COOPER WEBB CONQUISTA LA “TRIPLE CROWN” AL SUPERCROSS DI ARLINGTON
ARLINGTON, Texas – Seconda vittoria stagionale per Cooper Webb. Il pilota Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Conquista la “Triple Crown” ad Arlington, settimo round del campionato AMA Supercross 2023, e si porta a soli due punti dalla tabella rossa. Il suo compagno di squadra Aaron Plessinger chiude sesto, mentre in 250SX East il rookie Tom Vialle coglie il quarto posto, suo miglior risultato su suolo americano fin qui.
Dopo essersi qualificato con il quinto tempo, Webb è tornato sui suoi livelli migliori in gara, migliorandosi manche dopo manche con un 5-2-1 finale che gli è valso la seconda vittoria dell’anno dopo quella di Tampa, in Florida. Questo risultato rappresenta inoltre il quinto podio in sette gare.
Cooper Webb: “Sono contentissimo di essere riuscito a vincere ancora! Dallas è una pista dove vado sempre bene, per cui vincere qui la Triple Crown è fantastico. Gara1 non è andata benissimo, ma poi sono migliorato e anche se mi ha aiutato qualche errore commesso dagli altri, sono contento di come ho corso e di questo primo posto! Sapevo di dover stare davanti nell’ultima finale, e non ho mollato fino alla fine. Avevo un bel passo senza rischiare, quindi è stata una bella gara. Ora vedremo dove ci porta il resto della stagione, ma sono fiducioso e so che possiamo ancora migliorare. È una stagione combattutissima!”
Aaron Plessinger: “In qualifica mi sentivo bene, ma quando è arrivata Gara1 è successo qualcosa. Mi sentivo un po’ svuotato, non riuscivo a spingere al massimo e per qualche ragione non ero a posto. Ho provato a ritrovare la carica prima di Gara2 e mi sono sentito molto meglio, così come in Gara3. È stato bello riuscire a ribaltare la situazione anche se ho migliorato solo di una posizione, con due quinti posti. Ma è un bel modo di arrivare alla prossima gara a Daytona!”
Tom Vialle: “Oggi è andata bene. Mi sentivo a posto in qualifica, il settimo tempo è il mio miglior risultato fin qui. In Gara1 ho fatto quinto, poi ho sbagliato la partenza in Gara2 e ho chiuso nono. Gara3 è stata molto meglio: secondo e molto vicino al leader di gara tutto il tempo. Nelle ultime settimane abbiamo migliorato molto, ci stiamo avvicinando ai migliori e ora aspetto con impazienza di correre a Daytona.”
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COOPER WEBB AND RED BULL KTM CAPTURE ARLINGTON TRIPLE CROWN VICTORY
The opening Race saw two-time 450SX champion Webb charge forward through the pack to fifth position, before a stronger start in the second encounter saw him lead the opening lap on his way to the runner-up result. Race three was a spectacular one, where he rode his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION to an important win from behind, securing him the overall at round seven.
Cooper Webb: “I’m extremely happy to get another win here in the season! Dallas is always a good one for me, so to come here and do well in the Triple Crown is super-cool. The first Race wasn’t my best one, we improved for the second one and then, in the last Race, obviously some mistakes of other riders helped me out, but overall I’m stoked to execute and get another win! I knew I had to get to the front in that final one in the end to get the overall, so that was what I was going for and I felt good, had a great pace going and was comfortable, so it was a good round for us. We’ll see where this carries us for the rest of the season, but I’m feeling confident and know what I can get better at – we’re all riding well and it’s definitely a dog-fight at the moment.”
Plessinger put forward a consistent performance on his way to P6 in Texas. The 27-year-old was sixth in the first outing and then recorded fifth-place results in both Races two and three, constantly factoring toward the front of the pack. Those results marginally positioned him outside of the top-five overall, now also sitting sixth in the point-standings.
Aaron Plessinger: “I felt good all day in practice and then when the first Race came around, I’m not really sure what went on. I didn’t feel like I had much in me, couldn’t really push that hard, and in that first main event I didn’t have it for whatever reason. I tried to get as much fuel in me as I could before the second one and felt a lot better – likewise for the third one. It was good to turn things around in the night show with 6-5-5 for sixth overall. I’ll take it heading into Daytona and I’m excited for that!”
French rookie Vialle was able to pick up his best result in what was his third AMA Supercross start, also marking his maiden Triple Crown appearance on his KTM 250 SX-F. The 22-year-old was seventh in qualifying and scored fifth in Race one, then ninth in the second outing. His best was yet to come, benefiting from a top-five start in Race three and going on to take the checkered flag in second place. That was enough for P4 overall and he’s now seventh in the championship.
Tom Vialle: “Today was good. I felt comfortable in practice, qualifying in seventh and that was my best so far – I felt great on the track. In the first Race I was P5, but struggled a little bit with the start on the second one and finished ninth. The third Race was much better, finishing second in that one and I was really close to the winner at the end, so I was happy. We’ve made good improvements in these past weeks, we’re getting closer and fourth is a positive result. Now I’m looking forward to next week in Daytona.”
Next Race: March 4 – Daytona, Florida
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