Cycle News

VOL. 55 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 14, 2018 P61 iii My Own Race: 1 ELI TOMAC 2ND 450MX (1-2) "Wow, what a crazy day of racing," Eli Tomac said. "That first moto was intense because of all the rain and mud. Obviously, [I] would've liked to take both moto wins today, but winning the championship is the ultimate goal and I felt more comfortable playing it safe and staying on two wheels in the second race to hopefully achieve that goal." Tomac carries a 15-point lead into the final four motos of the year. 51 JUSTIN BARCIA 4TH 450MX (8-3) Justin Barcia was fastest qualifier at Unadilla and would've been in contention for a podium finish if not for a couple of crashes. The Monster Energy Yamaha rider went down in the first turn in the first moto and recovered for eighth, then had a fall early in moto two as well, but still grabbed third. "The day started out great," Barcia said. "I qualified fastest overall, which was awesome, and I showed that I had my bike working good and we had a good setup going into the first moto. I missed the overall podium by a little bit, which was disappointing, but all in all it was a solid day. I just wish I would have been able to get some cleaner starts and run up front with the front guys. That being said, we're healthy and ready to move on to the last two rounds." 2 COOPER WEBB 9TH 450MX (16-4) "Unadilla was an up-and-down day for me," said Cooper Webb. "It started off really well because it was dry and I was able to qualify second, which I was really happy with especially after a weekend off. It was definitely going in a good direction and then the skies opened up and it started raining. The first moto I didn't get a very good start and pretty much stayed around eighth-place for most of the race. With two laps to go, a lapper roosted me and I didn't have any goggles on and a rock went straight to my eye. I fell over on the side of the track and was trying to clean it out so I could get my vision back. I got back on the bike and got 16th. The second moto was much better. I got a better start and ran fourth for a long time. I had a really good battle with my teammate Barcia and I was third at one point, but ended up fourth. That was my best result of the season so far and I was very happy with a top-five, so we'll keep building for these last couple [rounds]." Webb has two more races on his Yamaha contract, after which he's expected to announce his new deal as Marvin Musquin's teammate at Red Bull KTM. 54 PHIL NICOLETTI 3RD 450MX (3-5) Phil Nicoletti grabbed his first-ever overall AMA Pro podium finish taking third overall with his 3-5 score. "Today was great," Nicoletti said. "I felt pretty good in practice before the rain came. I had an okay start in the first moto and made some really quick passes then just sent it. I stalked Marvin for a while, but then Eli started coming. I had to do one lap without goggles, which hurt me. I ended up third, which I was happy with. The team hustled to get the bike dialed for the second moto. I got a good start and ran third for a while. I tipped over in the last lap and finished fifth. I'll take it for the home race. It was a pretty unbelievable experience for me!" 30 MITCHELL HARRISON 3RD 250MX (4-4) Mitchell Harrison grabbed his first-ever podium overall finish at Unadilla with a solid 4-4 score. He's had a rough season since returning to action at High Point, but seemed to get along with the Unadilla race track pretty well, even leading the second moto for a while until a lapper knocked him down in a turn. "Today was filled with rain and mud," Harrison said. "I got a good start in the first moto and was running right behind Mosi- man for a while. We both went down, unfortunately, and I ended up fourth. I had the lead for a while in the second moto, but I got together with a lapper. I knew I had to be smart to secure the overall podium, and that's what I did. It was a great day." PHOTOGRAPHY BY SIMON CUDBY/KTM IMAGES

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