Page 32 - GRIT-83

JAKE NICHOLLS
450 MX / 10TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Coming into the Red Bud National, Jake Nicholls was looking for a bit of inner motiva- tion, something to really get him up and going. Searching far and wide, he didn’t know if it was going to be a recurring thought to spark the light needed, or an idea taken from his immediate surroundings. However, when rolling through the gates of this pristine facility, it hit him. The amount of history this race provided, coupled with the huge amount of fans in attendance, and had him marveling at the chance to compete. In practice, he took advantage of every lap given to him, using the allotted time slot to the fullest extent. Just prior to conclusion, he took one go-around to really let this feeling resonate; trying his best let the present sink in. It was then time to ip the switch, and head to the line for the rst moto. Shortly after the referee signaled to engage, he rocketed out of the line, letting the holeshot device release as he rode the back wheel up the start straight. Looking to move forward in a rather upbeat-tempo, he found himself situated near the twelfth place mark. He had no time to waste, as the front-runners of the championship were in full- sprint mode throughout his horizontal view. He began to drag the rear brake a bit going into a few of these corners, especially the initial downhill after the start; it was a way for the chassis to soften the blow, and for him to keep power to the ground. It would work, as ever so slightly, he would pull from . The steam generated off of his locomotive, both within the shell, and underneath the seat, would place him in ninth by race end. After a brief intermission, he was back aboard the starting gate, with the mechanic beside him. A quick word of encouragement, placed him into his zone, and before he could blink,
the race was under way. Scrubbing the nish line jump with all of his might, he noticed Toshiki Tomita was attempting to match his pace early on. Thinking to himself, “there must be someway to throw him off my path”, he began to violently cut left and right, in ef cient fashion. It wasn’t dirty in the slightest, but his arcing lines could miss the biggest portions of chop, while still ducking in at the last second, preparing to hit the optimal rut. He continued to do this throughout the moto, which would secure thirteenth place; once the computer system would run its tallies, it would be enough for tenth overall.
32 GRITMOTO • JULY 1, 2018