JUSTIN COOPER - GRIT 242 450SX

GRIT-242 | 450 SX

A dark-horse competitor as the grid was configured for the 450cc class in Daytona, Yamaha's Justin Cooper seemed to believe that he could excel amongst the one-of-a-kind layout in Central Florida. With rain falling throughout the practice session(s), "J-Coop" welcomed Mother Nature's additional presence as the ruts of the racing canvas became even more treacherous. Grooves had now run through respective takeoff's, making particular jumps now obsolete, and forcing athletes to remain creative when trying to leap through various combinations of obstacles. For the heat race as well, the idea was much the same, when Cooper gathered an initial standing of first, after contending with the greats of the division (i.e. Jett Lawrence and Eli Tomac. Speeding through the switchback lane before the finish line, Cooper would toggle between both routes in order to gain time...as the velocity needed when leaping over the final double and rollers thereafter, as a crucial component to a solid lap-time. Nearing the halfway point of the moto, it appeared as if the New York native had embodied enough speed to possibly solidify an incredible heat race win...but both, Jett Lawrence and Eli Tomac were able to make their way by, on the third circuit - where his teammate and the Honda rider flourished in the longest rhythm lane on the track (along with the corner beforehand), overtaking Cooper nearly back-to-back. Now third, he (Cooper) would defend the bronze medal position from Dylan Ferrandis...residing here as the field exited the raceway, respectively. With Chase Sexton obtaining the initial main event lead, it was Cooper who displayed resiliency amongst the sea of roost thrown his way - "popping" over the tunnel jump and landing on the throttle, swinging through the switchback section while defending his higher standing aboard the Yamaha when compared to Honda's Dean Wilson who trailed. Nearly clipping numerous tuff-blocks as he rounded various insides, the leaping over the multitude of tabletops after the whoop section was crucial, once the track began to break down. Justin obliged to the ever-changing conditions and conformed his riding style to a more outdoor prowess as the halfway point came to fruition. On a similar trajectory to that of Aaron Plessinger, as minutes continued to pass, Cooper's attrition became more evident. He executed the last five laps of the moto with the utmost precision, minimizing his mistakes on a course that was as difficult as anyone could imagine - equating to sixth place at the finish line, after also passing Dylan Ferrandis with his mistake. Overall, between both heat race and main event showings, Cooper proved that he could contend at the top of the 450cc division.

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