Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb scored a career-best Glendale Supercross 450SX result, earning a race win and a runner-up overall finish (1-5-3) at the first Monster Energy AMA Supercross Triple Crown event of the season. His teammate Eli Tomac also scored a main event win at State Farm Stadium, but ultimately was one point shy of the final podium spot, ending the night fourth overall (6-4-1). The duo leaves Round 4 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Championship in the thick of the title fight, with Tomac sitting third and Webb fourth. Justin Cooper salvaged points on a challenging night in Glendale, Arizona, finishing 13th (13-13-10). Words: Star Racing

Webb qualified ninth and then came out swinging for the night show, grabbing the holeshot in the first main event and leading from start to finish. Unfortunately, he did not get off the gate as he had hoped in the second main event and was 11th after the first lap, but he went to work and crossed the line fifth. In the final race of the night, the North Carolina rider was sixth after the first lap and made his way to third on Lap 4, where he would finish to secure second overall. Webb also moved up in the championship rankings to fourth and is within 10 points of the leader.

Tomac topped the timesheets in the first practice session and qualified third. Unfortunately, he did not get the starts he was hoping for in the first two main events and found himself towards the back of the field. Undeterred, he ran a quick pace in the 12-minute-plus-one-lap main events, charging to a sixth and fourth place finish. In the final main event of the night, Tomac got a much better start, claimed the lead on the second lap, and rode on to victory. The Colorado rider ultimately was just shy of the overall podium but scored valuable points in fourth and advanced to third in the championship, trailing the top spot by nine points.

It was a tough day for Cooper in Glendale. He qualified 10th in the tricky conditions and then didn’t get off the gate as he had hoped and was back in 17th after the first lap. He put his head down and did what he could, but ultimately finished 13th. It was another difficult start to the 450SX Main Event 2, with the New Yorker coming from the back to 13th. In the final race of the night, Cooper improved to a 10th-place finish to score 13th overall.

The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team heads east to Tampa, Florida, for Round 5 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the SuperMotocross World Championship Series at Raymond James Stadium on February 8.

Rich Simmons – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team Manager

“Coming into Glendale, we knew there was going to be a lot of talk about Webb’s not so good stats there, so the goal was to put that to rest, and he did just that with a win in race one and second overall. Eli had great speed again, but was plagued by bad starts in the first two races. I am proud of him and the team for staying positive and getting the start and the win in the third race. Unfortunately, we just missed the podium by one point. With Justin starting in the back in all three races, he never got to show his speed that we see during the week, but we’ll work on that before Tampa and get him in the mix. A big thanks to the team, as these triple crowns are a lot of work, especially for the mechanics, and we can’t get the results without a full team effort!”

Cooper Webb – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #2

“It was a great night. We were able to get a main event win and I was able to get on the podium in second place, which was amazing. I just rode great all night. Although qualifying wasn’t great, it was good to get some laps in and get some mojo here. This place historically has been a rough time for me, so I’m stoked with second on the night. We’re right in the points and heading to Florida, which is home for me.”

Eli Tomac – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #3

“We had a very strong finish. It’s just unfortunate that I had two bad starts on the day. I made a ton of passes and had some really good riding once again; I just have to fix these starts. That’s all it comes down to. Otherwise, I’m super comfortable. I’ve been making a lot of great passes and my speed is outstanding. So I’m just moving forward to next weekend and going to get these starts dialed in.”

Justin Cooper – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #32

“The day was tough. I kind of hovered around 10th and didn’t get the starts tonight. I made a lot of passes, but I literally started from around last in all of them. That’s how it goes sometimes. All we can do is keep our heads up and move on to next weekend.”

Image: Star Racing

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