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COOPER WEBB
450 SX / 3RD
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> With a new era of riders turning a new leaf into the stage of Supercross, many of the youngest of amateur’s have grown adoring and engraining the idea of an SX mentality. The bright lights of stadiums have been etched into their process of conception and visualization, pushing the rough, ruggedness of the outdoors to the wayside. However, a rarity of riders still compete, whom love the outdoors more than anything. And they do ounder around, like ghosts of seasons past. The last of a dying breed, contains a certain selection, seemingly handpicked from the masses. Among those chosen, is none other than Cooper Webb. And although he does possess a style that can round a Supercross circuit as ef cient as any, he can also ip a switch; bulldogging, and powering through the roughest of outdoor layouts, his hand never letting go of the waf e grips. The practice session’s had him reassured he could conquer this treacherous design. He looked especially well through the triple-triple section, just prior to the Honda wall. Hitting the section so fast, he would have to ing the chassis to the right, adjusting his bodyweight in scrubbing fashion, shaving speed with a dragging of the footpeg. Ralph, Jeff, and everyone else along the sidelines would notice, knowing whom they could bet on for a solid nish for the evening. As the pin would fall for the heatrace,
his left hand would already begin to swipe his goggle lens, following the rst turn. His mouthpiece, although in the front of the eld, still found a way to be riddled with sand, the grains getting into his airways. Tripling, and even a rare quad throughout the section just past the mechanics area, his timing would be reiterated by those behind. They were doing everything in their power to catch him, but not enough time was generated to justify a pass. He would then begin to uncork another quad of sorts, just after the triple, completing the step-on, step-off, in one jump. The majority of competi- tion would draw the line there; they knew they couldn’t withstand the pace for the rest of the moto, and would seemingly let him y away. His efforts would be rewarded with a fourth place nish. The card would then go sideways, he would shift up in unison as the eld, jockeying to get to the nish line rst. Early on, he would be in the midst of Dean Wilson, doing everything he could to inch away from those behind. He too would begin to quad from the right, to left side, in the offset section. There was a certain amount of anteing up that needed to be done, and he was calling the bluff from all who were at the table; even Justin Braytonwho was out front, and dealing his deck. With sand consuming both man and machine, he began to have a few moments by himself, hearing just the 450 beneath roaring; when launching over the nish line, he could here a faint roar of the crowd, realizing the performance he was putting on in front of thousands. Justin was out front, he’d made his way around Craig for second, and now had Tomac to deal with, around the three-quarter mark. Tomac would search, and eventually make the move, but Webb would remain steady here. The leader, although just out of his grasp, seemed to be too far away, with the array of ags waving in consecutive fashion. He would conclude the evening third, taking the nal step of the podium, truly earning every point he garnered.
14 GRITMOTO • MARCH 11, 2018