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DYLAN MERRIAM
450 MX / 9TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Dylan Merriam has been one of the better stories of the 2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross series this summer. The privateer from Corona, California has shown he has the raw speed and endurance to run with the top guys all summer long. He kicked things off at Hangtown with a pair of top fteens in the motos and immediately bested that by nishing a wildly impressive ninth place in moto one at Glen Helen. At round three at Thunder Valley, he nished the job going 9-10 for ninth overall marking his career best by a wide margin. After three rounds, he was sitting in the top ten in the points standings which is remarkable for any privateer. Unfortunately, he missed round four due to food poisoning but managed a twelfth overall the following weekend at Muddy Creek. A crash at Red Bud held him out of that race and he generally struggled after his nice ride at Muddy Creek. He burst back to the fore- front last weekend at Unadilla when he ripped the holeshot of the opening moto and held back world champion Marvin Musquin for a lap in the elements. It was a big moment for him and he looked to carry that hype and momentum into Budds Creek. Merriam put together a solid effort in the morning qualifying practice sessions. The rider under the TPJ Fly Racing banner managed to throw down the seventeenth fastest qualifying time of the class. He looked ready to go out and have another good day of racing. Merriam kicked off his race day by getting an average start. He rounded lap one in around fourteenth position. He made quick work of Dakota Kessler and slid into thirteenth on lap two. Riders were swapping position all around him, but he managed to stay steadfast in thirteenth for the rst half of the moto despite brie y moving into twelfth on lap four only to get sent right back to thirteenth by Kyle Cunningham. After that, he started reeling in fellow privateer Jake Masterpool. Merriam me- thodically ran him down and passed him for twelfth on lap nine. He made the pass happen because he heard Henry Miler coming and he tried to get away but two laps later, Miller would still catch him and send him back to thirteenth. It seemed like no matter how hard Merriam tried breaking free from thirteenth, he kept sliding back there. But on lap twelve, he was able to pass Weston Peick for twelfth yet again, and this time he would stay there. It was a nice rst moto for Merriam and he would aim to back it up in moto two. Merriam began moto two with a much better start. He started near the top ve and rounded lap one in eighth place. On lap two, he would lose two spots to Benny Bloss and Cooper Webb but after that, he would hold tenth on lock down. He would distance himself from the riders ahead of him and keep it steady there in tenth. Late in the race, his strong endurance began to show as the riders ahead of him began to slow in the heat and roughness of the track. This allowed him to get within striking distance of Peick, but he would be unable to get the pass done. He simply ran out of time. Merriam still had to be ecstatic with how his day went because his 12-10 moto scores earned him ninth overall, his second ever top ten overall nish in his young career. Merriam will look to make it two top tens in a row next weekend at our nal round in Indiana.
52 GRITMOTO • AUGUST 19, 2018