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/697689
MOTOCROSS LUCAS OIL AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 5 / JUNE 25, 2016 BLOUNTVILLE, TENNESSEE / MUDDY CREEK RACEWAY P70 250MX WEBB'S TURN Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Ka- wasaki's Joey Savatgy has been the only racer consistently beat- ing any/all of the Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha team. Savatgy is also the points leader, having won three of the first four rounds overall, and he got a bit of help at round three when the Martin brothers—Alex and defending 250MX champion Jeremy—had mechanical failures that cost them each a moto finish at High Point Raceway. However, one particular Yama- lube/Star Racing Yamaha racer is picking up the pace while his teammates are having problems, and that racer is Cooper Webb. Webb has been nursing a frac- tured scaphoid in his left wrist since prior to the Las Vegas Supercross, and said at that time that he wouldn't even be able to race outdoors. He sat second in points after three rounds, and after a solid third overall at round three at High Point, he said he was looking forward to round four at Muddy Creek. Only a short drive from the western bor- der of his home state of North Carolina, Muddy Creek was one of his "home tracks" when he was growing up. And it shows. But it was Monster Energy/ Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Adam Cianciarulo from Florida who managed to put in the fastest qualifying time during the day. He followed that up with a solid holeshot in the opening moto, and was challenged immediately by teammate and points leader Joey Savatgy. But it was actually GEICO Honda's Jordon Smith who took over the lead from Cianciarulo on lap two. Savatgy followed Smith past Cianciarulo a lap later, then managed to put a move on Smith for the lead only a handful of laps into the race. Savatgy set sail at that point while Cianciarulo and Smith battled it out over second. Just after Cianciarulo had managed to put Smith behind him for second place, he went down, and the incident allowed Webb to snatch second. Webb's teammates Alex and Jeremy Martin found themselves in sixth and seventh in the late part of the moto when Alex went down on his own. Fears of a repeat of High Point—where each of the Martin brothers had suffered head-gasket failures— lingered as Alex was unable to start his YZ250F for almost a full minute, losing 13 positions while he kicked. He eventually got it fired back up, and ended up 19th at the line, while his brother and defending champ, Jeremy, finished sixth. Savatgy took the moto win—his fifth of the season—over Webb (nine seconds behind), and then came another North Carolin- ian in Zach Osborne (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna), Smith, and one more North Carolinian in the form of Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM's Shane McElrath. "Last weekend was good, little struggle in the first moto, but we worked on it this week," Savatgy said of winning moto one in Tennessee. "We got better at things that I needed to get better at. There's still a lot of areas I can improve in right now, and I'll work