Page 111 - NOVEMBER-18

125 C
THE MOTOPLAYGROUND RACE
at Ponca City
JAGGER KOCH >> 2
With the hit song “Moves Like Jagger” being blared across airwaves for seemingly months on end, the song portrayed the dance moves of Mick Jagger, rather than anything significant in the motocross world. But motocross fans were singing that hymn as well after watching Jagger Koch devour this Ponca City race- course with a particular finesse and fluidity that was
out of this world. He was exceptional, all throughout practice, whipping the bike left and ride, all the while throwing down ultra competitive laptimes. If he could just put this type of riding into an aggressive race mode, he would be in great contention for a podium finish...So here we are, lining up for the first moto, and Koch comes screaming off the line, banging through the gear box, and using the clutch as little as possible. About thirty feet off the line, all he sees is he and Jacob Shade, who he ducks behind and trails until the open- ing flag. Shade then makes a mistake, allowing Koch
to get around and establish himself as the lead dog on the sled of the 125 C division. Stretching out the lead little by little, he would dip into the one minute, forty- eight second range, reaching for the checkered flag with everything he had. With Tristin Moffitt trailing, he knew he couldn’t get too relaxed, otherwise the fellow Yamaha rider would reach up and snatch the lead from him. After the conclusion of the race, Koch was beyond excited. Unfortunately, the start of the first moto wasn’t replicated into the second, and Koch was forced to play a serious game of catch up. Thirteenth on the first lap, he had to fight and claw his way through traffic, forego- ing turn signals and blinker indications. It was an abso- lute mess, but he still somehow found a way to move from thirteenth, to ninth by lap three. He was going to keep digging, until the referee forced him off the track, so by lap four, he would jump up another four places. He wanted one more for the road, and as the check- ered flag would come about, he would be sitting sound in fourth place; man, what an awesome ride. Despite his first lap circumstances, he would end the day with a second overall. It was disappointing to him at first, as to be expected. However, with the outright speed that he possesses, he’s a threat to constantly win titles.
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