Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb charged back to a fourth-place finish last night in Detroit, Michigan, scoring valuable points at the fifth round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Championship. Justin Cooper and Eli Tomac joined him in the top 10, finishing ninth and 10th, respectively, on a challenging night at Ford Field.
On the heels of his first victory of the season at Anaheim 2, Webb got off to a good start in practice and qualified second. He then grabbed the holeshot and led the first heat race, which had all three Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing riders. Unfortunately, the North Carolina rider had a tip-over, rejoined in eighth, and came back to fifth. With a less-than-ideal gate pick for the main, Webb didn’t get the start he was hoping for and found himself back in 12th after the first lap. He put his head down and made his way up to fourth on a track that was difficult to make passes on, scoring valuable points in the title chase. Webb heads into next weekend fourth in the point standings and six points behind the points leader.
Cooper had a solid start to the day, qualifying sixth, and followed that up with a great start in the heat race behind his teammate Webb. The New Yorker rode on to a second-place finish for a career-best heat race result in the premier class. Unfortunately, he did not get off the gate as he had hoped in the main event and was 16th after the first lap. Cooper kept pushing and made his way up to ninth for his third top-10 result during his rookie season.
Tomac had a good qualifying result in fourth, but unfortunately didn’t get the start he was looking for in the heat race and was 14th after the first lap. The Colorado rider put his head down and finished sixth, and although he didn’t have an ideal gate pick for the main event, he got a great start in third. He did what he could to maintain the position but was not comfortable on the bike and ultimately crossed the line 10th to salvage points on a tough night at Ford Field. Tomac heads to Arizona next weekend sixth in the standings and 16 points behind the red-plate holder.
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing heads back west to Glendale, Arizona, for Round 6 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the SuperMotocross World Series at State Farm Stadium on February 10.
Jeremy Coker – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team Manager
“The day was going great, and the night started off well, unfortunately Cooper had a crash in the heat race and gave us not quite the gate pick we wanted. So we had a bad start for Cooper in the main, but he rode really well to get back to fourth. Eli had a great start but was not comfortable on the bike in the main and salvaged points in 10th. Justin had a great start in his heat race and was second, but did not have that for the main. He rode well, though, and made his way back to ninth. We’ll go back to work this week and bounce back next weekend in Glendale.”
Cooper Webb – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #2
“Today actually went really well for me. I rode great all day, and practice went well. In the heat race, I got a great holeshot and was leading. Everything was great, and then I just tucked the front and had a crash. I didn’t have the best gate pick for the main and got a really bad start. I think I was about 15th around the first turn. The track was really hard to pass on tonight, and I knew that wasn’t going to cut it, but I charged hard and got back to fourth. I felt like I rode really solid, but I also felt like I left a podium and maybe a win out there. So I was a little bummed, but we’ll have another good week this week and come back in Arizona swinging.”
Justin Cooper – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #32
“It was a really good day again. I qualified sixth and had a really good start in the heat. I was able to finish second there, which is my best finish so far in a heat on the 450. I took it to the main and didn’t get off the gate that well. This class is tough. I started about 12th or 13th and finished ninth. That’s really all I could do. I felt like I rode well all day. I just wish I had that heat race start in the main.”
Eli Tomac – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #3
“It was a frustrating race, and I struggled in the main event. We’ll do our best to rebound next week.”
