CHAMPIONSHIP
VOL. 53 ISSUE 6 FEBRUARY 17, 2016 P45
250SX
MOMENTUM SHIFT
Speaking of momentum, that
has been effectively stolen from
Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha's
Cooper Webb. He started out his
title defense of the 250cc Western
Regional Supercross Champion-
ship with three consecutive vic-
tories, but a mechanical failure at
round four, while leading late in the
race, landed him only one point
on the day. In the two races since
then, he has lost the front end and
crashed while trying to find a way
around the race leader—Christian
Craig last week in Arizona, and
Joey Savatgy this week in San
Diego. Both times he has finished
second, and he now trails Savatgy
in the points standings by three
points with three rounds left to run.
However, the one thing that has
stayed consistent even during the
past three races where Webb has
lost is that he has always been the
fastest guy on the track. No other
particular racer has effectively
stolen Webb's momentum just yet,
but it's clear that Webb has lost
some of his mojo from rounds one
to three.
In San Diego, Savatgy's Mon-
ster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki
teammate Chris Alldredge actually
snatched the holeshot while Webb
had to fight his way into the top
five. Savatgy started second be-
hind his teammate, and just at the
start of lap three, Alldredge pulled
off the track with a mechanical
problem, handing the lead to Sa-
vatgy. At the same moment, Webb
knocked GEICO Honda's Jordon
Smith out of the way for third
and then moved around Smith's
teammate Jimmy Decotis to move
into second behind Savatgy. For
the next four laps, Webb pres-
sured Savatgy, but was repeatedly
thwarted. Then, as he exited the
first turn on lap seven, he lost the
front end and went down.
His recovery was as good as
could be expected under the cir-
cumstances, as he got up in fourth
and had to pass Decotis again for
third, then fight his way around De-
cotis's very-hard-to-pass teammate
Christian Craig for second.
After three straight wins, Webb
has lost three straight races and
trails in his title defense.
