Page 78 - ISSUE-47

SHANE MCELRATH
250 SX / 11TH
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / HARNISFEGER DESIGN / WILSON
>> Oh what could have been for Shane McElrath. The beginning of 2017 looked so promising for the Red Bull Troy Lee KTM rider. He reeled off two straight wins to begin the 250 West Coast championship and looked to be the man to beat in the class. He would not win the next three rounds but he would remain on the podium with a pair of thirds and a second. He was remaining consistent and held the red plate until disaster in Arlington. A mechanical would force him to finish in twenty-second and pretty much dismantle his championship bid. Justin Hill took command of the title from there on out. McElrath did return to his winning ways at their penultimate round in Salt Lake City but it was too late as Hill still clinched the title. McElrath looked to end his season with back to back wins and forget about the tough championship loss as he headed to Vegas.
He would qualify strong in eighth position out of both coasts. He looked comfort- able on the slick, west coast style track and was ready to compete in the races. He got a subpar start in the West heat coming out lap one in seventh place. He passed off one rider per lap until he got up to fourth. Once he was there, he would be unable to reel in Davalos in third and would have to settle with the fourth posi- tion. He would be heading right to the East/West shootout.
The shootout did not begin the right way for McElrath. He would go down viciously in the first turn. I am surprised he even remounted and returned to the race after the hit that he took. He’d just brush it off and get right back going. He rounded lap one in nineteenth and did his best to pass as many riders as possible. The higher level of competition definitely made things harder on the him but he managed to claw up to eleventh position. After the way his title chase went, I’m sure he is just happy the season is finally over and he’ll now aim at getting healed up for the outdoor season.
78 GRITMOTO • MAY 7, 2017