Photo by: Hoppenworld
Over the first four rounds of the 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, Star Racing/Yamaha’s Cooper Webb scored two podiums and was second overall in the points, but he had not been able to score that ever-elusive first win. At round five in Muddy Creek, though, the second year professional from North Carolina got it done. With 20,000+ screaming South East fans rooting him on, he rebounded from a heartbreaking moto one loss to go 2-1 for the overall.
In moto one, Cooper led the race down to the last turn of the last lap, before losing by eight hundredths of a second to Blake Baggett. Blake powered around the outside of Cooper and it was literally one of the closest finishes in the history of the sport. A last lap defeat like that one could ruin a guy mentally, but Cooper regrouped and won his first-ever moto in moto two. Now, with number one in the books, the question is will the flood gates open for the #37?
After Cooper’s overall win, he sat down and answered some questions about his day at the Tennessee National and more. You can read what Cooper had to say in the interview below.
Cooper, can you talk about what the first moto was like? Had to be tough when you have that kind of ride going and get edged out in the last turn.
Yeah, I was a little let down after the first one—only getting beat by a couple hundredths after leading the majority of it. It was just one of those things. Do I go inside? Do I go outside? And so I go inside and kind of jacked it up. I was kind of bummed, but I regrouped and came back strong for the next one for sure.
The Yamaha program in 2008, ’09, ’10, ’11 wasn’t quite the powerhouse that it seems to be now. Now, though, with the Star Racing team having two riders with overall wins it’s got to be a good place to be.
Yeah, it’s awesome. I think everybody put so much work in this year and the bikes are unreal obviously. The 2014’s are the best bikes I’ve ever ridden. It’s cool. Plus, I think me and Jeremy [Martin] have a year under our belts, learned some stuff and came back strong this year.
I know you’re from this region and ridden the Muddy Creek track a lot as an amateur. How much different is the track from an amateur day to a professional National here?
It’s a lot different than what it was back in the day. I raced a lot on 65’s and 80’s here because of the Regionals, and the contingency was always really good, but yeah, it’s a whole different track than what it was back then. It still has some of the same obstacles, but the track is totally different. I thought it was good. It was real rutty, it got pretty rough and it was definitely the East Coast kind of track that I like.
Christophe Pourcel has been getting great starts, and it seems like everyone has a hard time passing him. In the second moto, though, it seemed like you weren’t having any of that. You were going to make that pass instantly. Talk to us about that second moto.
Yeah, I was third on the start, which is good for me, and I got around Bogle really quickly. Then, Pourcel, I got around quick too which was nice. I was trying to get a lead so hopefully nobody would catch me, but then Blake caught me. I tried to go a little faster, a little faster, but he was there the whole race. It was definitely intense. I was definitely feeling the pressure, but it was cool to get it done.
After missing out on the win in that first moto, were you extra determined to get the win in moto two?
Yeah, it definitely did. Getting passed in the last turn sucks. I was pretty fired up for that second one, and I was definitely going to do whatever it took to get the win or at least be up there. It definitely fired me up.
How cool is it to have a National in the South East?
Growing up as a kid, it would have been awesome to have a race in the South East, and now there’s one here. It’s unbelievable! I think there should be more. Obviously I’m from here, but the fans were unreal. I don’t know if it was just because I’m a local guy or what, but I felt like this weekend the fans were unbelievable. They prepped the track really well I thought, and it was a lot better than last year. I think there should be more in the South East for sure.
How much is endurance a factor, like when you’re pushing it to the last turn in the first moto and you have to come back and race moto two and get pressure until the last lap again. That’s super intense, high heart rate stuff all day. Is that hard?
Yeah, it’s definitely not easy. Everybody I’m sure is feeling it and luckily I feel like I have really good endurance and the bike doesn’t beat me up too bad. I’ve never led like that ever before, so I was feeling tight some laps. Then, I’d feel the flow, and all of a sudden, you hear the guy behind you and you’re like, “Oh god, he’s right there again.” You kind of learn how to deal with it, and I feel like I did a lot better the second moto. I just rode my own race, tried to stick to my lines and made a few mistakes but definitely high pressure.
You’re mom was on the T.V. show, and you could see how pumped she was. Can you talk about your family and the sacrifices they made and what it means to them to get a win like this.
Yeah, it was awesome. She’s probably more excited than I am. She loves it and so does my dad, but my dad doesn’t show it as much I guess. He was always really hard on me but would do anything for me. I think like pretty much every rider that’s come up, their family has been there for them 100% and so has mine. I can’t thank them enough, and I’m glad they raised me the way they did.
With the win, you’re now only eight points behind Jeremy for the lead. Are you thinking about that at all yet?
I didn’t even know that. (laughs) Hopefully just keep going, be on the podium again and maybe try to win again. It’s an awesome feeling and the first one was awesome. I’d love to feel that again.
When the ruts are longer and deeper, do you have to pay attention more when coming up on lappers to make sure you don’t end up in the same lines?
The lappers were pretty gnarly today, I think for everybody, especially when it is real rutted like this and a couple of the turns get one-lined. If there in it, it’s like, do I follow them or do I try a new line, and it’s a little bit risky. So I tried to pass them as quick as I could and not think about them. I’ve gotten screwed before by lappers, so I try to get around them and to not get stuck behind them.
We’re now leaving the South East and heading to the Mid-West. What’s your plan now that you have a little momentum? The points are tightening up.
Yeah, it’s definitely tightening up. I didn’t even realize that. I knew I was pretty far back coming in. I like the East Coast tracks. Red Bud is sick and Budd’s Creek—they’re two of my favorite tracks. Hopefully try to keep the ball rolling and keep doing what I’m doing.
