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JORDON SMITH
250 MX / 4TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Everyone on the AMA Pro Motocross tour, has a little big of signature are or style. You think of the greats like Carmichael, known for his outright “bulldog” attack, never letting off the throttle in any particular instant. Newer riders like Ken Roczen, have a bit more nesse, scrub- bing everything in sight. But Jordon Smith embodies at all, and at times, can leave fans on the edge of their seat. He’s willing to hang it all on the line, and at times it can rare up in negative fashion; others though, when the starts align, can place him in an optimum overall position. Millville was a case for the latter, as he found himself in second place in the initial stages, just behind Joey Savatgy. With an unfortunate mistake by the Kawasaki rider, Smith would take the lead, and attempt to blitz away from the eld. Picking his lines with almost a bit of methodical precision, his composure was impressive. He would hold the lead for quite sometime, until he felt a bit of pressure creeping up behind; it was Aaron Plessinger. Plessinger would soar into the foreground nearing Mt. Martin, and although Smith was doing all he could, the Yamaha rider would outlast his charging technique down the hill, and move the KTM to the wayside. He would remain in second, but had even more company, with Austin Forkner staring him down. The two would go back and forth, yet Smith would be passed on lap ten. He would try his best to ght back, but just couldn’t seem to get around the Kawasaki pilot. A bit of gap would allow him ample time to breathe, as Justin Cooper sat fourth. Coming across the nal stripe in third place, he was absolutely ecstatic about a podium nish. Fourth place to begin moto number two, had him nestled between familiar foes, Justin Cooper and Austin Forkner. He would hold fourth place until lap six, where a fellow MTF counterpart, Joey Savatgy, would make his
move around. Holding right here, he would remain inside the top ve for a large portion of the race, but as the moto wore on, he would wear down. Both Chase Sexton, and Michael Mosi- man would work their way around, leaving the KTM rider empty handed. But he wouldn’t let it get him down. Hanging in seventh place, he knew he couldn’t slip any further, if he wanted to keep a solid top ve overall. That thought alone, would be enough to keep persistency running throughout his mind. Seventh place is where he would register among the nal grid of timing and scoring, garnering enough overall points, to capture fourth place overall.
42 GRITMOTO • JULY 22, 2018