COOPER WEBB
VOL. 53 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 20, 2016 P83
I told them not to, so I thought
that if Febvre passed me, France
would win, so I was telling my-
self, 'All right, if I can get around
Tommy, we have two laps to go,
and it'll take a little bit for Febvre
to get around him, so I can try to
get a gap."
Webb fell trying to set Searle
up for the pass, and that was that.
"Going up to where I crashed,
I knew the line Tommy was
taking in the next corner, and I
knew I had to be close but that I
could pass him in that next cor-
ner," Webb said. "I think I was
already thinking about that next
corner, and my back end just
slid out of that rut. It was literally
an inch. I went back and looked
at the mark and everything. That
corner was tough to begin with,
but it was definitely a bummer.
It sucked at the time, but I think
it's something I learned from.
I use it as a motivator. I mean,
that much pressure has to teach
you something, and I didn't just
crack. I could've just cracked
and gone to shit right away. And
that's what made it almost a little
bit harder, which was like, 'Holy
cow, he's pulling this off!' It was
almost a Cinderella story, but it
is what it is."
Still Not Scared
Overcoming his wrist injury to
win both 250cc titles in 2016,
then heading to Europe and
nearly pulling off the MXoN win
essentially by himself in the final
moto, it's clear that Webb isn't a
timid man. Having won his first
national championship, Webb
Following the footsteps of
Jeremy McGrath and
Ryan Villopoto, Cooper
Webb will wear the
number 2 for the
rest of his racing
career.