Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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MOTOCROSS LUCAS OIL AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS ROUND 8 / JUNE 21, 2018 MILLVILLE, MINNESOTA / SPRING CREEK MX P66 iii My Own Race: 62 JUSTIN COOPER 2ND 250MX (4-3) Rookie Justin Cooper (Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha) was fastest qualifier yet again at Millville, and he turned that into second overall on the day behind his teammate and points leader Aaron Plessinger. "It's been a rough couple of weeks, so to rebound like this is just, I'm speechless right now," Cooper said. "I felt really good on the bike all day. My thumb was bothering me pretty good, but I was just flowing better than last weekend and I was able to hop the bumps and just felt more like myself in that second moto. I was pumped because I didn't think my fitness was there, with so many weeks off the bike, but we pulled it together and we rode smart. Came out with second." 26 ALEX MARTIN 3RD 250MX (7-2) Alex Martin had a really tough first moto, but he grabbed the hole- shot in the second moto and led early. Once points leader Aaron Plessinger got by late on the first lap, Martin was strong in second to the finish. "We kept it on two wheels all day so that's a PR right there," Martin said. "Obviously disappointed. Aaron had my number in that second moto. I mean I got the holeshot, was up front, put myself in a great position and he got me on that downhill. His speed down that downhill was unreal. I wasn't comfortable going that fast and I had a couple kicks a few times. I could match him on the other half of the track but the downhill he was ruining me. All in all I'm back here at the hometown race and it feels good to get on the podium and put on a show for the fans and the family... I kind of made an error on my part. I tried a different tire the first moto and it wasn't a good choice. So bummer in the first moto but second moto at least we got up on the podium. Second here and third overall." 40 CHASE SEXTON 6TH 250MX (8-5) "I started off the day pretty rough, 12th in first practice and ninth in the second practice," said Chase Sexton. "I was having a hard time making the uphill triple and was losing a lot of time on that thing. I felt better when the motos came around. It was going good in the first moto, but I was trying to make a pass on Justin Cooper for fourth but I fell down and finished eighth. Second moto I rebounded and finished fifth. I've ridden this track quite a bit growing up; I like it but it's always been kind of one-lined, where the lines all funnel together. It was hard to make a pass—I was trying everything I could but I couldn't make it happen. My start was pretty good in the first moto here, but I bogged in the second one, and that was the end of it." 19 JUSTIN BOGLE 12TH 450MX (14-12) "The weekend was an improvement," said Justin Bogle. "I felt really good in first practice, but then I had a tough crash in the second practice. That slowed my roll for the rest of the day. I had a tough time getting my momentum back. I had a good start in the first moto, but struggled. In the second moto, I got another holeshot, which is always nice. That Suzuki RM-Z450 is a beautiful machine. It makes tons of horsepower! However, I struggled again and ended up 12th for 12th overall. My return to racing has been frustrating. It's the op- posite of what I thought it was going to be like coming back. I'll get better each weekend, so I'll keep working hard."