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BLAKE BAGGETT
450 MX / 1ST
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / KUHLHOFF DESIGN / MPG
>> What an absolutely phenomenal ride for Blake Baggett. Colorado’s Thunder Valley pre- sented the riders with high elevations, and even higher stakes, as they lined up for their first moto of the day. Soon after the drop of the gate, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC/KTM/WPS rider Blake Baggett became twisted and tangled in an unfortunate first turn pile up. After regaining composure, Baggett found himself back on the unpredictable track and sitting in the very back of this prestigious group of racers. With overflowing excitement and heated battles happen-
ing left and right, Blake Baggett was a silent assassin, picking off the competition one by one. The number four machine soon made his presence loud and clear late in the moto when, what seemed like out of nowhere, he was right on the tail end of a heated battle between Tomac and Barcia. El Chupacabra has officially arrived, folks. Blake Baggett’s bike danced beneath him on the topsy-turvy terrain as he found amazing corner speed resulting in some incredible passes. Within minutes, Baggett passed Barcia, Tomac, and Musquin, finding himself in fourth place. A brightly burning orange fire was ablaze and there were no limits to what Baggett could do. With time ticking away, BB was sabotaging this brutal track. He soon found the back tire of Seely and quickly moved into the third place position with only a couple of laps remaining. Baggett flew by the checkered flag in third, behind Anderson in second. After going from the ground
to a podium spot in the first moto, it was a guarantee that all eyes would be fixated on Blake Baggett as the gates dropped for moto number two. Right away, everything was flowing for Baggett and he found himself sitting in second place behind Tickle off the start. Quickly, Blake made his way into first but this was short lived when Colorado local, Eli Tomac moved into the first place position. Would Blake Baggett be able to find that El Chupacabra magic again? Only time would tell, and luckily for Baggett, there was plenty of time left in the second moto. Even in second place, Blake Baggett had the overall win in his pocket but he was hungry for that moto win and would stop at nothing to get it. With finesse, and a fantastically skilled leap into an outside berm, Baggett found the momentum to not only pass, but also pull away from, Tomac for first place. With a couple of shocked glances back, Baggett seemed almost in disbelief over the lead that he had created on Tomac. The checkered flag flew and Blake Baggett seized
his first-ever 450 overall victory. The skill has always been there for the number four, but now we are all witnessing the stars aligning for Blake Baggett. On a final note, the odds of a win at Thunder Valley leading to a championship are very high, with the winner ultimately capturing the title in nine of the twelve seasons, including each of the past five years. History is working in Blake Baggett’s favor as the number four sits third in overall points standings heading into round four at High Point.
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GRITMOTO • JUNE 4, 2017