race recap
MITCHELL OLDENBURG | GRIT-220 | 250SX
May 15, 2023 · Mitchell Oldenburg

MITCHELL OLDENBURG| GRIT-220 | SX 250
Demanding attention from all who opposed, Mitchell Oldenburg's composure when rolling onto the start straightaway for practice on Saturday would immediately indicate that he was ready for the task at hand. He would let his Honda engine idle while slowly revving the throttle prior to being waved onto the track, where he unleashed a plethora of prominent lap-times throughout day-time qualification. His combination of doubling and tripling in the rhythm lane that preceded the corner underneath the tunnel jump was spectacular, and was noted by countless mechanic's beyond the barrier on the straightaway that followed. Which would lead to him immediately establishing a gate position within the West coast divisional round, alongside the series champion, Jett Lawrence. He would defend the fifth-place position from the likes of Mitchell Harrison immediately, beginning his blitz of the whoops with a slightly diagonal trajectory (from the right side of the track to the left) in order to nullify the charge of the GasGas rider who trailed. Their battle would be gridlocked while competing for the for the aforementioned spot in the standing(s), while nearly bumping wheels in the final left-handed corner before the finish line prior to the halfway point being cast! He was landing from every double, triple, and obstacle alike, with the throttle pinned; generating as much RPM as possible before embarking into the furthered segment, and maintaining a steady-state of speed that would propel him well into the discussion of a top-six finish, after only being passed by Enzo Lopes. The formula on this hard-packed soil was to maintain traction while counteracting wheel-spin; which would cause problems for even that of Levi Kitchen and Jett Lawrence who led the field around. But all in all, he was able to generate enough momentum to maintain the placement of sixth to the finish-line, where the main event would then await him. As the fans then rose to their feet for the finalé, there were few words that could describe the intensity that was being exhibited by rivaled members of 250cc competition from opposing coasts. He would find his machine beside that of Max Anstie and Haiden Deegan throughout the first third of the moto, where one small error could result in a substantial amount of time lost amongst a track layout where riders wouldn't deviate much. After rounding the completion of the eighth lap, it was evident that he was searching for loam(y) berm(s) that were scattered around the circuit; hoping to ricochet and pivot when necessary, while adopting a continuous pace (on the outside) when opposition wasn't trying to pass him to the inside. This would lead into the final four laps (or so) where he and two Pro Circuit riders (i.e. Carson Mumford and Chris Blose) were in a fight for the ninth-place residency, and even though an applaud-worthy effort was broadcast by that of the number fifty-two (i.e. Mumford), it would be the MotoConcept's rider (Oldenburg) who was able to obtain the further(ed) position in which they both desired.