"I just saw the yellow flags,
I didn't know who was down,"
Cooper said. "I figured he [Law-
rence] got up right behind me so
I
was pushing pretty hard on the
last lap. Once I saw there was a
little gap I kind of turned it back.
I just had to stay close in that
one and hope for that mistake."
After winning a moto at
Southwick just a week ago,
Shimoda came oh-so-close
to repeating again at Millville.
He led all but two laps of the
first moto and did his absolute
best to hold off the unrelenting
Hunter Lawrence. Despite his
efforts, Shimoda settled for sec
-
ond. He then backed it up with
a third
in moto two after a slow
start which saw the leaders es
-
cape early on. Shimoda's string
realize
Jo [Shimoda] was there
and I thought, 'Oh, I've got to dig
again!' It was close but all in all
a pretty good day."
It was another second place
for Justin Cooper as the Star
Racing Yamaha rider put in a
solid day. A lonely fourth in the
first moto saw him farther up
than most of the competitors,
but just not enough to match
the pace of Shimoda and the
charging Lawrence. Consistency
paid in his favor, though, in moto
two as Cooper inherited the lead
after Lawrence fell from the top
spot. This moto win bumped
him up in the overall rankings,
going 4-1 for second overall.
Cooper's recent success sees
him just one point out of third
place in the point standings.
his way to the front of the field
in a matter of laps. He eventu
-
ally caught race leader, and last
week's
moto-two winner, Jo Shi-
moda and passed him with just
two laps
to go. He rode away
from the field again in moto
two, but a last-lap tangle with a
lapped rider stopped his perfect
day. Still, a 1-2 gave Lawrence
the overall win and more impor
-
tantly making up 18 points to
retake
the championship lead.
"I think I had four lappers in
front of me [on the last lap],"
Lawrence said. "Just a last-min-
ute split decision to miss them
and
just pushed the front into
the wall jump. Then it took me a
while to get up I almost winded
myself. Then I was looking
around for third place and didn't
ROUND 7 / JULY 15, 2023
SPRING CREEK MOTOCROSS PARK / MILLVILLE, MINNESOTA
MOTOCROSS I PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP / SUPERMOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
P72
Justin Cooper claimed a moto
win en route to second overall.
