Justin Cooper during the open-
ing laps. The North Carolina
native is no
stranger to muddy
conditions and avoided trouble,
finishing second at the line.
McElrath, a former 250SX race
winner, now celebrates his first
podium in the 450SX division.
This achievement comes shortly
after McElrath extended his con
-
tract with the Quad Lock Honda
team, having
initially signed on
for only the first half of the 2025
Supercross season.
"I was on the line, and I was
praying, 'God, just give me trac
-
tion,' " McElrath said. "That's all
I
want on the grate, and I got
a good start, leaned back, and
started shifting. I almost lost it
in the first corner. I want to keep
this progression going. This is
the first time in the 450 class
where my whole program has
been in unison, and that's what
I'm really excited about."
Cooper Webb somehow made
his way to third at the checkers.
The Star Racing Yamaha rider
did not look like his usual self
at the start of the race and fell
twice in the early stages of the
main event. With Chase Sexton
up ahead and Webb down on
the ground, barely inside the top
10, it seemed like the red-plate
holder would be giving away
a big chunk of his points lead.
Then, in the final few laps, Webb
began jumping most of the
VOLUME 62 ISSUE 14 APRIL 8, 2025 P73
jumps and closed the gap to the
front-runners. He passed from
sixth to third on the last lap and
passed his championship rival,
Sexton, in the process. What
initially looked like a disastrous
night for Webb turned out bet-
ter than expected as he gained
more points
in the champion-
ship hunt. He now leads Sexton
by
15.
"It was a do-or-die situation,"
Webb said. "I fell twice, and
once I finally got up and re-
grouped, I had this 'F-it' attitude.
I
just charged forward and
stayed jumping those jumps,
which saved me. I saw three
[laps] to go, and I saw the num
-
left idle by the injured Lawrence
brothers. Wilson will race the last
five rounds with the team.
NO MAIN IN MASS
FOR TRIUMPH
Austin Forkner failed to make the
250SX main event, which meant
there was no Triumph rider in
the top 20 on Saturday night.
"We knew it was going to be a
mudder," said Forkner. "I started
third in the heat race; I tipped
over in a turn, and then some-
one ran into me and got their
bike stuck on top of mine. I then
holeshot the LCQ—the track was
just destroyed. I made a couple
of mistakes and ended fifth. It is
a huge bummer, but my starts
were better today. This was all
about survival, and I made too
many mistakes in the LCQ. That
is on me."
Briefly...
(Left) Cooper Webb went from sixth
to third on the final lap of the 450SX
main and further extended his
points lead. (Bottom) Chase Sexton
started up front but later finished
outside the overall 450SX top five.
PHOTO: ALIGN MEDIA
