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COLE SEELY
450 SX / TEXAS
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / KILPATRICK DESIGN / WILSON
>> Cole Seely has flown under the radar as one of the most consistently successful riders in the premier class thus far in the 2017 season. The California native has served as HRC’s lone racing representative after Ken Roczen’s untimely exit from the series, and he’s done well to keep the team’s spirits high with a steady run of good form. Seely has finished inside the top five in every round of racing so far excluding the opener at Anaheim I, but he’s only managed to put his CRF450 on the podium once this season. The Honda rider was in position to battle for a podium one week ago in Oakland, but suffered some misfortune with a stray banner taking out his rear brake. Seely didn’t set the world on fire during timed qualifying in Arlington, but he put together two incredibly consistent sessions that placed him in eighth position heading into the racing. In his heat race, he didn’t snag the most electric jump out of the gate as he was forced to settle for a mediocre position throughout the opening rhythm section. Seely threw down some hard moves on the opening lap in order to fly across the timing stripe in seventh position early on. The Californian tucked in behind the factory Yamaha of Chad Reed in a flashback to the main event a couple of weeks prior in Phoenix, Seely followed him forward past Friese and eventually managed to displace the Australian as he moved into fifth position on the fourth lap. He paced the fellow Honda of Justin Brayton ahead of him for a couple of laps, but ultimately made the move for the final transfer position with only one lap to go, earning himself a solid gate pick for the main event. Seely continued his solid run of form out of the gate in the main event as he shot out to a start just outside the top five. He pounced past Jason Anderson and Trey Canard through the stadium-length rhythm section on the opening lap, placing him in fourth position throughout the early stages of the race. Seely applied an immense amount of pressure to the rear fender of Justin Bogle throughout the first three laps, looking every which way for an opportunity to move onto the box. The Californian finally pushed his way past the Oklahoma native at the end of the long rhythm section, taking the line away before the triple jump. Seely was just a hair off of the pace that Cooper Webb was running in second, keep-
ing them separated by about three seconds until just under the halfway point. The Yamaha rider suffered a flat tire that forced him to pull into the mechanics area, forcing him to submit
a position to Seely as well as many others. After taking over second position, Seely kept his composure and kept his Honda upright for the entirety of the twenty-six laps. He put himself back on the podium, simultaneously scoring his best finish of the season in the process, but the Honda rider will be hungry for his second career 450SX class victory as the series heads east to Minnesota.
10 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 12, 2017