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RAMYLLER ALVES
250 SX / 9TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / WARNER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Daytona Supercross is always an interesting race, a Supercross race that provides the riders and fans with a more outdoor style track. This allows riders who we usually see further back in qualifying a great opportunity to charge towards the top of the pack. Ramyller Alves took full ad- vantage of the Daytona racetrack. On a track where pole position’s qualifying time was 1:10.464, the 1:16.544 that Alves was able to put down to secure himself an eighteenth place in qualifying
is far from glamorous, but it granted Alves back into the night show after being unable to qualify last weekend at Atlanta’s Triple Crown Race. It is a very rare occasion in any Supercross race that a rider will choose to start outside of the gate that has the straightest line into turn one. Typically the only reason a rider selects a gate outside of that point is because that’s what’s left to choose based on their qualifying/ nish position. The Daytona start straight proved in multiple races Satur- day night that lining up at the two gates next to the doghouse (Left and Right) could be a bene t no doubt. Alves quali ed eighteen, giving him ninth gate pick in Heat One. He lined up on the rst gate on the left side of the doghouse. Although a clear track off the gate, he would get bunched up about midway down, but he stayed tough, cut his bike right across all the riders on his inside, rounded turn one about a quarter of the way from the inside of the corner and got the holeshot! With a 9th place gate pick! The enjoyment of his great start would disappear quickly during the race however. He quickly lost spots to Mosiman, Osborne, and Hampshire; Ramyller kept digging though, putting in short battles with Luke Renzland, Mr. “El Dozer” and well as a Daytona track favorite Jeremy Martin before dropping back to sixth. Still running sixth on lap four RJ Hampshire would have a nasty crash over the handlebars causing the race to be red agged. Due to the time passed by this point in the race, it would be deemed of cial and Alves was on his way to the Main Event with a holeshot and fth place heat nish. In the Main Event, the 3D Racing/EBR Perfor- mance/Altus Motorsports Yamaha would not get a good jump off the gate. Crossing the stripe around eighth this time Alves had his work cut out for him as now the number of heavy hitters had doubled. He came across the nish line in eighth as well. Current point’s leader Zach Osborne would have him picked off by lap three dropping him to ninth place where he would spend the rest of his main event. Now, some people tend to discredit rider nishes at Daytona given the nature of the track, but you don’t just show up to Daytona and get a top ten nish on luck. Alves hasn’t had the best start to 2018, but after his Daytona performance look to see the #222 mixing it up in more Main Events soon.
58 GRITMOTO • MARCH 11, 2018