VOL. 54 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 19, 2017 P75
the edge I needed."
For Duvall, getting third was
almost as good as getting the
win, considering it was just a
few weeks ago that he had to
abandon the ISDE in France
after suffering a wrist injury on
the first day.
"I flew home early from France
and I got about five different
opinions on what was wrong with
my wrist," said Duvall. "It was se-
Smith, took fourth overall, which
was one position better than
his previous result. The Integrity
Acquisitions-backed KTM rider
was consistent all day, going
4-4-6-6-5-6 in the tests.
"Today went well; I felt like I
rode pretty well and I think I put
in some consistent times," said
Smith who holds down seventh
in the championship. "I had
a few falls and tweaked a few
things on the bike but for the
most part I kept it moving for-
ward and I'm happy with my ride.
It was pretty sketchy out there
and it was tough just keeping it
on two wheels."
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna
Factory Racing's Josh Strang
was fifth, edging SRT Rac-
ing KTM's Cory Buttrick by six
seconds.
Seventh went to Trail Jesters
vere, but maybe not as severe as
we thought. At first they thought I
needed surgery, but it turned out
I didn't need it, which was good.
So I rode this weekend with a
brace and salvaged what I could.
"It was tough," added Duvall.
"I noticed in the last test I had
to use four fingers to pull in the
clutch. Since I probably wasn't
even supposed to be riding
today, I guess third place is
something to be happy about."
Duvall still leads the champi-
onship, even though Steward
Baylor claimed the win and
picked up nine valuable points
on the Husky rider. With just two
rounds left, Duvall leads Steward
by seven points. Grant Baylor is
third but 37 points in back of his
brother.
One of the sport's brightest
up-and-coming riders, Evan
(Left) Despite
riding with an
injured wrist, Thad
Duvall kept his
championship
hopes alive with a
third-place finish.
(Right) Thorn
Devlin clinched
the Expert AA
Championship.
