Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1122949
VOL. 56 ISSUE 21 MAY 28, 2019 P79 third, respectively. Nichols was fourth in front of Geico Honda's Chase Sexton and Christian Craig, and then Cooper's teammate Dylan Ferrandis, who came through the pack for a hard-fought seventh place after being knocked down by Cianciarulo in the opening laps. Overall, the first moto was a thriller with the top five riders finishing within four seconds of each other. In the second moto, the gate flinched before the start, and a bunch of the riders hit the gate, but despite 250MX Justin Cooper (Monster Energy/Ya- malube/Star Racing Yamaha) got the holeshot to start 250MX moto one for the second week in a row. He was the top qualifier on the day, and he had to fight off advances throughout the moto by his teammate Colt Nichols, but he hung on to win, but not over Nichols. Instead, with two laps to go, both Geico Honda's RJ Hampshire and Cianciarulo were able to get by him, and they finished second and iii My Own Race: 32 JUSTIN COOPER 2ND (1-4) 250MX Justin Cooper was flat out hauling in the 250MX class at Pala. He was the top qualifier (450MX included), and he won the first 250MX moto but lost a little bit of the fire in the second moto which might've cost him the overall victory. "Overall it was another solid day," Cooper said. "I'm really striving for the win though, so to come close again is disappointing. It's also fueling the fire. I was looking to be at the front [in moto two], but I wasn't riding as aggressive in the middle of the race, and it cost me at the end. I couldn't catch the front guys and had to settle for second." 196 HUNTER LAWRENCE 9TH (DNF-2) 250MX After a tough start to the season last weekend, Aussie Hunter Lawrence showed what he's capable of doing on the track. "Bittersweet weekend," said Lawrence. "I started off the day solid with third and fourth in the qualifying sessions. First moto had a good start and worked my way into third, and then a rock broke my oil filter cap, so all the engine oil was draining out, and it was dying on the lap just before the accident with [Jordon] Smith happened. The crash didn't cause the bike problem, it was already happening, and then it locked up on the downhill where we came together. Lucky to have no injuries. The next moto was cool! Average start from all the way outside and worked my way up to first. I was really feeling it, but I washed the front wheel out and ended up second." 26 ALEX MARTIN 6TH (10-6) 250MX After visiting the 250MX podium in the second moto at the previous race at Hang- town, Alex Martin was hoping to ride that wave of momentum into Pala but had mixed results. A 16th-place start in the first moto resulted in a 10th-place finish, but he fared better in the second moto. He briefly challenged for the lead early in the second moto but eventually drifted back to sixth. "I battled throughout the entire [first] moto and ended up in a top-10 position," said Martin. "I used those frustra- tions to almost pull the holeshot in the second moto. I ran second and couldn't make a pass for the lead stick, which threw me out of my rhythm. Overall, it was a solid day, but nowhere near what I'm capable of." (Top) Adam Cianciarulo (92) won a thrilling first 250MX moto that saw the top five riders cross the finish line within five seconds. (Bottom) Justin Cooper (32) leads Colt Nichols (39), Hunter Lawrence (196), Thomas Covington (112), Jordan Bailey (52) and the rest of the 250MX pack through the second turn in the first 250MX moto.