Page 80 - ISSUE 29
P. 80

theGRIT
IMAGES / LAKE KILPATRICK
Cooper was riding with a sense of relief as practice started in Indiana. He seemed to be quite comfortable in the mud as he made his way to the top of the pole going into the motos. The champ got a decent jump when the gate dropped for the first moto. He kept on the throttle and was able to make his way into 2nd before the first corner. Just a couple of corners later, Cooper seemed to get stuck in one of the deep Indy
ruts and took a minute to get going again. As they began the second lap, Cooper was counted in 12th place. Webb then caught up to his teammate Plessinger, and was doing everything he could to make his way passed him. They both made there way passed two more riders as they battled each other. Cooper couldn’t pull his tear-offs fast enough as the Indiana mud was getting
up close and personal. He got by him and was now running 7th as they neared the halfway point. Cooper made his way into 6th passed Cianiarulo and then made an extraordinary pass on the two riders in front of him with about four laps to go. He was now running 4th and doing everything he could to catch his teammate. As his tear-offs ran out, he attempted to pass Alex, and hit the ground again. Cooper got back up for the second time and tore his goggles off. He made his way to a commendable 5th place finish despite the two crashes and eyewear malfunction. In the 2nd moto, the champ got a top five start and was battling hard to get into the top three. He finally made the pass on Cianciarulo for 3rd with thirty percent of the race complete. Cooper put down many solid laps until he eventually found himself face to face with the Indiana mud again. He nearly lost a position but was able to hold on. Then, race leader Forkner went down and Cooper nearly passed him. With two minutes to go, Cooper made the pass and was now in 2nd place. He would hold on to 2nd and take home 3rd overall in his last race of the season.
80 GRITMOTO • AUGUST.29.16
words/BUBBLANNAN


































































































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