With a hard rain falling a top the nylon canopy sheltering the Monster Energy/ Pro Circuit/Kawasaki pit area, everybody beneath it scrambles. An abnormal midday thunderstorm has crept up and stationed itself above Sam Boyd Stadium, the bleached asphalt-hued sky wringing itself of all of its moisture and subsequently wreaking havoc on the grass fields surrounding the NCAA college football stadium. Ultimately, the Pro Circuit mechanics, as if they don’t have enough to do already, work in unison to get a tarp down before their particular pit area is totally flooded out. Welcome to the final round of the 2016 Monster Energy Supercross Series in Las Vegas, Nevada. Standing back behind the big toolboxes and pit carts and trying to stay out of the way of the chaos is Austin Forkner, taking one last look around before making the 243-mile trek down the I-15 South toward Corona, California, to begin the final phase of testing and training for his imminent professional debut at the 48th Annual Hangtown Motocross Classic in precisely a fortnight’s time.

“It’s only two weeks away, and I’ve been working hard and getting ready for it. I think I’m ready,” says the 17-year-old, wisely dressed in a team rain jacket and sporting a Monster Energy bucket hat. “I just want to be as ready as possible. I really need to see where I kind of fit in with those guys. I want to set realistic goalsI don’t just want to say I’m going to go out and win. I might. I could be battling for wins, or I could be battling to get top-five and top-10 finishes, but I just need to get through the first round and see where I fit in and make some goals from there. I know everybody is going to talk no matter what happens, so I’m just going to go out there and do the best I can.”