GRANT HARLAN | GRIT-220 | 450SX

GRANT HARLAN | GRIT-220 | SX 450

Even with the precipitation that would accumulate on the stadium floor of this Salt Lake City venue, by all means, would the soil turn to a spectacular racing canvas for these 450cc SX athletes to compete on. Texas' Grant Harlanwould take advantage of it immediately, as everyone in the class strove to combat Chase Sexton and his usual qualification antics aboard the Honda 450cc machine. He was prolific when gathering an array of strong lap-times, which would translate to an eventual position within the second 450cc SX heat; where immense anticipation would be garnered prior to shifting into gear. Though the rhythm lanes were rather simplistic, Grantwould make things work via immense charging and scrubbing of his Manluk Rock River Racing Yamahamachine when necessary. He had to be mindful though, to not attack the tunnel jump after the finish-line to hard, otherwise a subsequent over jump (to flat) could result and cause serious damage to both he and his machine (as the straightaway thereafter had become extremely slick). He remained polished though, demonstrating a calculated sense of race-craft when pulling from that of GasGas' Justin Starlingwho trailed (although the Floridanative was adamant in overtaking him). Though it was just the heat race, many of these lines were already entrenched rather deeply into the exit(s) of various corners; which caused him to stay planted within a rut once initiating it, at the start of every bowl(ed) turn. He was precise with the throttle, which allowed him to toggle between tripling into (and out of) the rhythm section after the whoops (when an open lane was head of him). And with fearlessness, he ultimately prevailed ahead of Starlingto garner an incredible third place runbefore going to the main event; as many in the top nine would advance one more position, on behalf of Aaron Plessinger's crash. Hoping to conclude the season with a strong showing, Harlanunfortunately wasn't found within the top fifteen in the early going; all the while knowing that there was little time to waste on a rather confined Salt Lake City SX circuit. He would crest the roller before the whoops with immense rolling speed, continuously powering his engine forward when attacking the downslope, and immediately transitioning from sitting to standing prior to blasting through the moguls. Looking forward in a constant pursuit of a higher position he could see Cade Clasonattempting to infiltrate the top-ten as minutes continued to pass; but his confidence wasn't folding. Continuing to blast through the right-handed corner before the finish line double, his wheel spin was rather minuscule in regard to his pursuit of the finish line; where countless opponents had been overtaken and Harlan was riding with an ability in these muddy conditions, that few others could even imagine! His line choice was swift and promoted an array of passes when moving from thirteenth to twelfth, and eventually eleventh...prior to pushing ahead of Kevin Moranz (for tenth) with the checkered flag only minutes away. And upon concluding the moto in the aforementioned position, Harlan's tenacity when digging through the field would prove, that he possessed an elite skillset to thrive throughout the rest of the SuperMotocross World Championship.

More from GRIT