Cooper Webb on Houston | Vital MX Interview

There is no denying the fact that Cooper Webb was not at his best in Houston, the fourth stop of the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross series, and that makes it easy to forget just how well he started the new season. Based on this Vital MX post-race interview from the NRG Stadium, Webb is still very confident about where he is sat and can pinpoint the reason behind his troubles in Texas. The full transcript of that chat with the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing star is below but, as mentioned, the audio version is also available elsewhere.

Vital MX: Fifth but, look, it was an off night for you. I feel like you will take a fifth place here, right?

Cooper Webb: Yeah, like you said, I was off all day. Unfortunately, a fifth is not great. You have got to take you can get in the grand scheme of things – this class is super gnarly. I obviously want to be closer to the podium and fighting for wins. We will regroup and come back swinging in Tampa.

At what point in the day did you realize that this was an off one? Were the signs already there in practice that this was going to be damage limitation?

Honestly, yeah. From the first few laps of practice, I did not feel like myself. I kind of struggled with the track and never felt super comfortable with it. I got a great start in the heat race and thought that I could turn the day around – it was my best ride up until that point. I ended up falling backwards though. I actually did not ride too bad in the main event, but I was off the pace.

Was this a bike set-up issue? If so, what was the one thing that you were not gelling with?

I think that it was a little bit of both. I was off, but I think that I have set my bike up to turn super tight and the track… I felt like the speeds were a lot higher tonight and you kind of railed the top of the turns. The whoops were really long and fast too. I have been good in the whoops and we all struggled. Well, a lot of us struggled. Everyone but Chase! I did not feel as comfortable as I have done in the whoops. Like I said, when the track gets rough and I can cut down then that is where I really excel. The track did not really get rough tonight and there was no cutting down. I was just railing all of the berms. It was a little bit on me, but you live and you learn. Not every track is going to suit your style! We will see once we go to the football stadiums and get some tighter tracks. Hopefully that will excel my style.

We all know that you are one of the strongest riders mentally. When you have a practice like today and realize that you are off, does that get to you? Can you mentally reset going into the night show and forget about what happened?

I think that I did a good job of mentally resetting for tonight, but I was just off with speed. It was a big chunk of speed and that is where it is hard, because you know that you do not have that. I feel like I can normally make it up with a good start and race craft when the track gets rough, but none of that really happened. You had to have speed through the whole night.

Tonight was an off night, but let's forget about that. Put results to one side: You have looked racy and been at the top of the board every week at some point. This has been a good Cooper Webb start to the season.

For sure. It has! That is what is tough, because the two guys with me like Eli [Tomac] and Chase [Sexton] have started hot too. You have got to remember that it is seventeen races and a lot of stuff can happen. Like you said, I think that this is the best that I have ever started a season. I have been a lot closer in practices, so I think that we are in a good spot. It is easy to dwell, but we have got to get it going here soon.

Last question. What are you going to work on off the back of tonight? What is one thing that you are going to try to fix, in order to be better in Tampa?

We adjusted the forks a bit today, to go a little bit stiffer, which I think helped. Now, we have got to match it with the rear. It is kind of normal when you come from west coast where it is slippery and I felt my bike was really good there. Honestly, today was the most traction that we have had in a long time from what I can remember. It just weighs your bike down and you need to stiffen it up a bit. I do not want to go too crazy, because I feel like we have been in a great spot. We will see what Tampa can bring. I believe that it was a bit hard pack when we last raced there, so we may be dialled with our settings.