It was a Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing Team 1-2 finish at the Florida National at the WW Ranch Motocross Park in Jacksonville, Florida, on June 22, with Justin Cooper taking his first overall victory and his teammate Dylan Ferrandis joining him on the podium after scoring the win in the second moto. The challenging conditions in the punishing Florida heat took their toll on the sport’s best motocross racers, but Colt Nichols was able to manage seventh overall. Rookie Ty Masterpool finished 15th, with Mitchell Oldenburg 16th in just his second race back.
In the first moto, Cooper narrowly missed the holeshot, with his rookie teammate Masterpool slotted right behind him in third. An early mistake from the race leader promoted Cooper into the top position. The New Yorker went on to try to hit his marks and stay focused on the very unforgiving track.
In the second moto, the Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing team got off to a flying start with Oldenburg taking the holeshot and Cooper and Ferrandis right behind. Unfortunately, the number 66 rider soon fell back to fourth while the battle raged on up front between his teammates.
With the championship on the line and his first overall win in sight, Cooper put his head down and maintained his lead aboard his Yamaha YZ250F. However, his teammate never let the New Yorker out of his sight, and with seven minutes plus two laps remaining, the fast Frenchman made the pass and put in some consistently fast laps to put a healthy gap on Cooper. The overall result was helpful for both Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing team riders in the title chase, with Cooper gaining eight points on the championship leader and Ferrandis improving his spot in third, as well.
As for Nichols, it was his starts that hurt him. The Oklahoma rider toughed it out and was able to salvage some points with a 9-7 tally to finish seventh overall. Masterpool turned a lot of heads with his stellar start in the first moto. The 16-year-old was able to hold on to a podium position for nearly half the race. Unfortunately, the grueling conditions got the better of the young rookie, but he persevered to cross the line 16th. In the second moto, he had to fight his way through the pack twice – first with a less-than-ideal start and second after an error late in the moto. Masterpool once again finished 16th to take 15th overall.
Right behind Masterpool in 16th was Oldenburg (12-36). Although not the result he was looking for, he had some flashes of brilliance in just his second race back after full recovery from his Supercross injury. In the first moto, some bad luck with a downed rider in front of him hurt his chance at a sixth-place finish. Then, in the second moto, the conditions got the better of him and he not only was unable to capitalize on his holeshot, but found himself on the ground and unable to finish the race.
Next weekend, the Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing team head to Southwick, Massachusetts, for Round 6 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship at The Wick 338 on Saturday, June 29.
Justin Cooper
Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing
“The bike was good today. We did some testing to get it right going into this weekend. It was tough to set up the bikes for everyone, but I was pretty comfortable all day. Today was physically and mentally exhausting. It took a lot of heart to get this first win, and it makes it feel that much better. The track was really rough and the heat made it that much more tough, so I am stoked on the day. First in qualifying, and I backed it up with my first win. I’m super-happy.”
Dylan Ferrandis
Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing
“In the first moto, I was struggling a bit with the start. I haven’t been so far back, in 15th the first lap, so I had to push really hard in both motos. We have been working really hard on improving our starts. We have tried everything with the team, with my setup, talking with my coach and my wife. We tried everything. So I don’t know; it’s something in my mind.
“In the second moto, I just figured out how to get a good start and had a great battle with my teammate Cooper. To get my first moto win this season… I want to say finally, because it took so long. I was starting to get impatient because I want to fight for the championship and if you don’t win a moto and a race, you can’t. So I’m happy with the start, the race. I just want to send a big thanks to my coach because we work really hard together physically and today that paid off because I think that was one of the most difficult races I ever rode. I’m very happy.”
Colt Nichols
Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing
“The day was just kind of so-so for me. I struggled to find the magic setting on the bike, and my starts were not very good today. That really put me in a hole from the get-go in both motos. I tried to fight back and got some decent finishes, but overall, I’m not happy with how the weekend went. I just need to be a little bit better. I’m going to take this week to try to improve and get ready for Southwick.”
Mitchell Oldenburg
Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing
“The Florida heat got the best of me today. I’m really happy with my speed in the first moto. Unfortunately, in the very last corner, McAdoo fell in front of me, so I had to hurry up and get up and going. It felt really good to pull the second moto holeshot, but I just didn’t have much left in the tank and tipped over on the third lap. Trying to race myself into shape has been pretty tough, but I’m happy with the progress we’ve made and just looking forward to getting better every weekend.”
Ty Masterpool
Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing
“The first moto was going well then I literally felt like I hit a wall. I’ve never been so tired and hot before. Going into the second moto, I knew it couldn’t be any worse than the first moto, but then I got a bad start. I was moving up, then I went down and got stuck under my bike. I thought I was going to get lapped. So at the end of the day, I’m happy that I continue to learn on the 250 and that I was able to get up and fight back to finish 16th after I fell.”
2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship 250 WW Ranch Motocross Park Results
1. Justin Cooper (2-2)
2. Dylan Ferrandis (4-1)
3. Adam Cianciarulo (5-3)
4. Michael Mosiman (3-5)
5. Hunter Lawrence (8-4)
6. Alex Martin (7-6)
7. Colt Nichols (9-7)
8. RJ Hampshire (6-11)
9. Chase Sexton (1-39)
10. Jacob Hayes (13-8)
15. Ty Masterpool (16-16)
16. Mitchell Oldenburg (12-36)
2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship 250 Class Standings
1. Adam Cianciarulo 222
2. Justin Cooper 204
3. Dylan Ferrandis 187
4. Chase Sexton 159
5. Colt Nichols 152
6. Michael Mosiman 148
7. Hunter Lawrence 142
8. RJ Hampshire 129
9. Alex Martin 116
10. Shane McElrath 79
11. Ty Masterpool 64
23. Mitchell Oldenburg 22
Wil Hahn
Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing Team Manager