Page 46 - GRIT_84

COOPER WEBB
450 MX / 6TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> With the Washougal raceway sitting in the midst of forestlands, you see and hear all types of wildlife upon entering the venue. Everything from the smallest of birds, to the occasional bear, has everyone in attendance marveling at nature in its purest form. These woods are a place of survival, and it translates over to the racing scene for this nal weekend of July. It’s an idea that’s ourishing throughout the shell of Cooper Webb. A primal type instinct would kick in, even in quali cation matters. Constantly gunning, clawing, and scrapping for a better time, it was all he could do to control his excitement when he got back to the truck. He wanted to push forward as soon as the gate would fall for the rst moto, never leaving any signs of a distorted effort. Launching into the sand in the early going, you could honestly feel his chassis “thud” upon arrival to mother earth. Leaning on his skillset to hold a solid pace, there was no turning back as he shifted into that true ghting mentality. Diving into every possible rut he could nd, his inside footpeg would etch a permanent mark into this dark, coarse soil. With Nicoletti breathing down his neck, he knew the pressure couldn’t climax, otherwise he may fall in dismay. He would hold it together, never letting the knocking of the door collapse his reign of pace. The chassis, at times, would begin to swap from side to side after the roller section, yet his fear would never override the amount of con dence surging from within himself. Look- ing to nish out the moto strong, he dug deep, remembering his pre-race talk with the team. They had his back, and that alone would push him to the height needed. Coming across the line in eighth place, he was exhausted, but ready to give it another go shortly. Blitzing through the whoop section in the early going of moto two, his pure blitz would transition into a rhyth- mic hopping, as combinations of two and three would be pieced together. He saw Musquin doing it earlier, and wanted to try it for himself; it worked, and each lap his synchronized pattern would push him a bit further from Kyle Cunningham. The pace he was on, was one he could hold throughout the duration of the moto, even with the mind and body breaking down. He would go on to endure, taking seventh, relishing in his position of sixth overall.
46 GRITMOTO • JULY 29, 2018