race recap
GRANT HARLAN GRIT-227 450MX
July 18, 2023 · Grant Harlan
GRANT HARLAN | GRIT-227 | 450MX
The Yamaha rider, who now calls the state of Texas, home, would be excelling at the highest of speeds while attending the Spring Creek National on Saturday. Grant Harlan had demonstrated immense versatility throughout the 2023 racing season thus far, where he had toggled between various Supercross formats, and the current outdoor championship, while rarely (if ever) taking any time away from professional competition! Therefore his repertoire of skills would flourish as the moto-one festivities began for the day in Minnesota, where he began the moto in eleventh and was eager to make as many moves as possible (and quickly). He would adopt the outside line, before Mt. Martin, on more than one occasion - leaping amongst the multitude of rollers and steep takeoff's to conduct tremendous tripling combinations, when able to. This would allow him to gain time on various opponents, and aided his overtaking of riders like Jerry Robin when nearing the halfway point. Once into the top-ten, he would identify the strong-points of various riders around him...but seemed extremely comfortable within a ninth-place designation as minutes continued to lapse. Harlan would crest every newfound single and anthill on the racing circuit with speed, blasting his way over the top and onto the straightaway that followed with an abundance of RPM on behalf of his engine, throwing roost from his rear tire all the while! He would eventually adopt a flow that was synonymous with Ty Masterpool, and though unable to get around the Kawasaki rider, his expertise would still possess strong enough velocities to equate to ninth in the final running order. For moto two, Harlan's completion of the first full lap would equate to ninth - but with passes being made on both Ty Masterpool and Phil Nicoletti, Harlan was then recognized as a competitor in seventh! Harlan would stand his ground as laps began to pass, proving that he was an elite racer in every regard; and as the track became rougher, the skillset of Harlan would rise to an even higher level. His attitude was all about finding a flow and continuing to develop as minutes passed by, where the checkered flag appeared in the distance. He and Masterpool then underwent a battle that was applauded by all in attendance, and despite being overtaken by the fellow Texan, Harlan's perseverance never wavered. Grant would eventually cross the line in seventh, which was strong enough for tremendous eighth-place overall in the record book!