Cooper Webb just shrugged off whatever comes with a long break—maybe some rust, maybe a little extra focus on testing for Lucas Oil Pro Motocross, maybe even a crash and some soreness—and nailed another come-from-behind victory. This one, at Santa Clara, California, gives him a 16-point lead now with one race to go. We talked to the Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha rider after the race.
Racer X: Another come-from-behind win. Seems like that’s been the story all season long for you.
Cooper Webb: Yeah, it has I guess. I guess we’ll keep doing what’s working. I don’t like starting back there, that’s for sure. I’ve always kind of gotten bad starts, so luckily I’m good at passing. We’ll work on some starts, we’ve been working a lot on outdoors and maybe haven’t put enough emphasis on supercross, but it all worked out. Maybe we’ll do a little more supercross before Vegas. The Shootout is going to be exciting; I definitely want to get that win.
Will it be an advantage later to have all that outdoor time?
Yeah I think so. The biggest thing for me, I really, really want to win the championship outdoors this year. I’m going in right now healthy, and obviously I want to win everything, but outdoors is something I haven’t been able to do yet. I’m really going to buckle down and try to do that this year. We’ve made a lot of progress and I’m feeling really good. Been riding a lot with Alex [Martin] a lot and it’s been fun.
Looks like it’s rubbed off on him a little.
Yeah, it’s been really good. He started training with [Gareth] Swanepoel and me. It’s a bummer he went down tonight, same with Mitchell [Harrison]. It was good to see those guys up there. Alex has gotten a lot better since he’s started training with us and I’m sure his results will come.
Did you know Joey Savatgy was picking through the pack behind you that whole time?
Yeah, he ran it in on me in the first lap and I saw he was there, so I knew I needed to make my passes stick and not let him stay on me. I knew he was there but I just tried to do my own thing, but also kept my eye on it. You never know if he’s going to come in for a block pass or something. Just kept pushing and pushing. I was able to hold him off and gain some more points.
Yes, there was a big crash on Tuesday but luckily I have a good group of guys behind me. Doctor G. and Swanny [Swanepoel] got me ready to race.
Zach had a gap on you for quite a while, then all of a sudden it just vanished. Did he falter or did you just turn it on?
I didn’t notice him bobble or anything. Once I got into second I loosened up and rode better. He was riding really good and the track tonight made it hard to make time up. I knew I had to have some perfect laps and ride outside my comfort zone. He was riding really well and he kept me honest after I passed him. It wasn’t an easy race, but I’m stoked to go back into the break with another win.
Looking forward to Vegas?
I’m excited for it and I think it’s going to be a really good race. If it was a really tight points gap I can see it bumming some people out. Not only do you have to race against your own competition, but also the other coast! But I think it’ll be cool. It could make someone really happy or really mad. I think the way they announced it is what bummed everybody out. I think it was the fifth round when they announced it. To me that was a little lame, they should have at least let us know before the season, but it is what it is.
What do you think about using a Chase format?
I think it’s a good idea. There’s a reason they do it in NASCAR. I come from the NASCAR side of things and I like it. It depends who you ask though. I’m sure Ryan Dungey, being as consistent as he is, wouldn’t like it. But I think it would be awesome and I think it would bring a lot of excitement, as well as new fans and new life to the sport in general. Unfortunately people get tired of seeing the same guy win over and over. As a racer it’s what you want to do, but the fans want to see some exciting stuff. I think it would be cool and hopefully they make it happen.
Earlier in the week some rumors were going around that you’d had a big crash and were even questionable for tonight. Obviously you were fine, but was there every a crash?
Yes, there was a big crash on Tuesday but luckily I have a good group of guys behind me. Doctor G. and Swanny [Swanepoel] got me ready to race.
