Page 68 - ISSUE25

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Cooper Webb pulled a top five start in the first moto of the day and found himself smack dab in the middle be-
tween both of his major championship rivals. He couldn’t afford to waste any time hounding Jeremy Martin for
2nd place, because the 37 machine of Joey Savatgy was putting pressure on him from behind early in the race. Webb was one of the first riders in the 250 class to use the inside line before the triple step-up and it soon became obvious that he was lining up a pass on JMart in that exact spot. He was making up ground in the first couple sectors of the track up to that point, but it seemed that Martin had the measure of Webb on the rest of the track. The two of them gapped Savatgy in 4th place and pushed as hard as they could to keep Alex Martin in sight at the front of the pack. The three leaders were the only riders lapping in the 2:14’s and low 2:15’s consistently which allowed them to settle into their own race out front. Webb executed a picture perfect block pass on JMart at the bottom of the hill before the triple, forcing Martin off the track before the single jump. In a couple of laps, he had managed to track down Jeremy’s older brother and would find himself glued to the back wheel of his teammate for the remainder of the thirty minutes. He may have had a little more pace throughout the middle of the lap, using the same inside line he used to pass JMart to make up time, but he wasn’t able to find a way into the lead. Webb was creating lines in order to avoid roost and find a passing opportunity, but AMart was riding a mistake free race in the lead. Once the 30 minutes ran out and the race was winding to a close, Webb was able to put enough pressure on his teammate by clocking lap times in the 2:14’s to force a mistake in the same corner he made the move for 2nd place. From that point forward, Webb was able to coast to victory and continue his streak of exceptional moto finishes as of late. The start of the 2nd moto wasn’t nearly as good for the North Carolina native; he found himself around 10th position out of the gate and moved his way up to 7th by the end of the first lap. He methodically worked his way to- wards the front of the pack and moved into 5th place in front of his teammate, Aaron Plessinger, by lap 4. He struggled to find the raw speed that he showed in the first moto, but he still managed to make the move on his fiercest amateur rival, Adam Cianciarulo, in the switchbacks af- ter Mt. Martin. Webb’s bike was working really well in the rough, rutted sections of the track, because he managed to make up two positions in the same section a couple of laps later. He forced his way by Zach Osborne and took advantage of an uncharacteristic stall by Joey Savatgy in order to make up two places in two corners. After moving into 2nd position, Webb wasn’t able to close the double digit gap that Jeremy Martin built at the front, but a gritty charge through the field into 2nd place is still a fantastic result for Webb’s championship aspirations. He earned himself 2nd overall and didn’t lose any points headed into Washougal.
68 GRITMOTO • JULY.18.16
words/LAKEKILPATRICK