race recap
JUSTIN COOPER - GRIT 248 450SX
June 3, 2024
GRIT-248 | 450 SX
May 20, 2024 9:45 am
Yamaha's Justin Cooper competed at the highest level of the 450cc hierarchy in practice, where the New York native was right alongside Jett Lawrence on a number of occasions when striving for the pole position. His speed couldn't be questioned, and the attribute was reiterated for that of heat one as well - where he lunged for the lead while feuding with Ken Roczen, as both opponents swapped inside and outside lines amongst the sand before taking the green flag...though Kenny was able to sustain the lead position by the time they'd hit the finish line. Holding second for a short bit of time, Cooper then began to unfortunately descend within the running order...losing positions to that of Adam Cianciarulo, Hunter Lawrence, and Chase Sexton. However, Roczen's mistake where he stalled the motor enabled Cooper to move forward and garner a further placement in the running order...(i.e. fourth) as the final three laps were completed. As all was finalized, Cooper resided here - obtaining a notable gate choice, for the split-lane(d) start thereafter. Justin's jump from the line in the main event was far from desired...where the Yamaha athlete acquired sixteenth and was forced to march through the field - otherwise he would be left contending for only a small sum of championship points. Through the pack he flew, zig-zagging across the racetrack in an efficient manner while toggling between jumping lines (i.e. before the rollers), while also staying low on the outside, where he could conduct a bit of rhythm before entering into the mogul pad. He was able to alter his pathways on the fly, and had infiltrated tenth by lap five. Advancing past Adam Cianciarulo and Shane McElrath in the circuits thereafter, Cooper then found himself amid a battle with Justin Barcia. Barcia wasn't going to make it easy on the rider with lesser 450cc experience, and seemed to carry a bit of a chip on his shoulder in regard to defending his position from the Yamaha athlete. Barcia wasn't budging, and used every bit of racetrack to keep Cooper at bay as they neared the final moments of action. Despite a number of lunges toward the GasGas athlete, Cooper couldn't make a definitive pass stick, per se - and was forced to reside sixth as all was said and done...where he sought an even higher standing, for the next round of racing in Philadelphia.