Page 36 - Issue_63

JOEY SAVATGY
250 SX / 4TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / ARMSTRONG DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> A week ago Joey Savatgy made history on becoming the first ever overall winner in the next triple crown series. Not only did he win the first overall in that race but he also came back from a 7 point deficit to be tied going into round 4 in Phoenix. Joey started the day off with setting the fastest overall lap time in the 250 class with a 55.872 which was over half a second faster then the next rider in line. Joey lined up to his heat race with 1st gate pick but only came around in 7th after the start. Savatgy quickly made his way into 5th and was chasing down Mitchell Harrison. Joey made the pass stick and was making his way towards the top two. The Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider was making his way through the whoops when his front tire missed the face of the whoop, which made his front tire drop, sending him over the bars. Joey was able to get back up after spending a brief moment collecting his thoughts while laying on the dirt. Joey was forced to line up for the LCQ with last gate pick he was forced to an outside gate. The #17 jumped out of the gate flawlessly crossing the path of the 20 riders to the left of him to grab the holeshot. This gave Joey the opportunity to run away from the field and get some extra time on the track to prepare for the main event. @versacesavatgy17 lined up for the main event in the same gate he had in the LCQ, remarkably he was able to replicate his LCQ start, leading the field on the opening lap of the main. Early on the opening lap Joey made a small error that looked like it was going to throw him to the dirt he was able to pull it together and hold onto the lead. Joey held on for 1st in the opening laps but sadly wasn’t able to run the pace of McElrath and Plessinger. Savatgy started to feel the pressure from his team- mate AC and was forced into making a slight mistake that put him on the ground once again. Luckily Savatgy was able to keep his bike running and re-join the race only loosing one posi- tion. 4th place is mediocre for the two time runner up in the 250 Supercross division. Lots of racing left and although Joey lost his points lead this weekend he is only sitting 5 points back. It is anyone’s championship at this point.
36 GRITMOTO • JANUARY 28, 2018