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Alex Martin’s main focus of the week following Southwick was to improve his starts - something that has
dramatically hindered his chances of grabbing his first moto win of 2016. The hard work paid off for the home track hero as he fired into the first corner elbow-to-elbow with his brother in 1st and 2nd, respectively. AMart put in some blinding laps early and was able to put a small gap of a few seconds into JMart, who was caught in a fierce battle for 2nd with the championship leader, Cooper Webb. Alex rode comfortably in the lead for the first half of the race, using the home track knowledge that he’s accumulated over the years in order to maintain the lead over the Yamahas in tow. After Webb moved into 2nd position, he began to eat away at the precious gap that Martin had created at the front of the field, marking the commencement of a late charge by the red plate holder. The two Yamaha riders formed what appeared to be one massive bike for the second half of the race, playing a game of cat and mouse that didn’t heavily favor either of the two. They were able to ride at a pace that allowed them to inch away from Jeremy in 3rd place as Alex attempted to hold
on to defend the land that bears his family name. It seemed that Martin was able to pull out a couple of tenths in the first couple sectors
of the track - past the mechanics area and through the famous sand whoops. Webb was strong in the rutted up sections following Mt. Martin before the finish line and was able to find better lines on the more hard packed sections of the track. Alex was hanging it out in order to grab his second career moto victory, but he lost his composure with only three laps to go and made a mistake just before the crucial uphill triple, washing the front end out in the turn at the bottom of the hill. This allowed Webb to slide into the lead unchallenged and his brother Jeremy to move into the 2nd position as well. He picked his Yamaha up and held off a rejuvenated Pro Circuit Kawasaki of Joey Savatgy to finish on an all-blue podium. The second moto started off in identical fashion to the first one as Alex grabbed yet another holeshot, bringing his tally up to two on the season. He attempted to drop the hammer and replicate his early charge from the first moto, but a mistake after the sand whoops cost him the chance to disappear at the front. He hit neutral in the right hander after the whoops
and tipped over in a rut, relegating himself back to approximately 9th place. He took advantage of the opening lap chaos in order to find his way around the two Mitchells of Harrison and Oldenburg in order to slot into 7th position. He took quite a while to find his rhythm, but he eventually reeled in Adam Cianciarulo and got around him on the 10th lap for 6th place. At this point, the exceptional fitness of Martin began to shine and he was the fastest guy on the track with one minute left in the moto. He caught up to the battle for 4th in the waning laps and was able to pass his teammate, Aaron Plessinger, around the outside in the sand whoops after a small bobble from the number 23. Martin rode side by side with Savatgy through the second set of sand whoops and the ensuing stretch of track in order to pass him up the inside before the uphill triple. It was another spirited late charge by AMart, but his day could have gone a lot different had it not been for minor mistakes that have plagued his results all season long. Although he was able to clinch his first podium at his home track, at this stage in the season, he’ll be frustrated with anything less than the top of the box.
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