JUSTIN COOPER

The proficient skills of Justin Cooper were once again on display at the Ironman National. The Yamaha rider was a tactician on the motorcycle, and weaved his way through the countless ruts that had developed throughout the morning hours...with his prowess continuing to extend into the two-moto format that followed. Once rounding the opening bend with his engine bend, he sped into the wooded section and through the multitude of elevation changes to gather a position of sixth, just behind Eli Tomac. Though a few position swaps would deter him to eighth as the first full lap was completed, it would be Cooper who returned to the sixth-place residency as the third circuit appeared. He would then follow Jason Anderson and use the line choices of the veteran as a means to keep various two-digit contenders behind him. He would scrub the wall-jump just after the finish line with a subtle flick before aiming to the inside rut of the next corner, proceeding to inflict as much power to the ground as possible while embarking on the start straightaway thereafter. He was incredibly smooth through some of the longest ruts on the track, distributing his weight perfectly across the Yamaha chassis while passing the twenty-minute mark of the contest. At that stage in the moto, he could sense that the gap over Malcolm Stewart and Phil Nicoletti was more than sufficient...yet the competitive spirit of Cooper couldn’t be disregarded. In the end, it was Justin’s score (of sixth) that set him up for an optimal overall standing at the conclusion of the day. A strong start where he contended for the hole-shot, before slightly running into the outside berm, would deter him to third while Cooper still strove for the highest of positions in round two. However, he would briefly surpass Hunter Lawrence for second...before then being overtaken by Chase Sexton. It was a shuffling of positions among the top-five, but Cooper’s resilience persevered through the storm of contenders that were surrounding him in every facet of the track. He seemed to be established in fifth as time would progress, but as the moto neared the twenty-minute mark, it was evident that he was gaining time on the number ninety-six machine. This led to a pivotal point in the second moto narrative, where he would make a pass on Hunter Lawrence (for fourth) with around eight minutes left on the clock. Once into fourth, Cooper would flow to the finish line with a sense of accomplishment — returning to the top five and scoring the aforementioned placement, after a severe crash at the Budds Creek National last week. His overall accumulation (of fifth) was certainly a feat to build from with SMX, around the corner.