The Anaheim 1 opener looked typical for Cooper Webb. The two-time Monster Energy AMA Supercross Champion is one of the best of his generation, and yet has never delivered a win at round one. He was his usual solid self on Saturday, coming through the pack to net fourth, and nipping at the heels of Jason Anderson to try to steal a podium. Webb wasn't spectacular at any point, but he was good.
There's more to this story, though, as our Steve Matthes is reporting that Webb had a crash late in the off-season and had to take some time off from riding. Thus, Anaheim's performance was a bit more of a mystery than realized, even though you wouldn't know it by watching him ride.
Webb continued to make progress throughout the day, qualifying eighth and finishing fourth in his heat race. In ninth after the start of the main event, the North Carolina rider once again showed grit and determination, fighting his way to fourth before the halfway mark. Webb kept pushing throughout the race and had the final podium position within sight. Although he finished just shy of the podium in fourth, he scored valuable points at the first round of the 17-round 450SX title fight.
“Anaheim 1 is always a crazy race," said Webb in a Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing statement. "It was an up-and-down day and an up-and-down off-season, but I’m happy. That was a good race. Obviously, being in the top five is important, but I wanted to be on the podium and felt like I was riding good enough to be up front. We need to get our starts a little bit better and be in the mix for next week. It was definitely a good starting point. We’re right in the fight, which is great.”
While Webb's ride was largely without flash, Eli Tomac had all sorts of big moments. He topped both qualifying sessions to earn the fastest qualifier honors in the 450 class. Although he didn’t get the start he was looking for in his heat race, he showed speed and fought his way from 10th to a fifth-place finish. In the main event, he got a much better start and quickly claimed the lead. The stadium was going absolutely bonkers with the veteran off to the lead, but unfortunately he lost the front on the opening lap and rejoined towards the back.
In his television interview after the race, Tomac admitted that Anaheim gets slick, and you have to respect that. He made the error of trying to be too aggressive.
After the fall, Tomac quickly went to work and made his way through the field, ultimately making a pass for fifth on the final lap. Thus, Tomac showed both speed and endurance, even though he took only fifth.
“It was a night of a lot of emotions," said Tomac. "We put ourselves in a great position there right at the start of the main event and made it to the lead off the triple. It was a pretty cool feeling, and then two turns later, I ended up washing the front. It’s a mistake that just happens, so it’s very frustrating to do that on the first lap because it usually puts you in last. I just had to recover, make my way forward, and make as many passes as I could. I was actually happy to get to fifth. That was important for us with the points, especially since we were nearly last at one point. Other than that, it was a very good day. I had a good qualifying and had good speed, so I’m excited to get the season going.”
Justin Cooper qualified 12th but grabbed two great starts in the heat and the main. The New Yorker led the opening lap of his heat race and ultimately finished third. In the main event, he got another great start but unfortunately, was shuffled back to fifth early and then to 10th before the halfway point as riders jockeyed for position. Cooper made his way back to seventh.
“It was a good night," said Cooper. "I had two good starts. In the heat race, I was able to lead for a lap and had a good finish there to set me up for a good gate pick in the main. Then I got another really good start but got shuffled back pretty quickly to fourth or fifth. I was in a pretty intense battle out there and kind of lost the flow. I had to be aggressive – attacking while being defensive with the guys behind me – which ended up costing me. So there was a little bit of a slump in the middle, but I was able to finish strong and come away with seventh. It was a good start to the season, and I’m looking to keep it going.”
Rich Simmons, recently promoted from crew chief to team manager for Star Yamaha's 450 program, summed up the weekend for his three riders: “The weekend went well overall. Eli was strong all day and unfortunately went down while leading the race, but put in a strong ride to come back to fifth. Webb got better as the day went on, just missing the podium, but he showed his late-race speed and grit in the main. Justin put himself in a great position with good starts and learned a lot about racing up front. It was a great team effort, and we’re looking forward to San Diego.”
