Page 26 - Issue_64

COOPER WEBB
450 SX / 7TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Cooper Webb has seemingly been on the outside looking in on the top guys throughout the 2018 season so far. The second-year man in the 450 class has struggled to get starts and put himself in a position to run with those guys. Until he does so, he’ll remain stagnant behind them. Webb’s speed is right in there with the top guys but when it comes race time, he just has not been able to maintain the pace without mistakes and his bad starts have been putting him in immediate holes. He has three top ten finishes so far this year with his best coming last weekend in Glendale where he finished eighth. It was certainly his best ride of the sea- son and he seemed to be more consistent and solid over the course of the whole night. This weekend in Oakland he aimed to continue slowly turning that page to getting back towards the front of the pack. Webb’s best race of his rookie season last year came in Oakland, so he was feeling the good vibes heading into qualifying practice. It resulted in him putting forth one of his better qualifying efforts so far as he qualified with the fifth fastest lap time of the class. He liked the soft, rutty soil and he could not wait to hit the track come race time and pick up where he left off last year. When the gate dropped in the heat, it saw Webb grab his best start of the year. He got edged out of the holeshot by his teammate Justin Barcia, but he’d latch in right behind him. Barcia was the fastest qualifier, yet Webb did not let him get too far ahead and kept him honest for the entire heat race. This was a great measuring stick race for Webb as it showed him that he can run with the top guys like Barcia and all that was needed to do so was a start. After finishing the heat in second, he was more than ready to give it his all in the main event. Webb relapsed at the beginning of the main and fell back into his old habit of bad starts. He rounded lap one absolutely buried in fifteenth place. He was in a horrible posi- tion, but he looked to make the best of it. In just four laps he had already fought his way up inside the top ten in eighth position. He looked strong and fast and one of the few riders that was conquering the torn-up race track. He held it down there in eighth for most of the race before picking another spot to move into seventh after Weston Peick went down in the latter stages. By the time he got into that seventh spot, the rest of the pack was too far ahead forc- ing him to settle into seventh. And that is where the two-time 250SX West AMA Supercross Champion would finish the race. Despite such an awful start, it was his best performance and finish of the season. His climb through the field under those circumstances was impressive. He should continue to keep building towards a top five finish next weekend in San Diego.
26 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 4, 2018