race recap
DEREK KELLEY | GRIT-219 | 250SX
May 9, 2023 · Derek Kelley
DEREK KELLEY | GRIT-219 | SX 250
The Colorado track would be a proving ground for many of those in the 250cc SX division, but for solidified prospects like Riverside, California's Derek Kelley, there was an immediate aura and sense of confidence that rippled from his riding style from the moment the initial green flag would wave for practice. Flying over the finish line double, he would land on the throttle with the rear wheel spinning; crouching with his left leg hanging off the motorcycle before ducking into the berm that followed, scurrying onto the straightaway that followed with a means of clenching the strongest lap-time possible. He was magnificent through every facet of the track, earning an immediate bit of transferring into heat one, where he joined Levi Kitchen and RJ Hampshire on the starting gate. His confidence when blitzing the whoop section on laps one and two would be evident, putting the crowd on their feet as the rear wheel of his KTM dug into the soil and berm that followed. Doing his best to compress both, the forks and shock as he sped atop the vertical takeoff of the wall jump that followed, upon landing you could sense the urgency he possessed to obtain a position inside the top-three. Lap after lap, his pace was considered a mainstay by those who watched from afar; even rivaling managers and mechanic's inside the paddock, where he appeared to possess a speed and sense of style that would ultimately be synonymous with Maximus Vohland. Though eventually passed by the number thirty-four, the effort(s) of Kelley were sensational...and upon concluding the ten-lap affair in the fourth-place position, he then looked forward to the main event that was on the horizon. Doing his best to obtain spot inside the top ten as the pack would disperse, his speed in the rhythm section after the first turn would be enough to occupy sixth ahead of Oregon's Max Miller. The racing was intense, causing many in the field to have a spike of heart-rate(s) and subsequent lapse of stamina; but his authority and commanding of the chassis when flowing through rhythm lanes was unlike few others within the field. He would do his best to mimic Mitchell Oldenburg who was ahead of him, and would maintain a solid pace behind the number forty-nine as the clock continued to dwindle to zero. And with that never ending momentum, Kelley would make an eventual move on Carson Mumford; translating to a remarkable seventh-place score in Colorado prior to heading to Salt Lake City next weekend.