Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper fought his way back in Moto 2 to collect valuable points and end the day sixth overall at the Unadilla National with a 4-7 score in New Berlin, New York. Cooper Webb returned to action for his first Pro Motocross 450MX round with the team and had a strong showing at Unadilla MX, but unfortunately had a crash in Moto 2 and withdrew from the race, finishing 15th overall (8-35). Words: Yamaha
Cooper got the day off to a great start, topping the first session of qualifying in front of the home crowd, and was second in the combined times. In Moto 1, he got a solid start in sixth and exchanged positions early with his teammate and then made his way to fourth on the second lap, where he would finish. The New Yorker didn’t get the start he was hoping for in the second moto and came together with some other riders in the first turn. Undeterred, he put his head down and charged from the back of the pack to seventh. In the final laps, he kept pushing and closed in on sixth place but ran out of time and would finish seventh to score sixth overall. Cooper heads into the penultimate round of his rookie 450MX season fourth in the championship and trailing third by two points.
Making his return to racing from his thumb injury, Webb had a strong start to his first outdoor race of the season. He qualified 10th and then had a good start in the first moto in fifth, and battled for position. The North Carolina rider continued to push in the challenging conditions and ultimately finished eighth. In the second moto, Webb got a better start and slotted into the runner-up spot. He continued to fight for a top result but was shuffled to seventh. After the halfway mark, he unfortunately had a crash affecting his thumb and withdrew from the race, resulting in 15th overall. The multi-time champion will seek further evaluation early next week and an update will follow at a later date.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team heads down to Budds Creek Motocross Park in Mechanicsville, Maryland, next weekend for the penultimate round of the 2024 Pro Motocross Championship and Round 27 of the SuperMotocross World Series on August 17.
Jeremy Coker – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team Manager
“It wasn’t too bad of a day. We definitely had a lot of positives to take away from it. I think Justin’s starts were a little bit rusty, but his riding was really good. I think that’s from not racing for a while, so we’ll work on some starts next week. Cooper pretty much had the holeshot in the second moto, but then he had a little crash. We think he’s alright, but we’ll get it checked out and ready for next week.”
Justin Cooper – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #32
“It was fun being home, but it wasn’t the greatest day with sixth overall. I had a good first moto, and worked my way to fourth and almost got to third. In the second moto, I got a pretty bad start. I came together with some people in the first turn, bent up the shroud, and basically came back from last and charged all the way to seventh and almost got sixth. That’s all I could do today. I rode really well in both motos, so I’m happy with my riding and will take it into next weekend and try it all again.”
Cooper Webb – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #2
“It was an up and down day – my first race back in Pro Motocross and first race with the team outdoors. We were kind of around that seventh-eighth spot all day. We qualified 10th, and in the first moto I was definitely a little bit tight in that first race back. I actually had a great battle with Kenny (Roczen) that whole moto, but ended up eighth. Then in Moto 2, I had a great start and was running second for a few laps. I felt really awesome in that second one, and was around sixth or seventh and then just had that crash. Unfortunately, I kind of reinjured my thumb. I think it’s okay, and I just shocked it. We’ll get it checked out first thing next week. Overall, I’m just happy to be back at the races and taking these last few Nationals to keep building into SMX.”
Image: Yamaha USA
