March 2021 - Volume 6 - Issue 3 March 2021 | Page 119

Grant was able to keep his lead for the race , but it wasn ' t without pressure . In the last two laps of the race , Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing ' s Thad DuVall made a last ditch effort , putting everything he had to try and overtake the lead . He came close , but Grant dug deep and kept him at bay .
“ Thad started pressuring me really hard at the end ,” added Grant . “ The last two laps he was all over me . Going into the last lap , I saw I had about a five-second gap on him . I knew it was time to drop the hammer . I knew if he couldn ’ t see me , I could break away and get away . I made a lot of mistakes on the third to last lap , and that was why I was caught by those guys . It was a crazy race . I can ’ t believe I got it done here first round .”
But Grant and Josh weren ' t the only two riders to hold the lead position during this race . At the end of the first lap , it was FMF / KTM ' s Ben Kelley up front . Unfortunately , Ben ran into some bad luck , first getting stuck in a mud hole ( possibly the same one that got Beta ' s Max Fernandez ), then suffering a series of crashes and incidents with lappers . He was able to hold on just long enough to secure a fifth-place finish . It probably didn ' t help that he came into the race with knee issues .
photo credit : Shan Moore VOL . 6 ISSUE 3 - MARCH 2021 // PAGE 119