COOPER WEBB - GRIT 245 450SX

GRIT-245 |450 SX

May 20, 2024 9:45 am

An undeniable, calculated, championship contender, Cooper Webb's fortitude was on display as round eleven of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship came to fruition. With ruts trenched in every aspect of the course, Webb's patented turn-down sequences in bowl(ed) turns carried over from practice, into heat two of racing as well. Though his opening standing on the leaderboard (after the first lap) was in sixth, Webb made sure to maintain composure while striving for the highest gate pick possible. He passed Ryan Breece, along with Benny Bloss and Vince Friese, before eventually arriving in the third-place position as the halfway point came to fruition. The battle for the lead (between Aaron Plessinger and Jett Lawrence) was rather spectacular, and the two opponents weren't slowing one another down...leaving Webb seemingly all alone in third as the checkered flag was become rather tangible. He stayed the course, however, and focused on the bigger picture in the final moments of competition. Ultimately categorized in third ahead of Malcolm Stewart, Webb seemed mored focused than ever when preparing for the main event in the hours thereafter. Once blasting from the grate to begin the finalé, the North Carolina native seemed determined to make a statement. Beginning the quest in sixth, he immediately leapt to a standing of third where he was behind Ken Roczen. The pass on the German rider was then executed on the fifth circuit, where it was then a matter of a "two-horse race" per se, between he and Chase Sexton...or so it seemed. From out of nowhere, a storming Jett Lawrence would charge forward on the seventh circuit; looking to make a pass on Cooper when diving into the sand section. When suddenly, the Yamaha rider felt an explosive hit to the left swing-arm...which was put forth by the Australian! He wasn't thrown off rhythm however, and proceeded to march forward to the rear wheel of Chase Sexton amongst the rutted racing canvas. Every rider on the track was making subtle mistakes, with Sexton nearly jumping into the tuff-blocks with eleven minutes to go...and then roughly five minutes later, the KTM athlete would stall the motorcycle in the corner before the mechanic's area! This was the boost of momentum that Cooper needed, where he continuously jumped (or tried to) over the sand wall via the outside roller...but as he seemed to suffer from a good bit of arm pump, his charging speed (at times) became a bit more lethargic. However, the determined riding style of the former champion prevailed. He wasn't going to budge, no matter how fatigued, nor cross-rutted he became; continuously launching through the rhythm lanes with his engine absolutely pinned. Sexton wasn't going to stop though, and actually made the pass (for a corner or two) with just under five minutes to go! It was an all-out race to finish, where Cooper had to "dig deep"... and he ultimately did, defending the first-place position from Sexton by only bike lengths at the checkered flag!

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