Page 21 - PULSE-4

SIX ROUNDS DOWN...
All of the disparity in the 250 class was in full effect at the fifth round of the series at Muddy Creek. The deep, rutted terrain and the sweltering, humid conditions all played their part on the grand stage, but as usual the racing stole the show. Justin Cooper impressed yet again as the fastest rider in qualifying and he carried that same intensity straight into the opening gate drop, pulling a top five start. At the front of the pack, it was an intense battle between the brothers of Alex and Jeremy Martin. Jeremy made the pass on his big brother a couple of laps into the race and never looked back, leaving him to fend off attacks from Justin Cooper and Shane McElrath. A Mart folded under pressure near the halfway mark of the race and conceded both podium positions to his pursuers, handing Cooper second and McElrath third at the checkered flag. Meanwhile, it was another uneventful ride at the front of the pack for the two-time outdoor champion and it seemed as though he’d run away with the next one, but the cruelness of the sport reared it’s ugly head shortly into the second moto. Only a couple of corners into the first lap of the second moto, Cooper and J Mart found themselves battling just inside the top ten as opposed to the front of the pack. They were both vying for position and the Geico Honda rider went for a pass mid-air next to the grandstands, colliding just before the landing with the Star Racing Yamaha rider. They both went down and Cooper was able to remount his machine, but Martin was not so lucky as he suffered a fracture to his L1 vertebrae, forcing him out for the remainder of the season. Meanwhile, his brother led the race from the holeshot all the way until the waning laps, giv- ing way to Dylan Ferrandis just before the checkered flag. His mistake also made way for Shane McElrath to sneak into second position on the box, putting together 3-2 moto scores for his first Pro Motocross overall victory.
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