Page 66 - ISSUE42

COOPER WEBB
450 SX / 13TH
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / WILSON
>> Cooper Webb quietly made his return to racing this weekend in Detroit. The rookie Factory Yamaha rider injured his shoulder a month ago at Minne- apolis. The injury occurred right when it looked like Webb had solidified himself as a podium contender. He had been riding well and mixing it up with the
top dogs after a slow start to the season. The setback happened at such an inopportune time but there is still plenty of time left in the season to regain the mojo he had going. He looked just a tad bit rusty in qualifying practice finishing twelfth but only eight tenths of a second off the fastest time. We were anticipat- ing seeing how he would perform in the night show.
Webb got an average start in his heat race getting going in seventh place. He did not seem to have the aggression we are used to seeing from the former 250 champion. He kept the pressure on Jake Weimer for sixth all race until
he got shuffled back to ninth on the final lap. He would have to try his luck in the semi. He would get a slightly better start in the semi emerging from the opening lap in fourth place. He locked into the position and maintained it to the checkered flag meaning he was heading onto the main event.
Webb suffered a dreadful start in the main coming out buried in sixteenth place. Jumping back into a series, getting a great start is crucial to regaining that flow but he could not pull one off. He picked off a pair of riders to hop into fourteenth place a few laps in. He bounced around between there and fifteenth for much of the race before he was finally able to break through and snatch up thirteenth position. Not the performance he would have liked but the 450 class is as close and tough as ever making it especially hard to jump back in after missing several rounds.
66 GRITMOTO • MARCH 26, 2017