NATE THRASHER - GRIT 246 250SX

GRIT-246 |250 SX

May 20, 2024 9:45 am

Following Levi Kitchen's dominant run in Seattle last weekend, the number fifty-seven of Nate Thrasher seemed motivated to try and rival the rider from Washington (as many others were) within practice sessions of St.Louis. The moment to try and combat the Kawasaki athlete was now, creating a crucial narrative of strong start(s) plus witty maneuvering amongst the deteriorating soils on this Missouri layout. Once the stage had been set for the opening moto of 250cc SX competition, his execution of a strong start would be accompanied by his clutch release. Once gathering a standing of fourth, the process of making passes on opponents like Jo Shimoda would be quite difficult. He constantly searched for a way around the Honda rider who stood ahead of him; but couldn't make the move as the fifth-lap came to pass. Never discouraged, he continued to race forward with authority while tripling through the longest rhythm lane; using every inch of travel his suspension allowed, all the while pulling away from Julien Beaumer (after passing the KTM rider) who had began to descend throughout the running order. Categorized in fifth, there was little time to waste before beginning the next moto. Once engaged within the first few laps, there was little that could deter him from continuously heightening his lap-time. Blitzing the whoops before ducking into the next left-handed corner, there was a persistent competitor by the name of Phil Nicoletti who wasn't going to let him slip away that easily. Through three, four, and five minutes of action, the battle remained tight-knit...seperated by milliseconds as they halfway point was overtaken. Carving through the ruts as his chassis appeared to be flowing on the right track, there was an instance (around the eighth-minute mark) where Garrett Marchbanks appeared to gain a bit of ground...but he combatted the charge, and ultimately resided fifth as the checkered flag waved. For the final round, Levi Kitchen was the rider who took the green flag and attempted to blitz away from the pack of furious competitors. However, as he crested the latter "SX" triple on lap two, it was evident that he was willing to put forth a multitude of blazing laps in order to keep the leader in check. Squaring-up various bowl corners, there was an expectation that he would prolong his surge into the final stages of the moto - thriving with the extensive duration of this Triple Crown sequence...and upon taking the checkered flag (with a phenomenal average lap-time) his final residency of sixth, ahead of KTM's Julien Beaumer, propelled him to fifth in the final standings.

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