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AUSTIN FORKNER
250 SX / 12TH
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / HARNISFEGER DESIGN / WILSON
>> Austin Forkner entered his rookie season in the 250 West Coast series with a lot of hype. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider had a great rookie outdoor campaign and there were rumors that he was even better on the supercross track. When the beginning of the season finally arrived, he immediately showcased his speed in qualifying. But,
he could not immediately translate it to positive results. He struggled in the main events crashing several times and just committed too many mistakes. After a few rounds he started to piece it together and notched two podiums in three races. Unfortunately, he would injure himself in practice right after he finished a career best second in Arlington and would not return until Salt Lake City a few weeks ago. He entered Vegas with the sole intention to finish the year strong and enter the outdoors healthy.
Forkner would qualify tenth in the combined East and West times. His speed was slightly off of the leaders but he was still shaking the rust off after missing some time on the bike. Nonetheless he was ready for the races to begin. When the gate dropped in the West Coast heat, Forkner rocketed into the early lead. It was just the kind of start he needed to jump start his return but Jimmy Decotis would sneak by on that opening lap pushing him back to second. Forkner attempted to stay with him but slowly lost ground on him lap after lap. He stayed strong in second and built a gap between him and the rest of the field which lasted until the end. It was a good start to the night and he geared up for the East/West shootout.
Forkner’s start in the shootout was the polar opposite of the one he got in his heat. He got tangled in a first turn pile up and rounded lap one buried in twentieth. With nowhere to go but up, he began to put together smooth laps on the slick, tricky course. He would grind his way up to twelfth position for the race. May not have been the finish he antici- pated going in but he is coming out healthy and looking forward to the outdoors.
82 GRITMOTO • MAY 7, 2017