compete at the front with the
best of them, despite being a
rookie in the 450cc division. He
is now fourth in the standings,
20 points behind first place.
"I'm kind of just building off
the 250 days," Cooper said.
"I'm just finding my flow more
and more each week. Felt good
today. I just ran out with about
five minutes to go in each moto;
I started hurting. But I just tried
to get away for the time I could."
Justin Barcia (TLD/Red Bull/
GasGas) enjoyed his best re
-
sult of the season so far with a
fourth-place finish in race one and
followed it up with a sixth-place
finish in moto two, earning him
fourth place overall for the day.
"I got off to two good starts,
charged really hard all day, and
the bike was really good," Barcia
said. "We made a change after
the second practice, and it was
consistent, so I was able to
adapt to different lines today and
felt comfortable. We came away
with a solid fourth, so it's good."
Sexton (Red Bull KTM) came
to Colorado with momentum
and certainly showed speed,
especially at the start of moto
450 division. Another 450 rookie
and the only 450 rider on the
Star Racing Yamaha Team,
Cooper took both of the hole
-
shots and led 72 percent of the
day's laps. Unfortunately, only
the last lap matters, and in both
cases, Cooper was caught and
passed by the Lawrences. Still,
a strong showing from Cooper
in two motos proves he can
bike. That was a huge thing, just
fighting the bike the past two
weekends. Like 'J-Coop' said,
this thing [450cc] is a beast to
hold onto, so setup does play
a lot. No one can hold onto
that thing when it's fighting and
bucking for 35 minutes, no mat
-
ter how strong you are."
Many will consider Cooper
the weekend's standout in the
VOLUME ISSUE JUNE , P69
JETT'S RECOVERY
Jett Lawrence hinted at the results
of last week's crash, referring to
himself as the "stiff kitty" during
this week's training. As for race
day, Lawrence relied heavily on
Dr. G's "magic hands" for his leg
and hip, as well as a taped-up
shoulder to keep it from giving out
during heavy impacts.
Briefly...
Hunter Lawrence battles
brother Jett before claiming
his first 450MX moto victory.
Hunter also now carries the
red plate into round four.
