COOPER WEBB CLAIMS RUNNER-UP FINISH IN SALT LAKE CITY
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Cooper Webb and the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team made the highly-anticipated return to AMA Supercross racing on Sunday where the Reigning 450SX Champion secured a second-place podium finish in the first of seven “made-for-tv” races that are set to take place inside Salt Lake City’s Rice-Eccles Stadium over the next four weeks.
Webb, who currently sits third overall in the championship standings, remains within striking distance of a second consecutive title in what has proven to be a unique and historic situation for the 2020 AMA Supercross Championship. Racing without the roar of fans inside the stadium, riders underwent a much different race day experience on Sunday with everything from the modified race times to drier-than-usual track conditions. Webb seemed to adjust quickly as he qualified fourth overall aboard the KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION before lining up in 450SX Heat 1. He got off to a second-place start in the heat race and he put in a solid ride to capture a second-place transfer into the Main Event.
In the Main, Webb got off to a sixth-place start and he quickly fought his way up to third early on. He bounced back-and-forth between second and third through the first half of the race before settling into second. He pushed hard to make a charge on the leader in the final laps but a mistake at the end of the race cost him some time and he ultimately finished 3.7 seconds behind the leader for second-place.
Webb: “It’s good to be back racing. It’s awesome just to be able to do what we love. I was battling up there in the beginning – we were all sandwiched – and I was able to actually get around Eli [Tomac] but then he went around us and really laid some good laps. During the middle of the race, I kind of lost speed a little bit and at the end I was really trying hard. I missed a rhythm at the end though, and that really cost me in maybe catching him.”
Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pierce Brown, a Utah native, secured his best finish of the season with fifth-place in the 250SX East Main Event.
Next Race: Round 12 in Salt Lake City, Utah – June 3, 2020
Results 450SX Class – Salt Lake City
1. Eli Tomac (USA), Kawasaki, 29 laps
2. Cooper Webb (USA), KTM, +3.771
3. Ken Roczen (GER), Honda, +9.770
Other KTM
6. Martin Davalos (ECQ), KTM
7. Blake Baggett (USA), KTM
13. Benny Bloss (USA), KTM
19. Chad Reed (AUS), KTM
Standings 450SX Class 2020 after 11 of 17 rounds
1. Tomac, 252 points
2. Roczen, 244
3. Webb, 220
Other KTM
12. Baggett, 125
19. Bloss, 44
Results 250SX East Class – Salt Lake City
1. Shane McElrath (USA), Yamaha
2. Chase Sexton (USA), Honda
3. Garrett Marchbanks (USA), Kawasaki
Other KTM
5. Pierce Brown, (USA), KTM
17. Kevin Moranz (USA), KTM
18. Dustin Winter (USA), KTM
Standings 250SX East Class 2020 after 5 of 10 rounds
1. Sexton, 121 points
2. McElrath, 114
3. Marchbanks, 100