Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb earned his first win of the season with a 2-2-5 score on a wild night of Monster Energy AMA Supercross Triple Crown racing in Anaheim, California. Eli Tomac dominated the third main event and ended the night with a 5-7-1 tally to give the team a 1-2 finish at Round 4 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Championship. The stellar night at Angel Stadium helped strengthen both riders’ title campaigns as Webb closed the gap to six points from the leader and Tomac to 10 points. Rookie Justin Cooper also had a good outing with his first 450 fastest qualifier honors and finished eighth overall (10-5-6).
Qualifying eighth, Webb got a great start in the first race of the Triple Crown and quickly made his way to second, where he would finish. The North Carolina rider got an even better start in race two and grabbed the holeshot. He was shuffled to the runner-up spot but kept cool under pressure and maintained the position to head into the final race of the evening with the event points lead. Although he didn’t repeat the first two starts and was sixth after the first lap, Webb advanced to fifth, securing his first win with the team aboard the YZ450F. The victory also strengthened his position in the hotly contested 450SX title chase, moving him to third in the standings and trailing the leader by six points.
Tomac qualified just ahead of Webb in seventh, but unfortunately starts made for a challenging first two races of the evening. Undeterred, he put his head down and made his way from eighth to fifth in the first race and then charged back from 11th to seventh in the second race. After the final gate drop of the evening, Tomac got a great start to take the lead and set a blistering pace to remain unchallenged and take the victory. His 5-7-1 score secured a spot on the podium and ultimately resulted in a second-place finish after the competition was assessed with a penalty. Tomac’s second runner-up finish of the season advanced him to fifth in the rankings and within 10 points of the leader.
Cooper hit the ground running at Angel Stadium and was the fastest 450 qualifier. Unfortunately, in race one, he got caught up in the first turn and found himself back in 11th after the first lap and would finish 10th. In race two, the New Yorker got a better start in fourth and went on to score a top-five finish. In the final race of the evening, he slotted behind Webb in seventh and crossed the line sixth to end the night eighth overall with his 10-5-6 score.
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing heads east to Motor City for Round 5 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the SuperMotocross World Series at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, on February 3.
Jeremy Coker – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team Manager
“I think the results show how good the day was. Honestly, it started off amazing. Justin Cooper was the fastest qualifier, which was really cool for him and the team, and for us to go 1-2 overall on the night with Cooper and Eli is pretty awesome. I think it’s a step in the right direction. Cooper is within six points of the lead, and Eli is within 10 points. We’ll keep working towards the big goal – the championship.”
Cooper Webb – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #2
“It was a great day. Qualifying wasn’t that good, but we turned it around for the night show. I got two great starts in the first two and ended up second in both of those, which was awesome and put us in a good spot for the third one. Then I just rode a consistent and solid race in the last one. I knew the points and just kind of cruised her in. Man, it feels great to get our first win of the season. It’s awesome for myself but also really awesome for the team.”
Eli Tomac – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #3
“This was an important race for us to get on the podium. In the first two motos, I actually struggled a little bit on the starts and put myself back, but I knew I had good speed and never gave up. Then I just executed a much better start in the third moto and was able to ride out front with some good clean air. I had some good rhythm combinations and also jump combinations through the whoops, and I felt like that gave me a good edge and a good gap on the field in that last moto.”
Justin Cooper – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #32
“Overall, it was a really positive day. I started out the day with the fastest qualifier, which was awesome. I got the perfect lap at the end of the session and followed it up with three good starts. Unfortunately, I got caught up in the first turn in the first moto, which hurt my overall, but I was a top-five guy all night, so we will take the positives and move on to the east!”
