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SHANE MCELRATH
250 MX / 12TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / TILLS
>> If you look into the culture of Boston, and much of the surrounding area, you’ll find a vast majority of the residents with a Irish culture. Brash, and willing to put their foot on the ground, there’s no nonsense when dealing with their passions. It’s the same with Shane Mcelrath who’s trained to the highest extent on the motorcycle for as long as he could remember. Months and months of vigorous training, finally catapulted him to the professional level, where he now can be rewarded monetarily for his efforts, and hope- fully provide a stable career for himself. Southwick was a place for him to show team managers of all kinds, that he was ready, willing, and able to put their brand at the top of the field. Vibing from his solid practice ef-
fort, he knew he could do better, as he excelled from the gate drop. The adrenaline began to dump as the pad fell, and he blistered into operation “Desert Storm.” Swarming off the battalion of militans all around, he had
to be careful of both his combatants near and far away, because one rider could cause a massive pileup, and in the first few laps, could deter him quickly to the bottom of the field. He pushed, fighting and clawing his way past anyone in sight, the pitboard reading “YOU CAN.” He took it to heart, having the 250f screaming at the top of its piston stroke as he rallied past the mechanics area, ringing the life out of the rev limited for all it was worth. And in the end, he was rewarded with an eleventh place, right in front of Lorenzo Locurcio. Moto number two, saw a tenth place start, battiling into the single digits with Chase Sexton and Colt Nichols. Adding some orange plastic into the mix, the bar-banging was as apparent as ever, scraping both front brake and clutch levers as the field was dicing it up. Scrubbing the rollers with the footpeg up the climax of the face, he knew he had to continue pushing; otherwise the Yamaha of Luke Renzland would rare his head. He would hold him off, finishing 13th, and 12th overall.
80 GRITMOTO • JULY 9, 2017