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Cooper Webb came out of the gates during the first practice session at Hangtown like he forgot
about his broken navicular; he set the 3rd fastest lap time, just 2 tenths off the pace of the leader,
Joey Savatgy. Fortunately for Webb, the track seemed to be flatter than it’s been in recent years, possibly due to a little bit of rain softening up the track and allowing things to break down differently. The first lap of moto 1 was a throwback to the end of last season as Webb and Jeremy Martin battled bar to bar with one another on the first half of the lap. Webb put his Star Racing Yamaha up the inside of his teammate’s and attempted to zone in on the back of Jordon Smith and Joey Savatgy as they sprinted away at the front. He wasn’t able to quite run the pace of those two which forced him back into the clutches of the defending series champion. The two of them withstood pressure from RJ. Hampshire and Webb threw down a 2:01.6 in response to the charge by Martin just before rain began to fall on the course. He was using obscure lines and working the boundaries of the track in order to find the smooth lines that would allow him to preserve his wrist; this eventually made him susceptible to an overtake by Martin and Webb was unable to retaliate due to large bumps sending his Yamaha chattering violently under braking. Everyone expected Martin to get away at this point, but the sun began peer back through the gloomy California sky and Webb hitched himself to the back of the leading Yamaha. Webb was able to find time by using smoother lines and jumping through rough sections of the course, putting himself within a bike length of the
podium in the last turn. Unfortunately, the the rear end slid out as he ope
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by picking the bike up quickly and crossing the finish line side saddle.
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d up the throttle, but he managed to maintain his position
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