From 14th to 1st – Detroit Delivered!
That's how I know I can ride.
When I don't perform the way I know I'm capable of performing, I'm pretty hard on myself. Me, my family, and the people around me put in so much work. With that said, I'm really stoked with that main event – I put everything together well, except for the start, and I still made it happen.
The week coming into Detroit, I just wanted to focus on how I know I can ride. This track was sick – I like the ruts, I like when it's technical, and I felt really good from the moment I hit the track.
Qualifying was the best it's been all year. In Q1, I topped the session with a 52.151 – my first time qualifying first all season. In Q2, I went even faster, laying down a 51.838 before topping my own time with a 51.638. Back-to-back qualifying sessions on top heading into the night show felt amazing.
The heat race started well. I came out 3rd and rode smart as the track was super slick. It got pretty wild in the last couple of laps – my teammate Dundey had a huge one in the whoops. With just one lap remaining, the leader made a mistake and I took advantage, made the pass, put my head down, and won the heat.
The main event start was sketchy. I came together with Shock and I'm pretty sure my hand blew off the bars. I crossed the holeshot line in 14th. After the opening couple of laps, I'd managed to work my way into 6th with about a 5-second gap to the lead. 4th and 3rd were right there battling it out, and I knew I could make up time in the whoops. Each lap I picked them off and set my sights on Jo and Seth with around 11 minutes to go, roughly a 3-second gap to the lead.
Jo and I had a decent battle, which was good fun – we exchanged positions a couple of times. With 10 minutes to go, I moved into 2nd with 4 seconds to the lead. I managed to take the lead through the whoops with just over 5 minutes remaining. On the final lap, I stretched the lead out to 12 seconds.
We extended the championship lead to 9 points heading into the next East vs West Shootout.
Big thanks to the team, my family, and everyone who's been behind me. We keep pushing.
Chur, Cole 🤙
