Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper overcame adversity to finish sixth at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, earning his best result thus far in the 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season. Words: Star Racing
With rain changing the conditions before the start of the 450SX Main Event, Eli Tomac and Cooper Webb did not get off the gate as they had hoped, but came back to finish seventh and eighth, respectively. Three rounds into the 17 round 450SX Championship and 31 round SuperMotocross World Championship, both riders are inside the top five, with Tomac sitting tied for third and Webb in fifth.
After a tough start to the night and his sophomore season in the premier class, Cooper rebounded and finished strong at Anaheim 2. He qualified sixth and then unfortunately, got a bad start in his heat race and finished 10th. In the LCQ, the New Yorker got a much better start to take the holeshot and the win. Despite having a less than ideal gate pick on the outside, Cooper got an amazing start to the main event. He grabbed the holeshot and led the first six laps of the race before ultimately getting shuffled to sixth, where he would finish for his best result so far this season.
Coming off of his big win in San Diego, Tomac qualified second and showed strength at the start of the night show, grabbing the holeshot and scoring his second consecutive heat race win of 2025. Unfortunately, an increase in rain right before the start of the 450 Main Event made for challenging conditions, and the Colorado rider found himself near the back of the field. He quickly went to work and broke the top 10 five laps into the race and kept pushing to gain more positions. With five laps remaining, he passed his teammate and another rider to move into seventh, where he would finish, salvaging points on a tough night to tie for third in the standings and be within five points of the leader.
It was an up-and-down day for Webb, who qualified 12th, but had a strong heat race. The North Carolina rider got a great start, slotting into second despite an average gate pick, and finished in the runner-up spot behind Tomac. In the main event, the conditions made for a challenging start, and he found himself 13th after the first lap. Webb put his head down and made his way to eighth by Lap 3. Although he was shuffled to ninth in the heat of battle with his teammate and another rider, he reclaimed eighth in the final laps to score valuable points and leave Southern California fifth in the standings and 10 points from the top spot.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team heads to Glendale, Arizona, next weekend for the first Triple Crown of the season and Round 4 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the SuperMotocross World Championship Series at the State Farm Stadium on February 1.
Rich Simmons – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team Manager
“It was an up-and-down day here in Anaheim. We had a good heat race from Eli and Webb, but a tough one for Justin. Then it was kind of a reverse story in the main event, with bad starts by Eli and Webb, and Justin rebounding and having an awesome main event. Looking at the big picture, we’re still in a good spot in the championship. Everybody at the top has had a bad race, and we can’t ride the highs and lows too much. We’ll regroup and rebound next week.”
Justin Cooper – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #32
“It was a rollercoaster of emotions tonight. I was pretty down after the heat race and I straight up couldn’t get my mind right. All the way up to the main, I was just dwelling on everything too much, but I was able to lock in for the main and somehow get the holeshot, which felt great. It was a great rebound. Everything was going downhill pretty fast, so to turn it around, I’m happy with that.
“It was a crazy race. We got a lot of rain heading to the start. I got out front and definitely was testing the limits because I wanted to run up front. I made a few mistakes and almost slid out a few times and then chilled out. I definitely tightened up a little bit. The track was tricky with the conditions, but overall, it was a good night.”
Eli Tomac – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #3
“It really came down to just a bad start tonight. We had rain before the main, and I ended up just spinning my rear tire really badly. I was almost dead last after the start, and I just did what I could to come back and was seventh. In the big picture for the series, we’re still going to be fine. So we’ll move on from this and keep our heads up.”
Cooper Webb – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #2
“It was a rough day here at A2. I just struggled all day, and our riding wasn’t quite there. In the main event, the rain came and I got a lot of wheel spin off the start. I didn’t ride too badly, but I was just buried and didn’t make my way forward that much. Eli and I made our way through there towards the end, and that’s kind of where we both ended up. We’ll regroup and get ready for the triple crown next week.”
Image: @empiresportsphotos – Chris Schulte
