Things can change in a hurry in this sport. Just ask Cooper Webb, who just a few races ago was tied for the 450SX points lead with Jett Lawrence. But since tying the championship leader, Webb hasn’t been able to exhibit the form that got him to that point. Since Foxborough, Webb has taken third, fourth, then fifth in Denver, leaving fans scratching their heads. Well, it turns out Webb’s been dealing with a thumb injury (a torn ulnar collateral ligament, to be exact), which has gotten worse lately. And, if that weren’t enough for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing, Eli Tomac also hurt his thumb (in a lesser capacity) in Denver when he crashed after slicing past Jason Anderson into third in the main event. We beelined it over to the Star pits to pump 450 team manager, Jeremy Coker, for information immediately following the 450SX main event.
Racer X: We didn’t know Cooper Webb injured his thumb until tonight in Denver. Can you explain the injury and its origins?
Jeremy Coker: We had a get-together with Jett [Lawrence] in Birmingham. Coop didn’t even go down, he just kind of hit him, and at that point he tore his UCL. It’s not torn enough that it needs surgery, but the only way to let it heal is to do nothing. Well, unfortunately, we can’t do nothing. So, we’re doing as much as we can, and as little as we can, at the same time to try to heal it. In this sport the thumb is a pretty important part of the body, and we don’t get any breaks in this sport. We’re doing what we can, we just have to stay in the fight.
So he hasn’t been able to barely practice?
He’s been trying to ride one day a week.
So has his speed been suffering as a result?
I don’t think his speed has been suffering at all. His speed has actually gotten better because he’s been working on specific things. And even since the injury you’ve seen him win races and you’ve seen him set pole position. It benefitted him in that he’s tried to change his technique a little bit and he’s gotten better. In the opening laps he’s okay, but it’s just when he gets deep into a race that it becomes a problem.
Has it gotten worse the last few races then? After he was tied with Lawrence?
Definitely when we tied Jett with points, he tried to step it up a little bit and ride a little more because he was in that position. That might have hurt us a little bit. I think that’s kind of what set us back a little bit.
So why wait until tonight to make it public knowledge?
The less you talk about it with people, the intention is, the less you feel it. You try not to talk or think about it, you don’t bring it up, and you just move on. That was his goal and our goal at the same time. But at a certain point you start getting a lot of questions. He’s riding around with his hand maybe off the handlebar, and I told him it was time to let everybody know so we don’t keep getting questions and not being able to answer them.
What kind of a mental state did this situation put him in, in these last few races?
It’s definitely a mental break. It’s frustrating because he knows he can do it. He’s done it, he’s won the races and he got to where he needed to be in the points with Jett. He’s been faster than Jett sometimes. Not all the time, Jett is obviously an amazing rider. But with this injury he’s not able to show his true potential, and that’s frustrating. Frustrating for him and frustrating for us. We’re just doing everything we can to stay in the fight. We know better than anybody that in the blink of an eye, these points can be gone. As long as we’re still there, within a race, that’s all that matters.
Did something happen to Eli Tomac when he crashed in the main? He was looking fast before he went down.
Yeah. Unfortunately, he crashed and hurt his thumb in the main. Nothing is torn or broken, but he definitely stretched something, or pissed it off, and inflamed his thumb. That hurt him tonight. In the beginning of that race, before he crashed, he was flying. I was like, "Okay, maybe he’s okay. Here we go." I think we’ll be all right next week. He’s going to recover this week and we’ll see.
Rider | Time | Interval | Best Lap | Hometown | Bike | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jett Lawrence | 23 Laps | 54.428 | Landsborough, Australia | Honda CRF450R | |
2 | Hunter Lawrence | +1.802 | 54.561 | Landsborough, Australia | Honda CRF450R | |
3 | Jason Anderson | +5.404 | 54.437 | Edgewood, NM | Kawasaki KX450SR | |
4 | Justin Barcia | +12.175 | 54.707 | Monroe, NY | GasGas MC 450F | |
5 | Cooper Webb | +22.017 | 55.201 | Newport, NC | Yamaha YZ450F | |
6 | Justin Cooper | +22.433 | 55.495 | Cold Spring Harbor, NY | Yamaha YZ450F | |
7 | Malcolm Stewart | +26.219 | 55.275 | Haines City, FL | Husqvarna FC 450 | |
8 | Chase Sexton | +33.386 | 54.868 | La Moille, IL | KTM 450 SX-F | |
9 | Dylan Ferrandis | +43.726 | 55.801 | Avignon, FL | Honda CRF450R | |
10 | Eli Tomac | +48.214 | 55.555 | Cortez, CO | Yamaha YZ450F |