PHIL NICOLETTI - GRIT 238 250SX

PHIL NICOLETTI | GRIT-238 | 250 SX

Despite undergoing numerous unfortunate circumstances thus far this year Phil Nicoletti has remained resilient and focused on the path ahead. The racing canvas in Anaheim (for this occasion) was considerably dry, which was to the delight of many on the starting grid. Nicoletti had shown over the course of his career that he could conform to a multitude of competitive surfaces, but undoubtedly had preferred for Mother Nature to remain rather obsolete on this particular Saturday evening. Once qualification was finalized, it was time to aim for the green flag of main event one; where he resided around a position of eighth and sprinted toward the double just after turn one with untamed aggression. Landing on the throttle as he worked his way to the mechanic's area, the grip the racetrack provided was optimal at this point in time and allowed him to sweep through corners that had little to no top soil. For instance, his momentum through the left-handed sweeper that had now had rollers was astonishing; floating through the middle portion of the course where opponents couldn't divert to the inside, nor sling to the outside as the fifth minute had transpired. He'd acknowledged that KTM's Talon Hawkins was behind him, but knew that his veteran-prowess could outlast the younger competitor as they crept into the final stages. Inching his way toward an eventual checkered flag, he was categorized in a respectable seventh-place standing before preparing for the next main event. An incredible hole-shot was then displayed by the New York native and after holding the lead for well over three minutes of action, Nicoletti was passed by both RJ Hampshire and Levi Kitchen. Adrenaline would carry over into the next sector of laps, where he leaned into hard-packed trenches that were now just more than a tire width. The consecutive right-handed corner after the latter portion of whoops, would develop quite the arc; especially, when leaping from the departing single and onto the start straightaway. Yet Nicoletti seemed to tap into an outdoor persona per se, and flourish as if he were racing on a hard-packed national track. After around six minutes of action, the gap between he and Kitchen seemed to be too much to overcome...but Honda's Jo Shimoda was beginning to make a run for his (current) third place position. The fight and will to succeed by the veteran was commendable, but the push to the finish line would be a bit deflated as Jo snuck to the inside with only two corners remaining...deterring Nicoletti to fourth, yet still showcasing a well-respected effort. His opening position of thirteenth (for moto-three) quickly deterred to a standing outside of the top-twenty...which was discouraging given the amount of effort that Phil had presented throughout the evening. Though at the tail end of the field, Nicoletti would never give up through the twelve lap process - rallying as far forward as possible in order to salvage points...and as engines ceased, the eighteenth in the final round was enough to generate tenth overall on the final statistics sheet.

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