RYDER DIFRANCESCO GRIT-229 250MX

RYDER DIFRANCESCO | GRIT-229 | 250MX

California's Ryder DiFrancesco wouldn't grow up racing on conditions or layout(s) that were similar to that of Unadilla. This Northeastern relic was one-of-a-kind, and forced riders to adapt immediately to the ruts in which were carved, otherwise mistakes and crashes were destined to be made. However after qualifying thirteenth, it was apparent that Ryder "D" was on his way to a superb overall finish - and turned that notion into thirteenth, as the green flag was waved for the first moto. Whipping the chassis over the largest "Sky Jump" on the circuit, his velocity when flowing through the makeshift straightaway thereafter was incredible. Regardless of how loose the rear wheel became, or the amount of head-shake that occurred amongst the handlebars, Ryder remained resilient in his pursuit of a faster lap-time. DiFrancesco would demonstrate tremendous staying power and prove that his training routine was paralleled to those at the top of the sport...especially after undergoing a crash on lap four that had him descending from ninth to fifteenth. But with plenty of time left to spare, Ryder began to go to work. His inside foot would hover just above the racing surface of Unadilla, with the inner foot-peg carving into one groove after another. And his eye-sight would penetrate the ground that was constantly approaching, as one sudden laps of movement (or loss of focus) would result in a serious mistake being made...but the intelligence of Ryder would pay off as the checkered flag neared. He could see that of Tom Vialle a bit ahead, but rather than over exert himself (after already climbing through the pack) DiFrancesco would choose to race with a veteran-like craft as the checkered flag was thrown - eventually finishing in ninth as the dust settled. Following the two-portion delay of the second moto (where even a red flag caused the field to "re-rack" on the starting line), Ryder remained steadfast through it all. So much so, that he was actually credited with the hole-shot, prior to leading the field around on lap number one! It was an ongoing process of adjusting to the pace while having the racing world on your shoulders...but Ryder obliged and continued to power forward regardless of what was occurring around him. This led him to a pace that as just off that of the top-ten and had him defending his position of twelfth as action ceased in New Berlin...leading to a tremendous eighth-overall, prior to departing to round ten of the current championship.

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