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/1402132
ROUND 8 / AUGUST 14, 2021 UNADILLA VALLEY SPORTS CENTER / NEW BERLIN, NEW YORK P62 MOTOCROSS I LUCAS OIL AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP Unadilla since my last race there was in 2017," said Martin. "It was definitely a really technical race- track this year, with minimal track prep. I got arm pump really bad in the first moto but held on for third. The bike and I were better first win since the opener at Fox Raceway (Pala). Despite finishing second overall with a 1-4, it was a bitter day for Cooper who missed a good opportunity for the overall win and to gain valuable cham- pionship points on Lawrence; instead, his points lead has been cut in half, from eight to four, over Lawrence with four rounds and eight motos to go. "The track was very difficult all day with the long choppy ruts," said Cooper. "I had a really good first moto, but I was really fighting the bike in the second moto." After winning the last two rounds, Martin finished out the day on the podium with a 3-2 and is now just one point behind third-place Hunter Lawrence in the championship. "I was very excited to race to Lawrence, though Cooper did fight back and pass Lawrence back, but that would only last for another lap when Lawrence got by the first-moto winner again, this time for good. Coo- per dropped off the pace even further and was later passed by RJ Hampshire and ended up a surprising fourth in the moto. Meanwhile, Lawrence ran down Martin, passed him and steadily increased his lead during the remaining 10 laps. "I felt really good out there," Lawrence said. "I had such a good flow and felt so fast. Good to be back up on podium finally. It's been a while." Martin took second, followed by Hampshire and Cooper, who crossed the finish line a head- scratching one minute and 11 seconds behind Lawrence. Lawrence's 2-1 gave him his Justin Cooper dominated the first 250MX moto but went backwards in the second moto after starting in the lead. He admitted struggling with bike setup, a rough track and finding his flow in moto two. rode a 125cc two-stroke Husqvarna in the 250MX class and cracked the top 20 in the second moto... Stilez Robertson (250MX) didn't start moto two. He came into the race feeling "under the weather" and crashed in the first moto, then decided to call it a day... Dean Wilson (450MX) crashed and broke his rear brake pedal in moto one and eventually went 15-8 on the day... Jo Shimoda (250MX) pulled out of moto two after "tweaking" his hand on a course marker on the inside of a turn. Briefly...