most part, Ryder did just that. He finished inside the top four in all but two of his ten motos. After finishing second place after a battle with Matthew LeBlanc in the opening moto of 65 (10-11), Ryder would run into multiple problems early in the second moto which he would never fully recover from resulting in
an eleventh place finish. And then a bad start would plague him in the final moto of the 85 (9-12) class after he finished second place in his heat. He was mired deep in the pack after lap one but he used his raw speed to climb all the way up to 6th place to salvage a sixth place in the moto and a 4th overall.
After narrowly missing out on the championships in four of his five classes, Ryder would not leave Freestone without a number one plate. He would absolutely dominate the 65 (7-11) class. He would lead every single lap of his heat race as well as the second moto en route to his lone championship of the week. He threw down the gauntlet in that class and reminded us why he is one of the biggest up and comers in the sport. Look out for Ryder as he continues to work out his early season kinks on his 65 and continues to get used to racing the bigger 85.
words/SETHHARNISHFEGER
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