P122
CN
III FRIENDLY FIRE
T
o the surprise of (almost)
no one, Cooper Webb and
Ken Roczen clinched the
2016 AMA 250 and 450 Lucas
Oil Pro Motocross Champion-
ships on Saturday at Budds
Creek with a round to spare.
Sure, there were questions about
Webb's broken wrist, especially
when a hell-bent-for-revenge
Joey Savatgy came out swinging
and won both 250 motos at the
Hangtown opener. The fact that
Webb could go 4-5 with a broken
wrist was impressive, but his first-
moto win a week later at Glen
Helen was just what the doctor
ordered for the newly crowned
250 East Supercross Champ,
and he picked up momentum
each week as his wrist healed.
It helped that his Star Rac-
ing Yamaha teammates showed
chinks in their armor from the
start, especially defending cham-
pion, Jeremy Martin. J-Mart did not
look comfortable on the bike all
year, even when he was winning.
Yet he somehow stayed in conten-
tion until getting hurt at Washougal
and tapping out for the season,
leaving older brother, Alex, to car-
ry the torch for the family. Alex is
fast, but inconsistent and should
finish second in the series, bar-
ring a catastrophe next weekend
at the final race in Indiana.
Savatgy's title hopes took a
wrong turn at RedBud and just
kept going south, leaving him third
in points and no doubt making for
some tense moments in the Pro
Circuit rig.
Speaking of which, you have
to feel for Adam Cianciarulo. It
was a little over two years ago that
the rookie wunderkind won the
first three rounds of the 250 East
Supercross Series and was seem-
ingly on his way to superstardom.
Then, disaster struck at round four
in Toronto. His shoulder popped
out of the socket in the whoops
while leading, causing him to pull
off the track in obvious pain. The
TV cameras followed him as he
rode right up to Doc Bodnar at
the Asterisk Medical Unit. As the
world watched, Bodnar jerked
Adam's dislocated arm back into
MOTOCROSS THOUGHTS
Ken Roczen got off to a rocky
start in 2016 but finished it
off (well, almost)…wet.
BY STEVE BAUER
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
ROB
KOY
