Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing shines in the Lone Star State with a Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac 1-2 finish at Arlington Supercross!
Words: Star Racing Yamaha, Featured Image: Supercross Live
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb returned to the top step of the podium at AT&T Stadium last night, scoring his second win of the season and advancing his position in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX title chase. It also marked his sixth victory in Arlington, Texas, adding to his legacy as the winningest premier-class rider in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Eli Tomac made an impressive charge back through the pack after an early race tip-over, finishing second in a wild 450SX Main Event. Their rookie teammate Justin Cooper joined them in the top 10 with a seventh-place finish.
Although Webb struggled earlier in the day, he came out swinging in the main event. The North Carolina rider qualified 11th and had a solid fourth-place finish in his heat race. Despite having a less-than-ideal gate pick, Webb got a flying start and quickly made his way to second. He maintained the runner-up spot and started to close the gap to the leader towards the end of the race. With four laps to go, the frontrunner crashed, and Cooper claimed the lead. From there, he ran his own race and kept cool under pressure to take his second win of the season and his sixth 450SX win at the AT&T Stadium. The victory brought him back up the rankings of this year’s hotly contested title fight, moving Webb into the runner-up spot and just three points from the championship lead.
Tomac, who also loves racing at AT&T Stadium, showed strength from the start and qualified fourth. He carried that momentum into the night show and won a thrilling heat-race battle, taking the lead on the final lap. The Colorado rider didn’t get the start he was hoping for in the main event and found himself seventh after the first lap. He then unfortunately had a tip-over on Lap 2 and rejoined in 16th. Undeterred, Tomac put his head down and threw down some consistently fast laps to make his way to fourth with seven laps to go. He continued to battle and claimed second on the final lap to give the team another double podium and strengthen his position in the championship. Tomac heads to his favorite race on the calendar, Daytona Supercross, fifth in the point standings and trailing the leader by 13 points.
Cooper also had a strong start to the day. The New Yorker topped the timesheets in the first qualifying session and ultimately was third in the combined times. He did not get the start he was hoping for in his heat race but came back from seventh to fifth. In the main event, Cooper was 12th after the first lap but kept pushing and advanced to sixth on Lap 3. He made his way to fifth but ultimately crossed the line seventh for another top-10 finish in the stacked 450 class.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team heads to Daytona Beach, Florida, on March 2 for the 54th running of Daytona Supercross and Round 8 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the SuperMotocross World Series at the legendary Daytona International Speedway.
Jeremy Coker – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team Manager: “It was an amazing night and a good day too. Cooper struggled a little bit throughout the day, but Eli and Justin were great in practice and throughout the day. Justin had a great night, too. He wasn’t on the podium, but seventh place is pretty good.
“To finish 1-2 is a big accomplishment in the 450 class. Eli rode phenomally. He just unfortunately, had that tip-over early in the race, but what a ride to come back the way he did and finish second. Cooper maybe he wasn’t the fastest guy out there, but he got a great start and kept the pressure on Jett (Lawrence). We’ve got to keep the pressure on. We’re three points down in the championship with Cooper and 13 with Eli. We’ve got a good couple of races coming up for our guys. We’ll keep pushing.”
Cooper Webb – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #2: “Dallas was awesome to me once again. It was a tough day, though. Qualifying and the heat race didn’t go very well, but we were able to turn it around in the main and take advantage of a little mistake. Man, it feels amazing to win here again and to get our second win of the year. I’m just on cloud nine. It feels unreal.”
Eli Tomac – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #3: “It was a good podium for us. I had a really good pace there in the main, but unfortunately I made one mistake early in the race and tipped over. I overshot a triple just a little bit and tucked the front end. Thankfully, I was able to charge forward. It was one of those tracks where you could make up a lot of time on guys and could get to the front of the race if you had the right lines going. Tonight was just important for me because I’ve been struggling in some of these situations, and now I feel like we’ve fixed a lot of that. I’m ready for the rest of the races and to see what we have got.”
Justin Cooper – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #32: “Overall, it was a good day. I felt good on the bike all day. I was really comfortable and just gelling with it, so that’s a plus. Practice went really well, and I was third in qualifying, but my starts could have been better. I was seventh in the main and had a few battles with Chase (Sexton) and Eli. Eli was riding really good. I was trying to follow him, but he just took off. He was on a charge to the front, but I was kind of just riding in sixth or seventh by myself and a little bit off that pack. With a little bit better start, I could have ran with those guys and been in that battle, but I was just right behind it. That part was frustrating, but it was a good ride overall.”
