Well, we all figured this was going to happen: after splitting from Red Bull KTM mid-way through the AMA Pro Motocross Championship in July, two-time 450SX Champion Cooper Webb is returning to his roots at Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing for the next two years. We called up Webb to talk about the new deal, what exactly happened at KTM, how he’s feeling on the new BluCru YZ450F, and more.
Listen to this interview in full in Matthes' latest Fly Racing Racer X Podcast.
Racer X Online: What’s up, Coop? How are you, man?
Cooper Webb: What’s up, Steve? We can talk about it. I think it’s the world’s worst [kept] moto secret in a while, but we can legally talk about it.
Honestly, F1 and other sports, we know what guys are doing all the time. We’re a little weird in our sport to talk about that stuff, but I get it. I wish we were a little more open that way, but it is what it is. Let’s go back a little bit. Obviously, we all saw the press release. You started the motocross series; it wasn’t working out with you and the Red Bull KTM guys. So, I think there was a frustration level on them toward you and you toward them. I’m not trying to just blame them at all or anything. How bad did it get for you to be like, I just think we need to go our separate ways?
It wasn’t as bad as maybe people portrayed it to be. I have a good relationship with those guys still after everything. I think it was more one of those things that I had signed with Star after Daytona Supercross and we were in contract talks, kind of going back and forth all the way even after Anaheim 1. So, I think there was a little bit of that in the mix. They knew I was leaving. They obviously weren’t pumped that I was leaving, but they understood. Then while all that was going down, some other things…Like I said, I was only supposed to do supercross—only. I was really, really interested in doing [FIM] World Supercross and that was something that they didn’t really want to be a part of. So that was a little bit of a hiccup in our relationship. Then, I didn’t have a decision to be able to race world supercross, so at that point I felt like I wanted to race still. I wasn’t ready to not race.
So, we had kind of agreed to do the outdoors, and then I had my concussion. So, that kind of set us back. I then wanted to not rush into it and be able to take some time and get back and maybe come back around halfway or four rounds in or something. It was something where they felt like if I was going to race outdoors, they wanted me to do it from the beginning. So that was kind of the decision behind that. But at that time, everything was still good. They supported me racing. We both agreed it would be good to be out there and for the SMX and everything like that. It’s no secret. I’ve obviously struggled outdoors under the 450 class. So, I wasn’t maybe having some of the success that maybe they wanted me to have. But I thought my season was going decent. I had gotten a few podiums. I was third in points, only at the time three behind Dylan [Ferrandis]. I didn’t think I was in a bad spot particularly, especially after only three weeks of prep and stuff.
We kind of had some disagreements on setup, so that was something that was a little bit of a brick in-between us. Then I did crash. I was testing with the guys in Florida, and I crashed Wednesday before RedBud. Nothing major, but it was something where I was for sure going to miss a round, maybe two. I got a call the next day from Roger [De Coster] and it was kind of like, “Nothing between us, but this just really isn’t working for either party.” And I agreed. It was kind of frustrating for me because I felt like I had a lot to give outdoors, and I wasn’t showing what I felt like I was capable of. Maybe they didn’t feel that way. So, it worked out fine. Like I said, I think at the end of the day it all went the way it best could. At the time, it was just built-up frustration maybe from both sides, but I feel like we all handled it well. It just was something that they knew it was kind of the end of the road and let’s just maybe step away instead of making things worse.
READ: Cooper Webb Returns to Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
You just don’t see riders of your caliber and factory teams like Red Bull KTM break off in the middle of a series. It’s definitely unique for our series. You signed with Bobby Regan. Of course, you had a ton of success with them [Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing]. What’s it like going back? Bobby, all those guys, the old crew. They’ve expanded, for sure, since you were last there. What’s it like?
