GRIT 308 — 450SX — 4th — Jorge Prado

KTM's Jorge Prado was continuing to gain confidence, in the SX genre of competition. His skills were obvious, as he raced onto the canvas in St.Louis. He was beginning to combine a multitude of strong traits together...including remarkable corner speed as he accelerated through the switchback section, near the mechanic's area. If he could just blend, his world-renowned starting skills with a bit of furthered stamina, there would be no doubt, that he could contend for high-level finishes. He appeared to be "locked-in" so to speak, as engines were engaged for the second, 450SX Heat race of the evening. Upon sprinting from the gate, Prado would immediately ascend to around the fifth-place position. There were a multitude of strong contenders not far from his rear wheel, including Eli Tomac. In the laps that followed, Prado would focus more on the paths) of Malcolm Stewart, Ken Roczen, and Hunter Lawrence. The forward-thinking mentality would lead to an eventual pass being made on Oregon's Justin Hill. That position swap, occurred on lap four...as Prado acted rather swiftly with the advancement. From there, he could sense that the red-plate holder, was only a few seconds behind him. But, with the accumulation of confidence he had acquired through his many years at the top, Prado knew that he could keep the racing legend at bay. With immense self belief and fortitude, Jorge would ultimately do so -taking the fourth-place accolade, as the checkered flag waved for this divisional round! In the main event that followed, Jorge would burst off of the grate and onto the canvas with the utmost aggression. This led to a standing of second, being contended for (as he and Ken Roczen) would race side by side for a number of sections. The three-way battle (between Lawrence, Prado, and Roczen) would lead to a series of unbelievable passes...including when Jorge would block-pass Hunter, via left-handed bowl turn, to take the lead! While crossing over the ruts was rather dangerous, Prado showed no regard for fear while taking the lead for a few seconds thereafter. However, both

opponents would blast past in the whoops...only for Jorge to sneak underneath Hunter (once more) in the corner thereafter! The narrative was incredible, and from here (on lap one) through the thirteenth circuit, he remained in the runner-up standing...before being passed by Justin Cooper and Hunter Lawrence in the laps thereafter (after an admirable line of defense was put forth by Prado). In the concluding stages of the contest, Jorge excelled despite a bit of a lessened pace...and after navigating through the challenging track, Prado would collect fourth, within the final standings!