race recap
COLE THOMPSON | GRIT-214 | 250SX
March 28, 2023 · Cole Thompson
COLE THOMPSON | GRIT-214 | SX 250
The veteran Canadian rider would continue his streak of successful finishes while stationed in Seattle, racing within the prestigious Lumen Field amongst 250cc West Coast categorization. The number eighty-three of Cole Thompson was familiar with what it took to thrive at the highest level in the sport, and would proceed to engage in a prominent output of speed from the moment the green flag was thrown for practice. Cole's precision aboard the Yamaha was world-class, where he timed his way through rhythm sections with perfection and made the difficult track in Washington look rather easy amongst the mud-ridden conditions for qualification. His elite precedent would continue into the heat race(s) that followed, where he immediately engaged in battle while contesting the likes of the top nine. He was on a similar pace to that of Anthony Rodriguez, where the Honda rider and he would be paralleled amongst the timing and scoring sheet as they aspired for higher single digit territory. Their antics would lead to them catching Kaeden Amerine who was just ahead, as the Kansas rider was riding extremely well but beginning to drift back ever so slightly with the checkered flag looming in the distance. A last lap charge would be made on behalf of Thompson as he sped toward the completion of the eighth lap, but it was too little too late in regard to overtaking the number eighty-nine. Solidified in eighth, Cole would then head to the finalé with his aspirations on another top-ten as a final result. The quest through the main event would be treacherous, with ruts filling the longest rhythm sections, and forcing Thompson to remain atop the foot-pegs as he exploded toward the sand. He powered through the rollers before the wall jump with immense rolling speed, scrubbing his way to the left before entering into the accompanying left-handed corner while trailing another veteran, Mitchell Oldenburg. Oldenburg was presenting an excellent pace aboard his Honda machine, and Thompson would vow to latch on as they sped through the halfway point. Thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen laps of competition were then completed; with the timer set to strike zero at any moment, with Thompson seeking to be actualized in tenth. And with mistake free riding in the final stages of the outing, it would be Thompson who claimed the aforementioned tenth place residency on the final leaderboard; riding extremely well, amongst the challenging circuit of Seattle.