COOPER WEBB - GRIT 234 450SMX

COOPER WEBB | GRIT-234 | 450 SMX

The 2023 off-season was just around the corner, but Yamaha's Cooper Webb (who recently signed with the Star Racing assembly) was focused on the present moment more than anything else -where he hoped to acquire as much knowledge about the motorcycle as possible before entering into the latter months of the year. The North Carolina native was always willing to give his strongest efforts, and after an admirable showing amongst practice laps, the athlete who sported the number two would look to unleash a proficient game-plan on this unique blend of racing genres. For the first lap of the main event, Webb would reside ninthwhile leaping onto the tabletop that was just before the "SX" triple. His ability to soak-up the highest points of air would be notable and lead to strong lap-times being established in the earliest moments of this particular showcase. Powering into the left-handed corner after the finish-line, the Yamaha of Webb would slide into the inside and with explosive moment; somehow, managing to move into fifth (after passing four riders in one lap) before the red-flag was thrown! Though nearly clipping Justin Barcia who had crashed, Webb remained upright prior to undergoing a full restart with the rest of the field. Propelling from the line of riders that were staged on the start straightaway, Webb would remain in fifth while doing his best to replicate the pattern(s) of Chase Sexton and Jason Anderson who were in front of him. As minutes continued to pass though, it was evident that Webb was comfortable in the fifth-place residency and agreed to garner as much points as possible while staying upright on this treacherous circuit. Therefore, seemingly all alone (despite at times being pursued by Garrett Marchbanks) Webb remained solidified in fifth, through the checkered flag that was thrown. The final moto of the evening then awaited him, with Cooper engaging with the transmission with a means to generate as much speed as possible after leaping from the metal grate. And once the task was completed, it would be the North Carolina resident who eventually hovered in the running order near a position of fifth as race leaders Chase Sexton, Ken Roczen, and Jett Lawrence were attempting to break away. However, he would first have to deal with Adam Cianciarulo who was standing in his way (in regard to separation from the top three)...which Webb secured on the seventh circuit; and at that point, it was a process of chipping away, as best as he could. His consistency would lead to an opportunity to advance on behalf of Chase Sexton's unfortunate crash - moving him into third on the tenth circuit, with roughly nine laps left to be completed. Though Cianciarulo was continuously pursuing him, Webb continued to look ahead with notable fortitude in the final minutes of the segment...eventually securing a tremendous final score of third place - which boosted his standing to third in the final, overall running order as well, while giving him confidence for the approaching 2024 racing season aboard the Yamaha machine.

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