The following is from Precision Concepts, regarding the Gorman, California, round of the AMA District 37/MSR Big 6 Grand Prix Series:
The penultimate round of the District 37 BIG 6 Grand Prix series, presented by MSR, offers a notoriously tough racecourse. Being later in the year, the shadows that are cast off of the surrounding mountains from the falling sun hide the whoops and square edges that rest in the hard-packed terrain. In addition, an unfortunate incident in the race preceding the West Coast Grand Prix main event, in which numerous riders had to be medically evacuated, meant that the start of the final race of the day would be delayed and subsequently shortened to 75 minutes in length, rather than the traditional 90.
With a slightly shorter race-length, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC/Precision Concepts/Maxxis race team’s Justin Seeds knew that the start would be hyper-critical, and when the green light signaled the start of the race, he was able to come out of the first turn with the lead.
“I had a good jump,” said Seeds of his start, “but [Justin] Jones was on the inside of me and he had the same jump…we came together a little bit and I checked up and he sent it into [Eric] Yorba so I was able to sneak around the inside and get the lead early.”
Seeds would hold the lead for over half of the first lap before a hard-charging Dalton Shirey was able to make the pass and move Seeds back to second.
“I saw Dalton behind me and I was trying to hold him off until we got to the dusty sections in the off road, but I hit a square edge whoop in the shadows and almost went over the bars,” Seeds said. “I felt like I needed to make a pit stop after that to change my shorts. It took a minute to get my bearings back [after the close-call] and Dalton was able to sneak by me.”
Seeds held a strong second place until the second-to-last lap when a few slower lapped riders allowed Eric Yorba to get within striking distance.
“I could see Yorba coming, but I was able to keep a good gap,” Seeds said. “But then Yorba must have put the hammer down and caught [and passed] me.”
As the white flag came out, the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC, Precision Concepts crew had calculated that Justin wouldn’t need to pit, so as Yorba came in for a quick splash of gas, Justin was able to just edge him out as he exited the pits. The two charged through the motocross section of the course, aiming to be the first to hit the dust, when a slide-out cost Justin his drive out of a corner and Yorba was able to finalize the move into second.
“I’m happy with third today, and we’ll go into the final round at [Lake] Elsinore and try to kill it,” Seeds said. “I’m excited for the final round. I love motocross so I’m looking forward to the [motocross-oriented] track.”
Seeds will be competing next weekend, November 12, at the Lake Elsinore Grand Prix in Lake Elsinore, California.
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