COOPER WEBB - GRIT 237 450SX

COOPER WEBB | GRIT-237 | 450 SX

Never one to be counted out, Yamaha's Cooper Webb was adamant about returning to the top of the field for this particular round in San Diego. The athlete who sported the number two was zeroing-in on the gold medal, and various opponents alike as practice sessions took place on Saturday afternoon. He was methodical when spinning alongside the mechanics area, where the terrain appeared to be like ice so to speak with rain fall drizzling down throughout the day...but Webb continuously flourished. And made to sure bring a replicable sense of intensity into the night show, where the gates crashed for heat two, and the former champion was immediately aiming for the highest honor. The rhythm section where Jett Lawrence had crashed on press day, was filled with deteriorating takeoff's and accompanying landings. But the Yamaha athlete made it work, despite amassing a tenth place position at the conclusion of lap one. He was letting nothing stand in his way, going from ninth to eighth, eighth to seventh and so on...leaving all of his effort on the racetrack. He even pursued Dylan Ferrandis, until the final two corners of action, where the Phoenix Racing Honda rider was surpassed via a brilliant move to the inside by the Yamaha rider. Categorized in third, it was then time to move to the finalé. Webb's start to the main event was one that portrayed determination and aggression, diving into turn one with the throttle twisted at its fullest, though all of the top competitors were alongside him. He concluded the first lap in fifth but quickly passed into fourth, where he could see Justin Barcia, Aaron Plessinger, and Ken Roczen in front of him. Roczen's Suzuki would crash to the ground unfortunately after the seventh lap was completed, and not long thereafter, would Webb gain even more ground on the number fifty-one. He then made a promising pass on the GasGas competitor, making it a "two-horse race" between he and the so-called Cowboy (i.e. Aaron Plessinger) who led. Webb was relentless amongst this fiftieth anniversary event, weaving through lap traffic while narrowing the gap to only a few seconds! Though slightly encountering a mistake while lapping Chase Sexton, Webb would present one hundred percent effort while pushing to the absolute end...claiming second, and a tremendous some of points as he rallies toward a hopeful, 2023 Monster Energy 450SX Championship.

More from GRIT