Posts
395
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Girona
ES
This isnt directed at Cooper specifically but with all the talk on the 2018 being better or his potential saving grace and 90% of the people saying that is the issue. What if he doesn't go any better on the bike and posts same results.
What then? Is it him or Yamaha and the bike again.
Same as Barcia, the bike was the issue but he is no better on the Suzuki.
Would you then be safe to say its the rider - wether its cause he does or doesn't train enough or that this is actually how good he is?
What then? Is it him or Yamaha and the bike again.
Same as Barcia, the bike was the issue but he is no better on the Suzuki.
Would you then be safe to say its the rider - wether its cause he does or doesn't train enough or that this is actually how good he is?
The Shop
Watching Coop transition into the premier class has been great viewing for me personally. Again I think the mental game is the defining difference, in the top ten guys especially!
He crushed the competition in the lites class! Then to go up to the 450, and have that voice in the back of your head that says "these guys are going faster" everyday leading to the opener.. Man! That'll do things to your confidence.. If there were stocks in Cooper Inc I'd be first guy in line! He'll be remembered for his 450 career not his 250 I'm sure of it.
The new bike, if he likes it? Could do great things for the subconscious! If not, well.. There's bound to be some residual magic left inside that number 2 plate!
I go 95% Cooper, 5% Bike blame pie for Cooper's outdoor struggles. F'ing Dean Ferris got 2nd at High Point and was almost fastest qualifier on his 2017 YZ450F...
James Stewart was 3 seconds a lap faster on the new CRF250 but team Suzuki would never tell us that
PS: That is how ridiculous you sound.
really what it comes down to with him is recovering from injuries. he's had an injury at least once in the last 3 years, and this year he had two, he's riding back into shape and the last few rounds he's starting to look like the guy he should. plus the yz450 he had was sorted out already, he's had little time on the rmz in comparision.
but back to coop on the 18
in 2007 GL made a switch to the 2008 yz450f, he felt more comfortable and was able to be aggressive. he notched three wins after RC said goodbye and won the title. in 2011 RV2 made a switch, I remember in behind the scense interview with Mike Williams stating the 11 bike was more rigid and would wear him out faster so was fading faster, he switched and it made a difference.
with cooper, when you've ridden another bike, and you 'know' its better than what you have, its hard to be motivated to ride the worse of the two. riders in general are finicky and to make the jump from 5-10th to 1-5th, its the little things that make the difference. be it confidence in training, or trusting your bike, being comfortable to go at those speeds you cant have any doubts or you wont win.
if he is happier on the 18, it doesn't matter if the chassis is "better" because if he believes it, then it is.
The placebo effect is big in our sport...
Cooper didnt seem to have any trouble in Ernee,or any of the other races he did on the 450 in 2016
Was flagging at Shepparton national last weekend...Ferris is on another level..he laid waste to the field in the second Moto ...he slowed and mailed it in towards the end...I didn't see the bike holding him back in any way...the other contenders have more or less conceded defeat.
Cooper Webb? Who knows..the US scene is super tough...total head fuck for riders..no job security..serious injury risk..
It was fine for Ferris to just show up and go for broke..dish out some ..but having to race all the races , including supercross? I think it's just the riders and how they approach or handle things...clearly the bike doesn't hold ferris back. But would the bike become an excuse under the pressure of a full season of sx and mx in the states?
It's difficult to answer...I'm sure that Webb felt somewhat humiliated by Ferris' performance, but he really shouldn't .
He should just learn from it and see how you can actually run right up front on the Yamaha
its a mental issue. He is mentally not comfortable on the 450, he has ridden a bike he feels more comfortable on, and he is being "forced" to ride a bike he "believes" he cant win on.
his previous runs on a 450, he probably did well on because he was only on it for the one race. his mind set was different
Post a reply to: 2018 YZF / Cooper and things overall