Page 58 - DECEMBER_MPG

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MPG • DECEMBER • 2017
MICHAEL CLARKE
The age of 25, a time where most have departed from college, and are beginning career path’s, transitioning fully into the role of adult; that, according to most in society, seems to be a normal train of thought. However, if you’ve had any ties to the motocross community growing up, you know good and well what that age brings. The youth classes have come and gone, and you’re now considered a vet- eran, or “vet” for short. At first glance, it can make one feel a bit old, maybe a tad outdated. Many, on the outside looking in, may wonder, “Do these guys have anything left?” But not so my fast my friend, it is here, where you can find some of the most intense racing of an event, coupled with the quickest of laptimes. It’s a mix of both maturity and speed, blossoming into a well-oiled machine, striving for efficiency, rather than reckless abandon. Each corner is carved with solid technique, rollers are caressed with throttle sensitivity; and there’s truly a reason for every move these competitors make. And at the 2017 Mini O’s, it was almost if the crowd concluded this same train of thought, as the fences were packed, waiting for the riders to jump off the grid. The first moto brought a series of uncertainty, as