Upgrade to enjoy this feature!
Vital MX fantasy is free to play, but Premium users receive great benefits. Premium benefits include:
- View and download rider stats
- Pick trends
- Create a private league
- And more!
Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
Clearly he crashed so he didn't accidentally pass Jett.
Just like in his 250 career Cooper is the fastest guy that you notice the least. Looked like him and Kenny were battling tooth and nail all the way to the finish. I think it’s cool how these inter-generational battles are playing out.
Other than last week Hunter just doesn’t look comfortable on that bike to me. Almost looks like it works amazing for Jett, and the same setup just isn’t gonna work for Hunter, totally different riding styles. Kinda like what Chase was talking about in outdoors last year.
After Birmingham
Hunter 5: (Out with injury. Drops two spots in the standings to 12th with 87pts.)
-2x Top 5 Finish
-DNQ for Anaheim 1
JCoop 4: (Moves up a spot in the standings to 8th with 108pts.)
-1x Top 5 Finish
-DNQ for San Francisco
After Indianapolis
Hunter 5: (Stays 12th in the standings with 98pts.)
*Riding with a fractured shoulder
-2x Top 5 Finish
-DNQ for Anaheim 1
JCoop 5: (Stays 8th in the standing with 120pts.)
-1x Top 5 Finish
-DNQ for San Francisco
IMO, they're pretty evenly matched overall. Looking forward to outdoors (70 days).
The Shop
Free shipping: VITALMX
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Hunter demonstrating his grit by being out there with a fractured scapula.
Justin’s qualifying speed is impressive, but it seems he can’t maintain it in a race situation?
Justin looked great in the first qualifying session (1st) and completely different in the second one (11th). Then, in the races, he went 11-11-7 for 10th overall.
Hunter was 12th fastest in session one and 8th in the second session. In the races, he went 10-10-12 for 11th overall.
As I've mentioned in my previous post, I think they're pretty evenly matched. Remove Jett from the equation and there's a great battle for the Rookie of the Year.
Agree. Jett and the quality of the experienced field take away from just how impressive Justin and Hunter have been.
You guys realize Jake Weimer had a factory bike for like 5 years because he made villopoto feel safe, right?
Jett expects to win. Justin and Hunter expect to compete for top 5s and always be in the top 10 - which is very respectable. They just need more time to build confidence. Speed is there for podiums. They ride like true rookies in their first real SX action in the 450 class. Jett had the benefit of 450 MX last summer - and make no mistake, it most definitely was a benefit to this year's SX for Jett.
After Seattle
Hunter 6: (Moves up to 11th in the standings with 113pts.)
-2x Top 5 Finish
-DNQ for Anaheim 1
-Missed a round with a fractured shoulder
-1x Heat Winner
JCoop 5: (Stays 8th in the standing with 134pts.)
-1x Top 5 Finish
-DNQ for San Francisco
Wondered what happened to Cooper. He was behind Tomac most of the race. Thr last lap Cooper was 6 seconds slower than Hunter and lost by 3 seconds. Guess a mistake cost him a spot.
Hunter was out of the top 10 for a long time and JCoop was riding well. I'd have to look at the lap times.
After St-Louis
Hunter 7: (Moves up to 10th in the standings with 133pts.)
-3x Top 5 Finish
-DNQ for Anaheim 1
-Missed a round with a fractured shoulder
-1x Heat Winner
-One overall podium (3rd) in St. Louis. Triple Crown Event
JCoop 5: (Stays 8th in the standing with 147pts.)
-1x Top 5 Finish
-DNQ for San Francisco
Classy podium speech by Hunter.
After Foxborough
Hunter 8: (Stays 10th in the standings with 148pts. Now 1 point back from Barcia in 9th.)
-3x Top 5 Finish
-DNQ for Anaheim 1
-Missed a round with a fractured shoulder
-1x Heat Winner
-One overall podium (3rd) in St. Louis. Triple Crown Event
JCoop 5: (Stays 8th in the standing with 161pts.)
-1x Top 5 Finish
-DNQ for San Francisco
It’s crazy how no matter how the night is going they seem to end up next to eachother in the results after every race. They have totally different ways of going about it but they are soo close in skill and speed.
I thought Cooper was a bit better than Hunter last night, but that nasty hit to his tailbone took off a little of the steam he had going.
After Nashville
Hunter 8: (Stays 10th in the standings with 163pts. Now 3 point back from Barcia in 9th.)
-3x Top 5 Finish
-DNQ for Anaheim 1
-Missed a round with a fractured shoulder
-2x Heat Winner
-One overall podium (3rd) in St. Louis. Triple Crown Event
JCoop 6: (Stays 8th in the standings with 177pts.)
-1x Top 5 Finish
-DNQ for San Francisco
Pit Row
Both guys rode well tonight.
JCoop says thanks to JAndo tonight.
Without that, I think Hunter would've finished in the top 5.
Agree.
After Philadelphia
Hunter 9: (Stays 10th in the standings with 178pts. Now 4 points back from Barcia in 9th.)
-3x Top 5 Finish
-DNQ for Anaheim 1
-Missed a round with a fractured shoulder
-2x Heat Winner
-One overall podium (3rd) in St. Louis. Triple Crown Event
-1x fastest qualifier (Philadelphia)
JCoop 6: (Stays 8th in the standings with 189pts.)
-1x Top 5 Finish
-DNQ for San Francisco
-1x fastest qualifier (Anaheim II)
Still really close between the 2. Seems like Hunter has a little higher ceiling at the moment. Can’t argue with Cooper still ahead on points though.
What's interesting to me is that they are close in points despite Hunter practically missing three races while Justin missed one.
Justin didn't qualify for San Francisco, so he scored no points.
Hunter didn't qualify for Anaheim 1, hurt his shoulder at Daytona which resulted in him only scoring a single point, and then missed Birmingham with a fractured shoulder.
If you only take the rounds they qualified for and average out those points:
JCoop: 189/14 = 13.5
Hunter: 178/13 = 13.7
Average Across All 15 Rounds
JCoop: 12.6
Hunter: 11.9
They're pretty evenly matched when you look at everything.
After Denver
Hunter 10: (Moves up to 8th in the standings with 200pts. Now 5 points back from JCoop in 7th.)
-4x Top 5 Finish
-DNQ for Anaheim 1
-Missed a round with a fractured shoulder
-2x Heat Winner
-Two overall podiums (3rd) in St. Louis. Triple Crown Event, (2nd) in Denver.
-1x fastest qualifier (Philadelphia)
JCoop 6: (Moves up to 7th in the standings with 205pts.)
-1x Top 5 Finish
-DNQ for San Francisco
-1x fastest qualifier (Anaheim II)
JCoop was 0.416 short of making the pass on Webb for another top-5 finish.
I think at this point the debate is settled. Hunter has had the more successful season. Even if JCoop wins his heat and the main at SLC, Hunter has had the better year overall.
Cooper definitely could've made the pass on Webb, he looked faster and he actually had to slow down in the last corner and the run up to the finish line in order to not pass Webb since Webb slowed up so much there to roll it. Cooper just wouldn't have been allowed by the team to make the pass
It’s fair to say that JCoop has had an impressive rookie season, but he’s been overshadowed by Hunter continuing his awesome progression. Meanwhile his brother is just a freak as far rookies go.
When was the last time we had three rookies this good?
Seely, Baggett and Anderson in 2015?
Man, I forgot how good Seely's rookie season was
Post a reply to: HLaw vs JCoop