Page 8 - Issue_68

JASON ANDERSON
450 SX / 1ST
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / QUARNBERG DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Rockstar Husqvarna rider Jason Anderson came into Atlanta Georgia sitting comfortably in rst place. El Hombre has had a fantastic season thus far and appears to be more con dent than ever. Anderson is the man to beat heading into round nine of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship as we nd ourselves facing the second Triple Crown format of the season. However, with 8 rounds remaining, there is little room for error as Monster Energy Ka- wasaki Rider Eli Tomac has been on a charge as of late and can still close the gap on Anderson before round seventeen in Las Vegas the rst week of May. In the rst of three main events
of the night Anderson managed to get a solid start and sat in fourth early on while battling
with Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM Rider Blake Baggett. Blake managed to go back and forth with El Hombre but the con dence that the red number plate gives Anderson was too much
for Baggett as Anderson squared him up in a corner and continued his hard charge towards
the front. Anderson soon became engaged in a three-way battle with Smartop/Motoconcepts Racing Justin Brayton and Honda HRC rider Christian Craig who is currently lling in for injured Cole Seely. Anderson managed to make the pass on Craig and held off Blake Baggett for a solid second place nish behind Justin Brayton. In main event number two, Anderson got a huge launch off the gate and grabbed his rst holeshot of 2018. Halfway through the race, there seemed to be no issues for our red plate holder as he maintained a small, yet comfortable
gap between himself and Monster Energy Factory Yamaha rider Cooper Webb. The comfort however didn’t last long as Webb quickly closed the gap on Jason Anderson with less than thirty seconds plus one lap to go. The last lap of main event number two had Atlanta fans on their feet as Webb nearly made the pass in the last corner before the nish line, but failed to do so as Anderson took the win. The stage was now set for the nal race of the night. With another solid start, El Hombre sat in fourth and managed to make his way up to second early in the race. He appeared to bring out the best in riders all night long as Tomac and Webb banged bars with Anderson which caused him to fall back to fourth where he stayed for the rest of the race. Fortunately, Andersons consistency proved to be just enough to take the overall in Atlanta. The red plate will stay with El Hombre and we head into Daytona, for what is sure to be a nail biter as riders face the longest and likely the most technical track of the year.
8
GRITMOTO • MARCH 4, 2018