Page 20 - ISSUE_54

MARTIN DAVALOS
450 MX / 5TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / TILLS
>> Martin Davalos’ rookie season aboard the 450 machine has gone pretty well. He has been hovering around the top ten at every round and has finished within that top ten at two of the six during the first half of the season. His speed has been quick at times but small crashes and poor starts have held him back from being more con- sistent. In the past few weeks we have been seeing Davalos inch closer to the front and he was hoping to have his breakthrough 450 ride this weekend at Southwick. The rider from Ecuador struggled in qualifying practice. He would only be able to
set the fifteenth fastest lap time. The sands of Southwick may have played a factor but nonetheless he would make the proper adjustments and show up for moto one ready to go.
Davalos began the first moto with an average start in tenth position. He looked very “racey” early and picked up two quick spots to hop up into eighth by lap three. He stayed steady there for several laps until Musquin came sweeping by halfway. Davalos stayed consistent and was able to get around Peick after he suffered bike problems in the latter stages of the moto. Back in eighth he would then pick up one more spot on the final lap to secure seventh in the moto. It was one of his better finishes of the season and he was raring for more in the second moto.
Davalos got a better start in moto two and rounded lap one in fourth place. However, this time around he lost to quick spots moving him back to sixth. He settled down there and slowly started churning back forward. Halfway he moved up to fifth place and looked very quick. It was one of the best rides of his 450 career and he man- aged to keep it on two wheels all the way to the end all while picking up another position late thanks to Cooper Webb going down. That meant Davalos would finish
a career best fourth place in the moto. He would go 7-4 for fifth overall on the day making it his best and most consistent 450 ride to date. Davalos will look to keep this surge going into the second half of the season.
20 GRITMOTO • JULY 9, 2017