Man, it’s been awesome. It really has, I know everyone says whenever there’s change it’s awesome and this and that, but for me it has honestly brought a new level of excitement for racing again. They gave me my first opportunity, so I’ve always had that respect and the same passion that they’ve had. I think just being back around my style of people, I guess you could say, where maybe it’s less political and you show up and do your work and go home. It’s been really good. We all kind of have that same passion to win and we’ll do whatever it takes. Sometimes it might not be by the book, but it’s what works well for me. So, it’s been nice. They’ve been awesome to work with again. They all have a lot of belief in me, which is really encouraging. It’s honestly been a struggle up and down the last few years for me, but it’s like day one—I came in and they looked at me like the supercross champion and rider that I am. So that was really nice.
Like I said, just being around them. I had never been to the facility or anything, so seeing what they’ve been able to do with Ricky’s [GOAT Farm] and the race shop and the tracks and just the way they do it now. When I was on the team before, we were based in California, and it was quite a bit different. It’s been awesome, man. I feel like a kid again. I feel like a rookie showing up to the track every day. The group of guys we have around riding-wise and personnel-wise, it’s been really fun. I feel like I can be myself. It’s been really nice.
Obviously, you graduated from [the team to] Factory Yamaha, a couple podiums but not what you wanted. Now we’ve seen what they’ve done with Eli and Dylan and the 450 effort and the things that they have an open mind for, trying things. All the things that they have been doing have been working. So, for you, did your lack of success on the 450 Yamaha, that didn’t even come into mind as far as like, maybe I just don’t like the bigger, backwards motor Yamaha? You’re gambling on this team and what they’ve done with Eli and Dylan, right?
Yeah. That honestly didn’t even cross my mind. When I went pro, it was an entirely different crew. There wasn’t one person that’s involved now involved back then on the 450 side. So that didn’t cross my mind. Honestly, I know it’s different and everything, but I’ve always liked the Yamaha. Even when I didn’t have much success as a rookie and all that. I still really enjoyed the bike in production form. So, that was never even really crossing my mind. Like I said, I knew from the 250 program what these guys could do. Just kind of watching the 2021 [season], even their first year they had a little bit more success outdoors with some of the guys. But then just literally year one coming in and winning races at the 450 level is impressive. I knew. It didn’t bother me. I’ve always really been a big fan of KYB, so I knew that was going to be, for me, a positive. So, I felt like with the guys they had, the personnel they had, and honestly, I think even racing Eli this year and seeing some of the stuff that he was able to do, I feel like the bike was really good. So that didn’t even cross my mind.
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So, the 2023 YZ450F is quite a bit different than the older bikes, which is quite a bit different than what you raced. What’s your early impressions of the bike? What do you like about it?
It had been a long time. I hadn’t ridden a Japanese bike in a long time. It was definitely a little different. For a Yamaha, and even going back to the earlier days at Yamaha, this new one, the cockpit for me felt much smaller than it had before, which I thought was a positive. Being a smaller guy, I just felt like the foot peg and the handlebar and the seat, it felt much narrower. It felt a lot lighter than the bike that I used to ride. The biggest thing was the engine was something that we had to really address. I think Eli or the way he rides is quite a bit different than me. He wanted a really fast engine, so I had to kind of address that. That Yamaha engine is super strong. So that was something we had to kind of work with a little bit at the beginning. Like I said, for me, just getting back on air forks, that was a huge positive. For me, I was really blown away with how nimble the new bike felt compared to the older models for sure.
You’re on full air?
We’re on a hybrid. But we’ve kind of went back and forth with those. For me, I rode air basically whenever I was an amateur with Bobby back in the day, since 2012. I rode it the whole time until I was on Factory Yamaha. We went back and forth with stuff. Then with KTM we went back and forth. They had a hybrid for me in 2021, which I really enjoyed. I know it’s personal preference, but I definitely like the air feel. But for me, the hybrid is kind of the best of both worlds. I’ve been really liking it.
