SOLID SIXTH FOR BAGGETT AT SANTA CLARA SX

2015-04-21 08:51
Blake Baggett bounced back to earn his best finish in four rounds aboard his Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z450 Saturday night in front of 42,336 fans in the inaugural race inside Levi Stadium, Santa Clara in California.

His sixth-place result was Baggett’s best result since he scored a podium at Daytona in March. It also marked his 11th top-10 finish of the season and kept Baggett ranked sixth in the AMA/ FIM World Supercross Series with just two events left to go.

It was the first time the Supercross series visited the new home of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers and Baggett was up to speed quickly on the challenging layout, finishing timed qualifying in seventh.

“It’s a real rocky hard base,” Baggett said of the racing surface of the new track. “It’s kind of gooey down in between where they tried to soak it, so it’s got some ruts at the bottom. All in all it’s a technical track, really hard to get everything precise with all the rocks. It’s hard to judge how much wheel-spin you’re going to get in some areas.”

Baggett had the track and his Yoshimura RM-Z450 dialed-in enough to go directly into the Main by finishing a close fourth his Heat race.

In the Main Baggett began the race in 12th on the first lap, but on this night he was able to use the razor-sharp handling of his RM-Z450 to rapidly make his way through the field.

In one outstanding lap (lap two) Baggett passed five riders to get up to seventh. He wasn’t going to stop there. He moved as high as inside the top-five before a slip late in the race put him back to his ultimate finishing spot of sixth.

“I felt good in some sections tonight,” Baggett said after the race. “I just got tight in the Main. I came up on (Justin) Barcia and got behind him and couldn’t really find a good opening to get around him. Then I made a mistake in a rhythm lane and the guys behind me caught me. It was what it was; I’ll just have to go back and work on my racecraft and get ready to do battle next weekend. I’ll be doing some outdoor testing as well and see what we can do next week in New Jersey.”

There are just two races left in the 2015 AMA/ FIM World Supercross Series. Next Saturday, April 25th, the bright lights of New York City will shine on the series as it flies cross-country to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Source: Team Suzuki Press Office

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