race recap
GRANT HARLAN | GRIT-221 | 450MX
June 2, 2023 · Grant Harlan
GRANT HARLAN | GRIT-221 | 450MX
The Yamaha rider, who excelled at the highest of levels in Supercross, would return to action for the AMA Pro Motocross Championship...and Grant Harlan was visualizing making the quite the impact on the 450cc division at Fox Raceway; knowingly surrounded by some of the best professionals in all of the world, and ready to stake his claim amongst the top-ten without hesitation. Following solid practice efforts, Harlan would rocket out of the gate and into the first moto where he dug the rear wheel into the California soil to garner as much traction as possible. And after fighting through the first few corners and over the largest step-up on the track, his pathway through the steep uphill and rocky switchback section thereafter would have him prevailing around the tenth-place position as laps would then unfold. He would be battling with Jose Butron while keeping Kyle Chisholm at bay, where both riders were looking to pull away but the Hawaii native stayed resilient as he passed through the first quarter of the moto. Thriving as he went past the mechanic's area, he would be granted reassurance by his crew chief with a memo of lap-times and encouraging words; which empowered him to eventually pass Butron as he still competed for a single digit finish. Jerry Robin was just ahead of him as they neared the checkered flag, and though the number seventy-eight would yearn to pass the Minnesota native, Harlan remained aware of where he stood in regard to overall contention...taking ninth prior to heading into the second round. For moto two, Harlan's start for the first moto was equated to tenth - but he quickly leaped into seventh after passing Butron, Freddie Noren, and Jerry Robin! Not long thereafter, would he and Derek Drake begin to battle, with Harlan making a pass stick while occupying a north sixth-place residency! Only factory riders were ahead of him, and the charging, Adam Cianciarulo, wasn't making up speed as quickly as many predicted. Therefore as laps continued to dwindle, it was Harlan who remained the rider who occupied sixth on the leaderboard. Emotions were high and the stakes were even higher as he sped toward the final section of jumps on the last lap, but with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment, Harlan would clench sixth in the final standings for a phenomenal seventh-place overall in Pala!