Page 26 - GRIT-84

COOPER WEBB
450 MX / 7TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Cooper Webb made his return to racing here in Lucas Oil Pro Motocross just a few rounds ago back at Southwick. He had been sidelined for quite some time due to a broken tib/ b during the Minneapolis Supercross. On his return to racing, he knew he wasn’t 100% ready to come back, but he knew the best way to get into race shape is to, well, race. So, he lined up to race on seemingly the hottest day and the roughest course and held his own. He managed an eighth overall and then bettered that one week later at Red Bud with a seventh overall. His race speed and endurance is still lacking but it will come with time and getting more races under his belt. Webb put his Monster Energy Yamaha up near the front in the morning qualifying practice ses- sions. The Newport, North Carolina product rode his machine to the seventh fastest lap time of the class. He would like to be closer towards the contenders but like Roczen and his comeback, he knows he must remain patient and things will slowly begin to materialize. Webb kicked off his day of racing with a shaky start in moto one. He came around the rst turn buried outside the top ten and had to claw his way forward to nish the rst lap in tenth. He stayed stagnant there for
a few laps as he struggled to nd a groove. He passed Joey Crown on lap three and then Justin Bogle on lap four, so he started to get something going. He sat in eighth and began pressuring the duo of Weston Peick and Phil Nicoletti. Peick managed to squirt away and get away from
the both of them after a couple laps which made it a two-rider ght between Webb and Nicoletti. Webb put the heat on him for the entire second half of the moto but no matter what he tried, he could not pass him. Webb had to be frustrated he was right there but couldn’t make the pass, but he never gave up and nally, on the nal lap of them moto, Webb was able to make the move and take over seventh. It was hard fought and well-earned, and he would head into moto two with a little surge of pride, it always feels good to make a last lap pass. Webb started off moto two with another poor start. This time he came out of lap one down in twelfth place. Again, he struggled in the early stages and had only moved up to tenth by lap four. He passed Henry Miller for ninth on lap six but that was short lived as Justin Hill passed him on lap seven sending Webb right back to tenth. A few laps later, Webb found himself behind Nicoletti yet again but this time, made quick work of him. It only took one lap to pass him this time. Now back in ninth, Webb would ride the second half of the race hard but would fail to get close enough to Hill and Benny Bloss who held down the positions ahead of him. He’d settle for ninth. His 7-9 moto scores would earn him a seventh overall, matching his season best. Bad starts haunted Webb in both motos so look for him to work on those leading up to the next race.
26 GRITMOTO • JULY 22, 2018