Racing

Cooper Webb's Day At Hangtown Motocross | MX 2016

Cooper went 4-5 for 3rd overall at round 1

May 27, 2016

The big question leading up to the Hangtown was if Cooper Webb would be able to compete with a wrist injury he sustained weeks before the Las Vegas Supercross. The announcement came a few days before the opening round that he would give it a go. Here Cooper is making adjustments to his wrist brace before the first practice.Photography by Rob Koy

In the first practice Cooper only threw down three heater laps out of the six laps he recorded. On the second lap he ran a 1:57.544, the fourth 1:56.367 and on the sixth lap he recorded his best lap at 1:56.186. Here Cooper was on one of his cool down laps riding over the table top and resting the wrist.Photography by Rob Koy

Cooper going through the off chamber turn after the first hill. Since the last Supercross in Las Vegas Cooper had only ridden once to test out the wrist to see if he would be able to race the outdoors.Photography by Rob Koy

At the bottom of the off camber Copper gives a handful of throttle on the exit. Cooper qualified 5th on a track that was much smoother than in years past.Photography by Rob Koy

Cooper setting up for the landing before the half pipe. It gives him a chance to rest his wrist that he is favoring.Photography by Rob Koy

Cooper giving the wrist a break in the 2nd practice.Photography by Rob Koy

Cooper takes the inside line looking for a smoother exit up the face of this double on the 3rd downhill section.Photography by Rob Koy

Another section on the track that might have affected Cooper’s wrist would be the uphill rollers. Cooper chose to go far right for the smoother ruts.Photography by Rob Koy

Cooper’s plan for the first three rounds is to salvage as many points as possible before the series goes east to Highpoint. Right now he is only riding on raceday so his wrist will heal properly. In moto one Cooper got a top five start and held his own all race to score a fourth place behind Savatgy, Smith and his teammate Jeremy Martin. Here the rain comes down at around the halfway mark. It made for an interesting race because most of the riders ran tear-offs set for dry conditions.Photography by Rob Koy

Moto 2 had a restart after the red flag came out for an injured rider. In the first start here Cooper gets caught in the middle.Photography by Rob Koy

In the second start Cooper got swallowed by his teammates Jeremy Martin and Aaron Plessinger. Cooper did manage to be in a top ten position after the first turn.Photography by Rob Koy

Cooper putting the power down as he comes out of the half pipe toward the closing laps of moto 2.Photography by Rob Koy

Cooper hung on to 5th place in moto 2, giving him a 3rd overall with a 4-5 moto score. Cooper has to be very happy with his results at Hangtown. The next challenge will come this weekend at Glen Helen, which will be a lot rougher than Hangtown. The big question for Cooper is if his wrist hold up to the massive braking bumps and downhills at Glen Helen.Photography by Rob Koy