ENZO LOPES | GRIT-215 | 250SX

ENZO LOPES | GRIT-215 | SX 250

The whereabouts of Enzo Lopes were always known by his competition, as the native of Brazil had been a mainstay amongst the top-tier of overall results for the majority of his superb career. And he continued on that trajectory for the round of racing in Glendale, where a fourth-place position would be gathered in qualifying prior to entering into the trio of main events that were to begin during the evening hours. And as the inception of the first round came to fruition, it was Jett Lawrence and Levi Kitchen who resided in the top-two, amid the opening stages. However, an unfortunate red flag would cause the field to realign on the grid, where Lopes start was less than desired (around the fifteenth-position) in the earliest moments. He then pursued after the top-eight who were not far ahead, and it was evident that he yearned to push forward when emphasizing a charging emphasis in the corner(s) thereafter the whoop section. His number fifty-six machine would flourish across the airways of both triples, but it was easy to distinguish his urgency of returning to the racetrack as he compressed both fork(s) and shock onto the takeoff each time he rounded the Glendale circuit. Nearly clipping the outer tuff-blocks before the whoop section on the seventh lap, he could sense that a pack of riders were on the brink of clipping his rear wheel...or at least attempting to a make a risky pass amongst the highest berms the layout had to offer. Lopes would somehow stay fearless during those critical moments in time, and proceeded to burst forward without thinking twice; despite rampant blurs of motorcycles speckled into his peripheral vision! His courage was prolific and eventually helped him reside seventh as the dust settled on the opening outtake of the three-race series. Not long thereafter, would he be contending for ninth amongst the first laps of moto two. He would do his best to round the right-handed corner before the final double (on the circuit) on the inside, where he simultaneously could hear the outpouring of power from Cole Thompson's engine just behind. Landing on the throttle (time and time again), the true velocity of his motor was then showcased as his front-wheel attempted to lift while speeding across the start straightaway; his chest leaned over the handlebars in hopes of keeping the chassis on the ground! Nevertheless, he refused to cease from his momentous charge forward; eyeing fifth in the moto two standings with less than two minutes remaining on the clock. He then concluded the race in the aformentinoed fifth-place standing prior to beginning the finale of the trilogy. The track was severely deteriorated by this point in time, and a riders sense of finding smooth lines would be paramount as laps immediately were amassed. His execution of the third and fourth circuits (while inside the top-five) would be pivotal in pushing to a fifth-place overall. He would refute the countering of Pierce Brown's GasGas machine throughout the quest, continuing to push forward despite the soil now providing little (if any) traction! He then made the move on the thirty-three with a fluid pass prior to the halfway point, gunning for the top-three as time laps continued to amass. The eroded grounds would plague many of those outside the top-fifteen, but his surge of speed within the last four minutes would be a tactic that defeated countless others in his lunge toward fifth overall...which was obtained via an excellent fourth-place result in this moto, respectively.

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