In the first moto, Cooper narrowly missed the holeshot, with his rookie teammate Masterpool slotted right behind him in third. An early mistake from the race leader promoted Cooper into the top position. The New Yorker went on to try to hit his marks and stay focused on the very unforgiving track.
In the second moto, the Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing team got off to a flying start with Oldenburg taking the holeshot and Cooper and Ferrandis right behind. Unfortunately, the number 66 rider soon fell back to fourth while the battle raged on up front between his teammates.
With the championship on the line and his first overall win in sight, Cooper put his head down and maintained his lead aboard his Yamaha YZ250F. However, his teammate never let the New Yorker out of his sight, and with seven minutes plus two laps remaining, the fast Frenchman made the pass and put in some consistently fast laps to put a healthy gap on Cooper. The overall result was helpful for both Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing team riders in the title chase, with Cooper gaining eight points on the championship leader and Ferrandis improving his spot in third, as well.
As for Nichols, it was his starts that hurt him. The Oklahoma rider toughed it out and was able to salvage some points with a 9-7 tally to finish seventh overall. Masterpool turned a lot of heads with his stellar start in the first moto. The 16-year-old was able to hold on to a podium position for nearly half the race. Unfortunately, the grueling conditions got the better of the young rookie, but he persevered to cross the line 16th. In the second moto, he had to fight his way through the pack twice – first with a less-than-ideal start and second after an error late in the moto. Masterpool once again finished 16th to take 15th overall.
Right behind Masterpool in 16th was Oldenburg (12-36). Although not the result he was looking for, he had some flashes of brilliance in just his second race back after full recovery from his Supercross injury. In the first moto, some bad luck with a downed rider in front of him hurt his chance at a sixth-place finish. Then, in the second moto, the conditions got the better of him and he not only was unable to capitalize on his holeshot, but found himself on the ground and unable to finish the race.
Next weekend, the Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing team head to Southwick, Massachusetts, for Round 6 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship at The Wick 338 on Saturday, June 29.
