Page 78 - ISSUE41

ANTHONY RODRIGUEZ
250 SX / 9TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / WILSON
>> Supercross has landed into the Crossroads of America, fitting due to its proximity of the halfway point, in the scheme of total rounds. The middle of the pendulum swing, the tour has been full of high’s and lows, making it a rather difficult task to control emotions and keep them at a relative mediocre intensity level. Levels of temperament can rise in
an instance, the tears of sorrow beginning with a sudden drop, but a champion remains headstrong, and willing to focus on each race, really each lap, with a clean slate of mind. Anthony Rodriguez knows the feeling of summit’s and valleys; championships throughout his career have been coupled with injuries, DNF’s, and unfortunate results, but as we can all see, he’s been resilient in his efforts, and they have been cultivated into some aston- ishing rides thus far. With the track acting as a sponge with it’s absorbent soil, it looked as though the water trucks had been on the surface all day; however it was just the natural texture, and allowed for optimal traction throughout the day. All throughout practice he could be caught taking alternate lines, as he knew the track would get chewed up from right to left, and every ounce of raceway would have to be magnified for a smooth line. He managed to endure the storm of his heat race, qualifying into the main event with solid colors; although it was a good effort to accustom the heart rate for what was to come, he was glad to make it out relatively unscathed with the amount of cross jumping (due to the ruts and indecisive line choices by others). He brushed it all aside, and was now awaiting his moment to shine under the bright lights; after treading into his specific rut he chose, the pupils zeroed in on the pin that sat just ahead. 3,2,1, and it falls; the catlike reflex left him wheeling out of the whole, gripping the soil for all she had. Using his diaphragm to ob- tain the optimum amount of oxygen possible, he was trying his best to stay calm. Fighting through the pack, Rodriguez would try his best to emulate “Benny The Jet”, and take off, stealing any position within his grasp. His rhythmic hopping through the mechanic’s area section would pay off, just as he would kiss the front end, getting the forks right over the crest of down slope of the last table top. He would then catapult, springing into the straight away, leapfrogging passed riders such as Kyle Cunningham, and youngster Henry Miller. Chasing the number 45 of Mitchell Harrison for the latter half of the moto the Yamaha pilot would come just short of obtaining a position in which was held of his former factory ride; and although missing, he let his former team owner know that he wasn’t willing to fade into irrelevancy just yet.
78 GRITMOTO • MARCH 19, 2017