The new KTM, despite it being a steel frame, is a really stiff machine. You would think it would be softer than the aluminum frame, but I guess it’s not. Do you feel like this frame change to aluminum is a little softer than what you were on? Do you feel like it’s weird or different?
It’s definitely different. I kind of thought people maybe over-dramatized steel versus aluminum. I remember when I went from Yamaha to KTM, I actually didn’t notice it very much when I went that way. But now that I’ve gone the other way, it’s for me a pretty big difference. Like you said, you would think it would kind of be opposite, like you would feel a lot more flex and stuff. Maybe it is. I’m not an engineer. I don't know the numbers and the materials. But I agree. I think the aluminum frame actually has a little bit more give, from what I can tell so far. But I think both have some positives and some negatives on both. But I will definitely say there’s a difference. I feel like the Yamaha, at least this generation versus the KTM generation I just rode, the steel was definitely a stiffer feel. It’s kind of interesting because you kind of expect it to be a little opposite.
Can you lean on our guy Phil [Nicoletti] for settings, or is he just too slow?
He’s been trying to give me advice and it’s just like, bro, come on. He had kind of talked to me about some stuff before, and then once I rode I was able to actually converse and do some stuff. I think our capability might be a little bit different than his. I think he’s kind of stuck with some things, and lucky for me I’m on factory stuff.
I had someone in the industry ask me, Eli and Coop, how is that going to work? Two egos. I’m like, honestly, they’re both in different spots than they were a few years ago. Also, that’s overplayed a little bit because you guys don’t really see each other. You test separate days. You see each other when you sign autographs. But how is your relationship with Eli and how is that going to work? I think it will be fine.
I’m with you. I think we both are matured, especially myself. I think Eli, too. He has won a lot and he’s definitely on the veteran side and back half of his career. For me, I have a lot of respect for him so I don't think it will be too big of a deal. He trains and rides in Colorado and California where I’ll be kind of full-time in Florida. I do think as I’m working with the same suspension guy and crew chief and technicians, that might be something where we just kind of have to on race day, who wants to go first type thing. But for me, that was a big reason I wanted to be here. Gilly [Ricki Gilmour] and Rich [Simmons] and Brad [Hoffman] and [Jeremy] Coker, everyone I have a lot of faith in.
This past year, I felt like I ran Eli as hard as I could, and I felt like certain nights he was just able to do things that maybe I wasn’t able to do. I really wanted to see if it’s him as a rider being better or if it was maybe other things. That’s what I look forward to, is being on the same equipment, having the same crew, having the same technician. It really is kind of now mano a mano. It worked out well that way when it was me and Marvin [Musquin] on KTM. When it was me and J-Mart on Star. For me, that’s never really fazed me. I’m not a really ego-based guy. As long as I get what I need, I could care less who the A or B or whatever you want to call it is. I’m looking forward to it. Like I said, I think we’re both at that part of our career that there’s a lot of respect there and we’re going to be able to work well as teammates.
Coming up into the SMX thing this weekend, obviously you took some time off and you’re just still testing and figuring things out. Are you 80 percent of what you’re going to be come Anaheim? Where are you at? How are you treating these SMX races?
I’m in a good spot, honestly. I’ve been able to be here now for…I got here like mid-July, and I rode outdoors for six weeks and I’ll have five weeks of basically supercross/SMX prep. I’m happy. I haven’t touched my bike in four weeks, not even a clicker. That could be a good thing or a bad thing. I don’t really know. But speed is really good. I honestly feel like I’m more than 100 percent. I’m ready to go race right now. Honestly, my goal is to go win it. I think I can. I’ve never felt this good on a motorcycle in a long time. So like I said, I haven’t been racing, but I’ve had basically two and a half months of prep on and off the bike. So, I should be most prepared honestly probably out of anybody. Everyone’s coming off outdoors and they’ve been racing, but I’ve been able to really just focus on SMX and doing motos and putting the emphasis on training. So, we’ll see come Charlotte, but my goal is honestly try to go win.
