Troy Dog
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s rookie Casey Cochran made a statement that he belongs at the front of the 250 class this weekend at Spring Creek.
The freshly turned 18-year-old, who was born two years after Kyle Chisholm turned pro, led for the majority of the second Moto before being passed by Levi Kitchen late in the race.
Cochran still held on for second and his 9-2 scores were good enough to put him third overall on the day.
“I wanted that win,” Cochran said in the post race press conference. “When you’re out front and you’ve never been there, that’s the only thing that you want and it’s the only thing that you’re thinking about. I could see (Levi) coming and obviously you start pushing as hard as you can because you do want the win. That’s what we do, we’re here to win and that’s the closest I’ve ever been.”
Cochran has been progressing very well in his rookie Pro Motocross Championship campaign. It has been a season of ups and downs, but he’s learning. He’s gone 19-10-16-17-10-7-3 in the first seven rounds overall. He’s been getting better starts and finding out what the lead group pace is like in the class and leading most of the Moto at Spring Creek was valuable to his career.
“To be in that situation 24 minutes in, maybe I did pick it up a little bit, or tried to,” Cochran said. “Then once he (Kitchen) got around I tried to pick up some lines and tried to come back immediately and he was riding really good.”
With RJ Hampshire and Guillem Farres on the injured reserve, this is the first podium of the season for a Husqvarna rider.
“It was a whole different experience being out front,” Cochran said. “I think I looked back on lap four or lap three and their was no one there and I was like…alright. I kind of just went with it and stuck with my lines. It was something I’ve never done before and I’m glad to have experienced it.”
Cochran currently sits 11th in the 250MX standings and ten points behind Ryder DiFrancesco with only four rounds remaining.
Main Image: Octopi Media
