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/1502241
Pearson/Cooper Claim Battleground Victory H ot on the heels of a dramatic weekend of racing at the previous round, the third stop of the Legacy Racing Association visited Caliente, Nevada, for the VT Construction Battleground, a 338-mile point-to-point race that would finish in historic down - town Caliente. The three main contenders from the previous race (Danny Cooper 1x, Cory Skaggs 22x, and Trevor Hunter 57x) all returned with sights set on the win while joined by newcomer to the series Eric Holt on the 15x machine. Per usual, the bikes fired first and headed into the open desert one by one at 5:30 am Saturday morning. First off the line was the 1x bike with hometown hero Axel Pearson joining Danny Cooper as the duo made first dust on their Cooper Motorsports/Kenda Tires backed Honda. Utilizing his local knowledge of the area and putting his desert background to work, Pearson set the pace for the first 280 miles solo, building a sizable gap back to the rest of the field in the process. After building well over 10 minutes on the next rider, Pearson handed the CRF450X to Cooper who would bring the bike into the fin - ish nearly nine minutes ahead of second place. Behind the lead bike, a dramatic turn of events took place just min - utes into the race. Fresh off a win at the Baja Nevada, Cory Skaggs' 22x Honda was stuck on the side of the course a mere five miles into the race. After staging sec- ond, a tire/mousse malfunction left the Skaggs Racing/TAS Insur- ance CRF450X helpless on the trail. A fair amount of time later, the team was able to remount and continue their race, though they lost nearly one hour in the process and were forced to come through the field all day long to crack the top ten at the finish and gain valu - able championship points. The biggest benefactor to the Skaggs breakdown was Eric Holt's team who started right behind the 22x bike. With Skaggs WIND IN THE P52 The duo of Axel Pearson and Danny Cooper led the way at the VT Construction Battleground in Caliente, Nevada. PHOTOS: HARLEN FOLEY