Page 66 - ISSUE-47

JAKE WEIMER
450 SX / 14TH
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / WILSON
>> Las Vegas, Nevada, better known as the fight capital of the world. Home to some of boxing and mixed martial arts most storybook scraps, this city is filled with the lights and dazzle that embodies the aura of the fight game. With the UFC being home here, it’s
no surprise that many of the fans, and even fighters, of the hot commodity brand were
in attendance. It seemed to fluctuate into the mind of Jake Weimer as well, as he had
no shortage of testosterone and rage when he decided to take off to begin the night’s festivities. All throughout practice, he was rampant on his mad dash to stardom, knowing that if he could attract the attention of team owners and sponsors alike, he may be well off for next years 2018 season. Panic revving, ringing the neck of his machine, the piston begging for mercy as he rushed inside the stadium from the outside left hander; all the while fans seeing a blur out of their peripheral vision. He wanted this race, and wanted
it badly. His desire dripping with motivation and integrity, he wanted to put his stamp on Las Vegas, sending him on his way onto the boulevard, with a proud performance in his back pocket. Banging his way through heat, semi, and LCQ process, the 13th position
in tact, he placed himself behind the pad for the 450 main. And although this rut a little crooked, and maybe a tad too many acceleration bumps, he chose it; cock-eyed, slanting left, just to get the nose on those to the inside of him. It worked to some extent, but the pack swarmed him as he drove the 450 hard into the bottleneck left. Fighting his away
to the finish line in the opening laps, he didn’t care who was in his way, he had to get by. Tripling, on-off, the rhythm lanes seemed to work out for him. Getting creative and trying to run the insides of these slick, sunbaked, Las Vegas corners, seemed good in theory, but they might have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Where as he may have been better off rolling behind those pushing their way to the front, he decided to veer off the main line, and cut inside, especially prior to the SX triple. The risky maneuver cost him major time, and he would now have to play catch up to hold his position on the raceway. With a pack roaring all around him, the track was getting slicker and slicker, and the dabs of the inside leg were becoming more prominent. He now felt the pressure from 15th as the laps were really wearing thin, but he would hold on, his Vo2 levels taxed, taking home 14th place on the evening.
66 GRITMOTO • MAY 7, 2017