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Carter Clay
51cc (4-6) Special Limited
IMAGE / TENHAGEN WORDS / KILPATRICK DESIGN / WILSON
>> Carter Clay had a week to remember at the 2017 JS7 Freestone Spring Championship. The youngster out of Okeechobee, Florida has been actively riding since his very first birthday and his experience was glaringly obvious in his results throughout the course of the racing action at Freestone. Clay con- tested three classes: the 51cc (4-6) Special Limited class; the 51cc (4-6) Lim- ited class; and the 51cc (6-7) Limited class. The Cobra rider was one of many to put the manufacturer up on the podium in Texas, and he did so in three out of six of his races. Clay showed speed in all three classes, but he really stood out in the 51cc (4-6) Special Limited class where he scored a second and first place finish on his way to the championship. The little Floridian got out to an advantageous start in the first moto and ended up in second position as the introductory lap came to an end. He had a sizable gap between himself and the leader, Gage Dunham, and did his best to close that gap over the course of the next three laps. Clay put in some exceptional lap times throughout the middle of the race and closed down the eight second advantage to the head of the field. He got within striking distance of his fellow Cobra rider as the race wound down by setting the fastest lap time of the moto, but he ran out
of time and was forced to settle for second position. The roles were reversed in the second moto as Clay was able to get out to the early lead ahead of the winner of the opening moto. It was a brawl for the overall victory as the Cobra duo banged bars throughout the opening couple of laps. The two of them rode within a second of one another until the third lap when Dunham made a mistake and fell back out of contention, opening up the opportunity for Clay to cruise to an unchallenged victory and the subsequent overall.
18 MPG • APRIL 2017