Cycle News

Cycle News 2019 Issue 50 December 17

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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2019 AMA/FIM 450SX WORLD SUPERCROSS CHAMPION COOPER WEBB P102 Interview dropped, there'd be no point in dropping it. "That's the beauty about racing," Webb says. "Every year, you really never do know. That's what makes Saturdays so exciting; the surprise aspect of it. Especially the A1 race. It's usually a crazy night with crazy winners. You kind of get to see everything and it's all new. It was just unexpected [for Webb to be up front], I guess." Anaheim 1 went pretty well for Webb, all things considered. It was a mud race, and he fell in the first turn, but he finished fifth after recording the fastest lap time of the night. Webb's fastest time, a 1:02.4 on lap 12 of 20, was the only time in the 1:02 range, and the only racer who had a single lap within a second of Webb's time was eventual winner (and former teammate) Justin Barcia, who put down a 1:03.3 on lap two, when the track was in much better condition. "I think A1, for me, was actually a confidence- booster," Webb says. "It was a mud race, but at the time I had fallen in the first turn. In qualifying, I was actually top-five, which I was super stoked on. Then I crashed in the first turn and came back all the way to fifth. It was a mud race, so it's hard to really tell where you're at. But I guess I ran the fastest lap of the race. I think it was such a change for me going to KTM and being at Aldon's [Aldon Baker's training facility, the Baker's Factory], to line up for the first one, for me a fifth was like a win at that time. The second race was my worst result of the year [10th place, with no crashes, well off the pace], and then A3 was the triple crown. I just got a good start and put myself in a good position. I think the biggest thing for me, mentally, was just racing up front and being between Kenny [Roczen] and Eli [Tomac]. I think that was the big- gest thing. Whether I would have passed [Roczen] or not [to win the first main event], that alone was the confidence-booster of knowing this is what it's like to run up front; this is what it's like to be up with the title contenders. I felt like I kind of made a charge there at the end. I was right there hoping to capital- ize on a mistake. I think, obviously, the mistake was made, but as soon as the mistake was made, I felt like I capitalized immediately. Probably even without that mistake I was going to try to make the pass there. I probably wouldn't have been close enough. But when he did make the mistake, it opened it right up." And the rest, as they say, is history. Webb went on to win the second main, and the overall, then win four of the next six rounds. With the title pressure on the line and six wins in his pocket, he Once Webb has his confidence, he's hard to beat. "I think the biggest thing for me, mentally, was just racing up front and being between Kenny [Roczen] and Eli [Tomac]."

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