Round six of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season featured the debut of the 2019 250SX East Championship, and Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing team’s Justin Cooper and Mitchell Oldenburg got off to a good start at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, finishing third and sixth, respectively.
Cooper qualified second overall earlier in the day and finished third in heat race 1, but got off to a tough start in Saturday night’s 250SX East main event. The 21-year-old kept his composure throughout the 20-lap event, and it paid off. A couple of riders went down, and Cooper was able to make some well-timed passes, which put the New Yorker in third at the finish for the first podium result of his young career.
His teammate Oldenburg qualified fifth and was the runner-up in heat race 2, but also got pinched off at the start of the Main. The Texan found himself shuffled all the way back to 13th position. Undaunted, Oldenburg used his racecraft along with some fortuitous rider attrition to work himself all the way up to sixth place at the checkers.
The Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing team’s 250SX East riders will be back in action next weekend for round two, which will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, February 16.
Justin Cooper
Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing
“The bike was awesome all day and the team made adjustments to fix anything I was uncomfortable with. I was able to predict exactly what the bike was going to do throughout the race, even with the track conditions getting worse. I had a terrible start, but felt great on the bike the whole main and just had to maintain the race as best I could with all the chaos around me. Everything about the day went smooth except a little first race jitters in the heat race. First podium at my second Supercross race ever… what more is there to say? It’s a great feeling!”
Mitchell Oldenburg
Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing
“Today was decent. Practice went well for me, I felt really comfortable and the bike was working awesome. Tonight though, just wasn’t the best night for me. I didn’t feel that great. Not racing for a year was tough, and it showed tonight. I’m looking forward to building off of this and getting ready for the next few races and Dallas next weekend.”
Wil Hahn
Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing Team Manager