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PHIL NICOLETTI
450 MX / 6TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Phil Nicoletti enters Budds Creek coming off a dream day at Unadilla. Filthy Phil might have been the only rider out there to be happy that the race turned into a mud fest. He loves the elements and it was his hometown race so there was not much more he could ask for.
He went out and earned his second moto podium ever in the rst moto and topped it off with his rst overall podium of his career with a third overall. He could not have been happier. Ni- coletti’s entire 2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross campaign has been one to be proud of as well. He has only one nish outside the top ten which was an eleventh. So, he has been consistent and good starts have been common for him. He will look to keep his good momentum rolling into these nal two rounds. Nicoletti went out and had himself a solid pair of morning qualify- ing practice sessions. He looked about where he usually is on speed and he threw down the eighth fastest lap time of the class. He looked as good as ever aboard his Factory Rockstar Husqvarna and he was ready to put in the work during the motos. Nicoletti got his day going with a solid start in moto one. He emerged from lap one in fth right behind his teammate Ja- son Anderson. Nicoletti looked spry and showed some speed early in the moto. He pressured Anderson for a few laps and looked ready to make a move but on lap four, a bobble would al- low Eli Tomac to pass him. On the following lap, Blake Baggett would also squeak by pushing Nicoletti back to seventh. Here, he locked into a solid pace and would ride quietly to the end. He had some threats of pressure from Cooper Webb at times, but nothing ever materialized. He would nish the moto there in seventh with a nice ride. In moto two, Nicoletti got off to an even better start. He came out of lap one in fourth place right behind Ken Roczen. Nicoletti raised a few eyebrows during those rst few laps like he did in moto one as he actually pres- sured the top three riders and didn’t let them escape. He was riding with some new-found con dence. Unfortunately like in moto one, Baggett and Tomac came to spoil the party and they both passed him on lap four. This pushed him back to sixth where it looked like he might stay because of the good gap he had on the riders behind him. But at the halfway point, he would gain a position after passing Barcia who had fallen. He took over the fth-place spot and it appeared he would be safe bet to nish there but with two laps to go, Barcia roared back with a vengeance. Nicoletti fought off his charge with everything he could but on the nal lap, Barcia found a way around sending him back to sixth. Nicoletti would nish there and go 7-6 on the day for sixth overall. It was a very good day for Nicoletti and he would like to enjoy a similar result at the nal round next weekend.
44 GRITMOTO • AUGUST 19, 2018