JUSTIN COOPER GRIT-223 250MX

JUSTIN COOPER | GRIT-223 | 250MX

With Justin Cooper and his Yamaha 250F excelling with superb results throughout the first few rounds of the 2023 championship, there was little that could stand in his way from doing much the same while competing in Colorado on Saturday. Immediately as qualification laps began, it was evident that his lines were a bit different then most others in the field - where he arced many of his corners with lines that embodied momentum, which led to the pole position being clenched prior to the gates rising for the first moto. Once here, his reaction time from the launchpad would lead to a spectacular sequence in the opening corners, where Cooper was able to work his way into the lead (following a mistake by Haiden Deegan), and take control of the field prior to hitting the initial tunnel-jump/flyaway triple and into the left-hander that followed. Over the course of the next few laps, Cooper was sensational; carrying an abundance of momentum yet somehow remaining mistake free, amongst the myriad of grooves that spanned the length of straightaways! He was focused and unbothered by anyone else on the track, and seemed to be executing his plan to perfection as the halfway point arose. Receiving cues from his mechanic, he knew that he could remain flawless if he'd just remained calm while ripping through this treacherous raceway...and that's exactly what Cooper was able to do, leading all sixteen laps in the process of heading to victory lane - where he collected victory and the maximum sum of points for a single endeavor. For moto number two, his drive atop the first hill would be notable and enough to edge him just ahead of Levi Kitchen. Cooper would have his sights set on taking another moto victory, but seemed to be racing at a bit of a hurried pace when approaching the finish-line to take the green flag...and had Hunter Lawrence just behind him. It was when he crested the final roller before the aforementioned jump, when he'd become cross-rutted and proceeded to go over the bars! Countless riders would the pass him, and Cooper knew that time was critical in regard to regaining positions. He would remount the motorcycle in eleventh, while simultaneously declaring a charge to the front that we hadn't seen in quite sometime! He no longer needed an open pathway in regard to generating remarkable lap-times; and instead, was putting on a spectacular pace while weaving his way through traffic. From ninth, to eighth, and seventh, and so on, Cooper was thriving amongst the rutted course; especially in the latter half of the moto when other riders seemed to fatigue. He would eventually pass Haiden Deegan and Ryder DiFrancesco, followed by Jordon Smith and Max Vohland while absolutely flying atop the hillside known as Thunder Valley. He was visually faster than many of the other riders in his grouping, which allowed him to eventually push to the rear wheel of Jo Shimoda. This would occur with roughly two laps to go, when the pressure that Cooper had amounted would force the Kawasaki rider into a mistake...allowing Cooper to inherit fourth before the checkered flag was thrown! And as he ultimately generate scores of first and fourth, the salvaged second overall would be spectacular prior to heading to High Point!

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