Justin Cooper had a solid night at A1. No surprise there, Cooper can always be depended to have those types of rides. It didn't come easy though, as the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider had some early issues that forced him to race the LCQ and deal with a lousy gate pick in the main. Afterward, we spoke with him in the pits to get his take on salvaging would could have been a bad night.
Racer X: First race back in 2026. How’d it unfold for you?
Justin Cooper: Yeah, had to come from 20th gate pick. Had a long night, went to the LCQ after a couple crashes in the heat race. I didn’t really execute. I messed up my heat race start and it was downhill from there. I got some extra laps tonight. I started way outside and had no chance of a start and I think I came around in like 15th that first lap. I put my head down and just tried to keep my lap times consistent moving forward and not slow down for the guys in front of me, which is easier said than done. But I made some good passes and ended up sixth, almost fifth.
Anaheim 1 (A1) - 450SX Main Event
January 10, 2026| Rider | Time | Interval | Best Lap | Hometown | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Eli Tomac | 1:05.367 | Cortez, CO  | KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition | ||
| 2 |  Ken Roczen | 1:05.335 | Mattstedt, Germany  | Suzuki RM-Z450 | ||
| 3 |  Jorge Prado | 1:07.059 | Lugo, Spain  | KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition | ||
| 4 |  Hunter Lawrence | 1:07.230 | Landsborough, Australia  | Honda CRF450R Works Edition | ||
| 5 |  Jason Anderson | 1:06.821 | Edgewood, NM | Suzuki RM-Z450 |
I don’t remember seeing anything happen to you in your heat race. What happened there?
I got a bad start and got shuffled around, and on lap two or three I high-sided in the sand. I think I went from like eighth to 15th. I got up to like 11th and there was a freight train in front of me, but it was the last corner. That was a bummer, I just needed another lap. So I was stuck outside in the main and it was tough, there wasn’t much I could do. I had a lot of guys to get through. I had a really good pace going and was closing in on Hunter [Lawrence] and Jason [Anderson], and just kind of ran out of steam a little bit with five minutes to go. I had a pace that brought me to the back of them, but I couldn’t really figure out a way around them. I wasn’t too close to them, but they were definitely within striking distance there at the end. I thought about running it in on Jason, but I thought better of it.
Yeah, he’ll give it back to you.
Yeah, he’ll give it back for sure. I wasn’t really close enough and I didn’t want to make it too dirty.
In that LCQ, at first, you were outside of the top four. Were you ever worried at all? Seems like things could get tense in those situations.
I think started in fifth or sixth, and I was content with that. I know how to work and I didn’t want to rush anything and go down. I had that moment with [Garrett] Marchbanks when he went down in the whoops right in front of me. It was really close, and I was lucky to not get collected in that. That would have been the end of my night. Those races, you’re not really looking to push, you’re just looking to make it safely into the main.
In the main you had a bit of a battle with Chase Sexton. He got you, but then you got him back. Can you take us through that?
Yeah, I think he went down in the beginning and was behind me all main event. There was a lot of back and forth with the guys around me. I was stuck behind Dylan [Ferrandis] and Cooper [Webb] and I kind of tightened up. Chase got around me through all that, and like a lap later I think I got him back. I don’t know what happened from there, but he wasn’t really there anymore. It’s weird, he was flying all day. He was obviously struggling later, which is normal with a new bike. There were a lot of battles, I was battling everyone out there tonight, except for the guys who were out front. It was good to start the season like this, it could have been a lot worse after how I started. I’m proud of how I rode in the main, I definitely could have been a podium guy tonight with a better start.
