It was a complete switch in conditions from the opening round with riders experiencing a dry and slick track. Cooper, who went wire-to-wire in the opening moto, found himself fourth at the end of the second moto, pushing him to second overall. Ferrandis was a warrior on the track as he battled back in both motos to grab the final podium spot in third with a 7-3. Colt Nichols showed speed all day, coming out of Round 2 with a fifth overall on his 4-7 moto score. The rookie Ty Masterpool continues his learning process in the pro ranks and ended the day 14th overall with a 12-17.
Coming into the round in Southern California, Cooper hoped to redeem his 1-4 finish from the opening round. With a all-new start to deal with, it was a gamble to figure out the best gate pick, which he was the first to select after topping qualifying. The pick paid off, putting him in the lead on the opening moto and was never really challenged as he collected his second moto win of the season. In Moto 2, a flinch of the gate slightly interfered with the start but he still managed to make it up to ninth after lap one. By lap four, he was in fourth and did his best to maintain a consistent speed, but was unable to make it any higher. He still collected another overall podium finish with second overall and sits second in the points standings.
The unknown of the new start didn’t seem to favor Ferrandis, who was 10th early in the opening moto. He was battling his way to the front when he and another rider came together and went down. He got up in 21st, and with determination as his motivation, made it all the way back up to seventh at the end of the 30 minutes plus two lap moto. This put him in decent position going into the final moto of the day where he started again in 10th. Although not the start he wanted, the Frenchman never gave up and pushed every lap to come across the finish in third. The 7-3 was good enough for third overall, putting him third in the 250MX standings.
As for Nichols, he had a much better Moto 1. The Oklahoman tucked in right behind his teammate Cooper for second and held the position for a majority of the race. It was just at the final laps that he lost two positions and settled for fourth. The start of Moto 2, didn’t go as planned and he had his work cut out for him. The deteriorating track was tricky and it was a tough track to make a pass, but he managed to salvage seventh at the checkered flag and ended the day fifth overall with his 4-7 score.
With one round under his belt, rookie Masterpool focused on feeling comfortable out on the track and putting in solid laps. He started the opening moto 19th and was ready to move forward. By lap four he was in 14th and still managed to keep pushing to finish the moto in 12th. In Moto 2, he was on the move at the start going from 17th to 10th in just a few laps, but a mistake pushed him down the leaderboard to 22nd. He put in some fast laps to get all the way up to 17th, tying his previous best at 14th overall.
The Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing team head east to Lakewood, Colorado for Round 3 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship at Thunder Valley Motocross Park on Saturday, June 1.
