VOL. 54 ISSUE 25 JUNE 27, 2017 P29
classes. In fact, Cooper was un-
defeated in every qualifying race
he competed in all weekend,
besting the valiant attempts by his
competition to stop his winning
streak. Admittedly, though, he did
have to push his limits to garner
the wins. "I had to go to the wall
on the [450 Pro] start, and I got a
little sketchy, but that's what you
have to do to win," Cooper said
after taking the win in the 450
main event on Sunday.
Behind Cooper, in the 450 Pro
class, was Fasthouse/Yamaha
rider Justin Hoeft. Hoeft's lap
times were consistently some of
the fastest all weekend, but bad
starts and poor luck hindered
his results. The best race of the
weekend was between the young
California native and Cooper,
which occurred during their 450
qualifier on Sunday. Hoeft got
out to an early lead with Cooper
only a few bike lengths behind. At
the midway mark, Cooper closed
the gap, made a quick pass, and
began to open up a small lead
before eventually taking the win.
As he pulled off the track, Hoeft's
frustration was visible, and
Cooper's dominating speed was
evident—Cooper would go on to
claim the 450 main later in the
day, gapping Hoeft, once again.
Another notable rider in the pro
classes, who kept Cooper hon-
est, was KTM's Enzo Lopes. On
Saturday, Lopes was leading the
second 250 Pro moto, and look-
ing to take the overall, until he
went down in a turn with four laps
remaining, handing the win to
Cooper. Lopes went on to finish
second overall via a 2-2 score.
He also finished second behind
Cooper in Open Pro-Sport.
The B classes were nearly
as fast-paced as the pros. The
sport's up-and-coming riders
turned in lap times that would
be competitive with the top pro
riders, and provided some of
the best battles of the weekend.
Team Green Kawasaki's Garrett
Marchbanks carded an impres-
sive win in the highly competi-
tive 250 B class, leading every
lap before ultimately winning by
nearly seven seconds. Other
standout B riders included Suzu-
ki-supported Brock Papi, who ran
up front in every moto, and KTM-
mounted Levi Newby. In their final
race of the weekend, Papi and
Newby had a great battle. Newby
hounded Papi at the start of the
race, before making an aggres-
sive outside pass on Papi for the
lead. Newby was ecstatic about
his victory, "I followed him for
about two or three laps, " Newby
said. "Once I got into the lead, I
started to get a little tired, being
worried about him coming up the
inside on me, so my lines weren't
as fast as I wanted them to be.
But it was a good moto and I
came home with a bear [trophy]."
Brendan Lutes
250 PRO
1. Justin Cooper (Yam)
2. Enzo Lopes (KTM)
3. Justin Hoeft (Yam)
450 PRO
1. Justin Cooper (Yam)
2. Justin Hoeft (Yam)
3. Joey Crown (Kaw)
OPEN PRO
1. Justin Cooper (Yam)
2. Enzo Lopes (KTM)
3. Justin Hoeft (Yam)
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
BRENDAN
LUTES
AND
MAX
MANDELL
Garrett Marchbanks
was one of the top
B-class riders.
