MARSHAL WELTIN

With fans of the Northwest excited for action to begin in the state of Washington, all in the crowd seemed to be on their feet — cheering for riders like Marshal Weltin who had charged through the season to arrive at this storied raceway. Throughout practice, where the track was heavily watered, he seemed to flourish amongst the slop — and took his ambition to the line for the opening sector of 450MX competition...as gate(s) fell, he stormed into the initial bend and encountered Horsepower Hill for the first circuit of the afternoon. The roost was almost unbearable but he continuously charged forward with relentless grid aboard his Gizmo Mods, Rock River, Yamaha machine. Weltin had been a staple among the top-twenty for countless seasons now, but again, seemed to advance higher within the 450cc hierarchy as laps progressed in Washougal. He began the first moto in sixteenth, and immediately began to climb with swift lines through the wooded areas of the course. Even amongst the sand, he would land on the rear tire and power to the top of some of the highest elevation on the track with his Yamaha engine revved to the maximum extent! He and Kyle Chisholm were on a similar trajectory, and the veteran rider aboard the Suzuki seemed to relentlessly pursued him until around the fifth lap...when Malcolm Stewart would enter into the scenario. Marshal would keep Malcolm at bay for four laps, until the veteran, established Husqvarna rider garnered enough speed to work his way around. At that point (i.e. circuit number nine), Weltin seemed to declare that he was going to follow the number twenty-seven machine for as long as possible...and would do so, with incredible line(s) and maneuvering aboard his Yamaha chassis. Three laps to go, two laps to go, and so on...and Weltin remained within the line of fire — he was resilient amongst treacherous conditions and would arrive at the checkered flag to secure a notable eleventh place standing. For the second round of competition, Marshal appeared more determined than ever. He started twelfth, and the Michigan native immediately began to search for outside lines upon the rutted canvas, using every bit of the raceway as a means of making passes. It correlated to advancements, where he occupied eleventh for a significant portion of time...and that would turn into tenth, after passing Derek Kelley. He then proceeded to challenge factory rider, Christian Craig — whom he competed with at the highest level, and made the pass on lap nine! From that point onward, it was a display of attrition and fortitude...where Weltin excelled to the checkered flag to collect ninth for the moto...and tenth overall, for an absolutely brilliant performance!