Brayton Earns First Career 450 Motocross Win
Bratyon’s day did not start off as well as it ended. He received a 10th place start in the first moto, lost a few positions early on and then worked his way forward as the moto progressed. By the moto end he had climbed to 11th position.
The second moto was the moto Brayton, his fans, and KTM will remember for life. Brayton pulled the holeshot from the start and led every lap from start to finish earning his first career 450 Motocross win. Brayton’s win was not without a challenge. Kawasaki rider Jake Moss would appear and disappear throughout the moto trying to get close enough to strike but never made a move. Brayton eventually pulled a gap and went on to take the win and earn his first career 450 podium. Brayton is only the second rider to ever win a 450 Motocross moto aboard a KTM motorcycle.
Helping to push Brayton to the front was the KTM/FMF MX Fan Experience crowd of 215 KTM guests that cheered as loud as they could each lap he passed by. Brayton saluted the die-hard fans on the final lap with a look over.
“This is the coolest thing to happen to me. I have worked so hard,” exclaimed Brayton on the podium. “This is definitely my biggest career highlight. I don’t think it has quite sunk in that I just won a moto. I would like to think my Jagermeister/MDK/KTM Team for all of their hard work. Everyone on my team puts in 100% each week and we finally got a win.”
Also, earning an impressive ride was Ryan Sipes of the Muscle Milk/MDK/KTM team. Sipes had a great start the first moto, at one point he was sitting in 2nd, and eventually finished in a solid 6th place. The second moto he topped his first moto score with a 5th overall to earn 4th overall on the day. “I am progressing each week since my return from injury. It is good to know I am finishing where I was last year but I would have really liked to be healthy this season to have finished on the podium,” reported Sipes.
Sipes teammate Tommy Searle finished the season with a top ten score. His 13-6 moto scores earned him 9th overall. The final two teammates, Wil Hahn and Martin Davalos, had some unfortunate luck. Hahn suffered from bad starts and had to work his way through the pack while Davalos didn’t finish either moto after a crash in the first moto banged him up.
KTM Factory rider Sarah Whitmore put in her most impressive ride of the season. Whitmore had a decent start the first moto and finished in 5th position. The second moto Whitmore got her KTM up front early and was sitting in 2nd on the first lap. At one point she faded back to 4th position and looked like she had settled in. “I found a second wind out on the track today and I was able to push through and put in a last minute charge,” commented Whitmore. Soon she was back in the battle with Tarah Gieger for 3rd place. On the final lap Whitmore reeled her in and put in an aggressive pass to move by the Yamaha rider as they neared the finish. Whitmore’s moto scores helped her get her first podium finish of the year with a 3rd overall. “This is a great way to end the season. My KTM is running great. We have done lots of testing and it has finally paid off. I am glad to get this podium for myself and my sponsors.”
