2021 Arlington 3 Supercross Recap
Cooper Webb slipped by Ken Roczen for the lead with less than four minutes left and held on for his third straight win in the 450 class of the 2021 Monster Energy Supercross series on Saturday sweeping the three rounds held in eight days at AT&T stadium in Arlington, TX.
Roczen grabbed the holeshot and appeared on his way for his first win since Round 6 in Indianapolis but he faced pressure from Webb and defending Champion Eli Tomac immediately which he managed to control for about 15 minutes. Eventually, a battle for third between Tomac and Justin Barcia dropped those two further back from the pace leaving Webb and Roczen to fight it out for the lead.
Webb started showing a fender with about four and half minutes left, took the lead for a second as Roczen put in a solid fight to hold on to the position. But Webb finally took control through the whoops taking the checkers and a 15-point Championship standings lead heading into the two-week break.
The victory gives Webb six for the year including five in the last six rounds and seven straight podiums. Roczen’s second-place finish puts him on the podium for the first time since Round 7 in Orlando but he still moves further out of the lead, which he held earlier this season. Tomac has his second straight podium and third in four rounds but his hopes to defend his title seem to lessen each week as Webb, the 2019 Champion, has a 41-point lead over the reigning Champ.
In the 250 West class, Justin Cooper simply checked out taking a relatively easy win and taking the checkers for the first time since the opening round in Orlando, also stepping on the podium for the first time since then, and taking back the points lead. Cooper, who finished second in the 2020 contest, was considered a top contender for the West title but after the opening round win hadn’t managed a Top 3 all year. The win gives him a two-point edge over Cameron McAdoo, who took second, and a six point lead over Hunter Lawrence who rode the Red Plate after Tuesdays win but his fourth-place drops him to third overall.
Seth Hammaker who won the first Arlington round rounded out the podium for his second stop on the box this season and Jalek Swoll who grabbed his first career podium on Tuesday took fourth. Garrett Marchbanks finished sixth but the road there was riddled with some sorry tomatoes. A collision between two other riders in his Heat race dumped him off the bike into the tuff blocks at the start of that contest, then he got pinned under his bike after crashing when leaving the whoops with about two minutes remaining leaving him noticeably limping. But he returned for the LCQ win and got into the Main Event.
Riders get a three-week break before resuming the series on April 10 with a three-round and first-ever stint at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Atlanta, GA allowing fans and riders to avoid one of the worst managed downtowns in the country. (Yep, still bitter.) Until then, check out the photos below and live Round 12 all again.
2021 Arlington 3 Supercross
