VOL. 52 ISSUE 1 JANUARY 6, 2015 P47
doesn't look like it, you know, but
this track was pretty basic and
everyone was doing the same
thing, so we just need to get a
better start. That will help us out
a lot for next weekend. I need to
THUMBS UP FOR OSBORNE
Zach Osborne deserves much
accolade for finishing out the night
on the podium in the 250 West
final in what was his first race (not
including the Monster Energy Cup
in October) on his new Rockstar
Energy Racing Husqvarna Team.
Finishing on the podium is a major
feat in itself, but when you tack on
having grabbed second place (his
highest ever in Supercross) with
a freshly broken thumb, you have
what was truly an incredible ride by
the veteran racer.
His ordeal began in the heat
races.
"I crashed with another rider
and broke my thumb down at the
base," Osborne said later that night.
"After the heat race, I was not sure;
I was ready to take my gear off and
call it a season. It [the thumb] was
triple the size and wasn't so good.
It didn't seem like I would be able to
do 15 laps. I told the team, 'okay, I'll
try to get in the top four in the LCQ
and if I do, I do, if not, I'm sorry. I
did my best.'"
So Osborne had the thumb
taped and suited up for the LCQ.
"I pulled the holeshot in the LCQ
and kind of put myself in a good
position and rode around and got
through that," he said. "After the
LCQ, we iced my thumb and got the
swelling down a little bit more.
"Going into the main event, I had
no clue what to expect. I had the
19
th
gate pick on the outside; my
gate was terrible. [Everything] was
all stacked against me."
So be it. Somehow, Osborne
made the best of a bad situation
and put himself near the front of the
pack soon after the gate dropped
for the main event.
"I put my head down; I had a
great start. My starts have been
really good on this bike [Husqvarna
FC250]—there was no stopping
me. I was just determined and it
showed."
By the end of the first lap,
Osborne held down second place,
and he spent the rest of the race
chasing eventual winner Jessy
Nelson.
"It [the thumb] is okay, I was
second in the main event, so I can't
really complain so much!"
The big question for Osborne
now is: What about next week and
the Phoenix Supercross? "It's splint-
ed right now," Osborne said. "I just
need to get to the doctor and see
what they say, if I can have surgery
and get it pinned or plated to get it
better for next weekend, then I'll do
that. If not, then I'll be there just as I
am. I'm three points from the cham-
pionship lead, I'll be there."
Kit Palmer
Zach Osborne
toughed it out
with a broken
thumb to finish
second.
Both rookie Jason Anderson (21)
and veteran Andrew Short (29)
had stand out performances at
A1, finishing second and fifth,
respectively.
