A few months back at the Muddy Creek National we met a kid named Nathen LaPorte. He was there trying to qualify on his personal ’13 KTM 250SX. He came to the TSM pits and introduced himself, I knew who he was from keeping an eye on his qualifying results from previous rounds. His bike was rough, so I offered him some spare parts we had. A short time later we had a spot open up on the team, I asked Nathen if he would like to ride for us.
Since our first round in TN, we had some mechanical issues we couldn’t get sorted out. Nathen stuck by through the issues and did the best he could while we did what we had to do to get the engines right. A call to Pro Circuit solved them all. This past weekend in Utah Nathen (#950) managed to put the pieces together and qualify for the main event. After a long and expensive road as a privateer, he finally did it.
We knew from the start he had the talent and desire to make it happen, he continually improves and learns every week. Nathen battled for the final transfer spot in the 450 Consolation Race and qualified on the 250 2 Stroke for his first ever Pro National Moto’s.
Coming into the first moto, Nathen was nervous but determined to stay focused and finish the race. He stayed with the pack making some passes for the first 5 laps or so making it up to 27th place, then the nerves struck again. He put his head down and rode his own race and finished up moto 1 in 31st place.
For Moto 2, Nathen knew the challenge of the grueling 30+2′s on the gnarly man-made track. After several laps he made his way up to 18th place and finished in 24th for 30th Overall on the day.
We are very proud of his hard work and dedication, he learned a lot in Utah and knows where he needs to improve and what to expect in the off-season and next year. One thing to be sure of, you can find him in the TSM pits for full rounds in 2014. See you guys at Hangtown!
Great job Nathen!
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