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AMA<br />
BLOG<br />
THE RIGHT TIME?<br />
When it’s your year, it’s your year. I’ve been saying that for<br />
a while when it comes to Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb and<br />
his improbable run to this 450SX championship.<br />
Case in point this past weekend<br />
in Seattle, Webb didn’t look like<br />
his usual self all day, the big<br />
whoops seemingly able to get the<br />
better of him. In the main event<br />
he rode in fourth for most of the<br />
race and although he was catching<br />
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s<br />
Eli Tomac for the last spot on the<br />
podium, in the end he couldn’t<br />
do it and lost seven points to the<br />
suddenly hot Marvin Musquin.<br />
The points spread was gonna be<br />
down to seven with five rounds<br />
left.<br />
But after the race Musquin was<br />
docked seven points for jumping<br />
on a Red Cross flag (for the<br />
downed Justin Brayton and Chad<br />
Reed, both riders look to be out a<br />
while unfortunately) and although<br />
he gets to keep the win, Marv<br />
loses those points and the purse<br />
money. You may remember a<br />
similar penalty being applied to<br />
GEICO Honda’s Jeremy Martin<br />
last year when he won Indianapolis.<br />
It’s a newer rule, one that doesn’t<br />
take a win away from a rider but<br />
does incur a penalty. For this situation,<br />
it was the right thing to do,<br />
Musquin needed to be penalized<br />
but it was only a few seconds of<br />
a twenty minute race, in the past<br />
riders have had all their hard<br />
work taken away for something<br />
that’s been pretty miniscule.<br />
But back to Webb, after the penalty<br />
was applied, Webb and Musquin<br />
scored the same amount<br />
of points and voila, the fourteen<br />
point advantage is back for Coop<br />
with five rounds remaining. It just<br />
feels like things are going the way<br />
for the #2 on the KTM right?<br />
For Musquin though that’s two<br />
wins in a row after going winless<br />
all season long. He’s been on fire<br />
lately and truthfully should have<br />
more than just the two victories<br />
but couldn’t quite get it all together.<br />
Generally his successes<br />
have come in the second half<br />
of the season so look for him to<br />
keep this roll going. Will it be<br />
enough to catch and pass his<br />
upstart teammate? Stay tuned<br />
and I think before this thing is all<br />
said and done, there will be some<br />
friction between them.<br />
Ken Roczen admitted in the team<br />
PR last week that he can’t quite<br />
figure out what’s been going on<br />
with him lately as he’s lacked<br />
energy and fire that he normally<br />
has. I’d agree with him based on<br />
the fact that he went four weeks<br />
without a podium. In Seattle, he<br />
was very good all day long and<br />
scored a runner-up finish. He’s<br />
in California this week at the Red<br />
Bull facility getting some blood<br />
work done to try and figure out<br />
what exactly has been going on<br />
but there’s some hope based on<br />
his Seattle ride. He got close to<br />
Musquin at times but couldn’t<br />
make anything happen but it was<br />
the best #94 we’ve seen for a<br />
month.
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