race recap
DYLAN FERRANDIS - GRIT 229 450MX
August 16, 2023
DYLAN FERRANDIS | GRIT-229 | 450MX
It appeared as though Dylan Ferrandis had regained his flow aboard the Yamaha machine as action transpired on Saturday. The French rider would be stellar throughout practice and proceeded to blast from the gate(s) of moto number-one, evading rocks and pellets of all sizes while securing fifth on the leaderboard as the green flag waved. It would be a process of chipping away at the lead in which Jett Lawrence created from that point and onward, though the terrain of the course seemed to agree with Ferrandis' repertoire of skills. He would pass Garrett Marchbanks and Adam Cianciarulo en route to securing third, which was monitored by all when seeing his lap-times rival that of the Australian rider out front. Steadily, Ferrandis would gain ground on that of Sexton ahead...so much so, that in the final ten minutes of action, it really appeared as if Ferrandis could make a charge toward both of the adversaries ahead of him! He refused to quit, which resulted in sequence of pressuring that (unfortunately) led him to the rear wheel of Sexton as the number twenty-three crashed to the ground! This would be with roughly two and a half laps to go, and as Ferrandis sprinted to the outside of the downed Honda rider, he then sought to chase Jett Lawrence! Dylan would charge with all of his might, and bring the crowd to an enormous cheer - with a less than two-second gap being sustained as the final flag was thrown! Though frustrated, it was apparent that Ferrandis was on the right path for that of moto-two as well. However, a lackluster jump (and first turn sequence) would force Ferrandis to have to dig from the back of the field to arrive in eighth as the first full lap concluded. Again, the fighting spirit of the Frenchman flourished as ruts became deeper, and he would put as much power to the ground as possible as the pegs hovered for hundreds of feet just above the Unadilla racing surface! Passing numerous MXGP riders (who were briefly racing this series) along with Adam Cianciarulo and Jason Anderson, Ferrandis would secure third by the sixth circuit...where it was then a process of trying to mimic the pace the Illinois resident. Though his speed wasn't enough to ever overtake the Honda rider, Dylan's charge (to third) would be applauded by all in attendance as he jumped out of the finish line valley on one final occasion - cemented in third for the moto, and third overall as well.