Justin Cooper Signs with Star Racing Yamaha

Yeah just saw that. Pretty cool to see a local kid doing so well.

That kid rips! Good luck, Justin. It'll be interesting to see where he slots in.

I wonder if one of the 4 they have now will be on something else next year ?

Kid was tipping it up. Good deal

Honest question why don't these guys wait until the week is over to see if there isn't any more teams interested in them before signing a pro contract?

I know signing a pro contract is a big deal but jumping at the first opportunity might not be in their best interest. Sure the pressure is off for the rest of the week knowing you already have a pro contract but whose to say that's the best offer you would of gotten.

In his case he did his podium speech after his moto win, walked off the stage to sign a contract and came back on stage to announce it all within 5 minutes. Pro contracts are more than 1 page long so pretty sure he didn't read much if any of it. Was probably told here's a 3 year contract and you're going to get X amount a year, sign here, initial here.

Not the smartest thing to do in my opinion.

Good on him. Last year he was at Baja Acres and whooped everyone. My dad was talking to his pops and said they really didn't have anything. Well he killed it at Lorettas, got the cycle trader ride and now this. So awesome.

-MAVERICK- wrote:

Honest question why don't these guys wait until the week is over to see if there isn't any more teams interested in them before signing a pro contract?

I know signing a pro contract is a big deal but jumping at the first opportunity might not be in their best interest. Sure the pressure is off for the rest of the week knowing you already have a pro contract but whose to say that's the best offer you would of gotten.

In his case he did his podium speech after his moto win, walked off the stage to sign a contract and came back on stage to announce it all within 5 minutes. Pro contracts are more than 1 page long so pretty sure he didn't read much if any of it. Was probably told here's a 3 year contract and you're going to get X amount a year, sign here, initial here.

Not the smartest thing to do in my opinion.

Since he is on a Yamaha already this contract was probably already in the works. Just like when a Team Green rider signs a contract for Pro Circuit at Loretta's. It's already been in the works for months.

I agree with part of your thinking...

But lets say he doesn't sign the contract, and then goes out in the second moto and breaks his femur. How many contract offers do you think will be coming for him then?

As mom used to say, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

He's got his first contract. If he excels there will be plenty of suitors for his next one.

-MAVERICK- wrote:

Honest question why don't these guys wait until the week is over to see if there isn't any more teams interested in them before signing a pro contract?

I know signing a pro contract is a big deal but jumping at the first opportunity might not be in their best interest. Sure the pressure is off for the rest of the week knowing you already have a pro contract but whose to say that's the best offer you would of gotten.

In his case he did his podium speech after his moto win, walked off the stage to sign a contract and came back on stage to announce it all within 5 minutes. Pro contracts are more than 1 page long so pretty sure he didn't read much if any of it. Was probably told here's a 3 year contract and you're going to get X amount a year, sign here, initial here.

Not the smartest thing to do in my opinion.

These deals are worked out in advance, that was more just for show. These kids have had teams looking at them all year if not longer, they'd know if they have a chance at another team or not. Most of these kids have actually tested with the pro team and their bike before the deal is done as well.

-MAVERICK- wrote:

Honest question why don't these guys wait until the week is over to see if there isn't any more teams interested in them before signing a pro contract?

I know signing a pro contract is a big deal but jumping at the first opportunity might not be in their best interest. Sure the pressure is off for the rest of the week knowing you already have a pro contract but whose to say that's the best offer you would of gotten.

In his case he did his podium speech after his moto win, walked off the stage to sign a contract and came back on stage to announce it all within 5 minutes. Pro contracts are more than 1 page long so pretty sure he didn't read much if any of it. Was probably told here's a 3 year contract and you're going to get X amount a year, sign here, initial here.

Not the smartest thing to do in my opinion.

It's highly unlikely that he walked off the stage and signed the contract right then. It's probably been in the works for a while (considering he was already riding for Yamaha and is clearly the top rider in his division), and it was probably signed before he even lined up this week. Besides, I get that a rider may want to wait until the end of the week and see what kind of offers they may receive, but at the same time it was an offer from Star Racing which is one of the best 250 teams out there. It's not gonna get a whole lot better except maybe a little more money form X team. I'd take it if I were in his position.

So pumped to see a local guy doing so well i saw him ride a few years ago at kroc and hes gnarly.

-MAVERICK- wrote:

Honest question why don't these guys wait until the week is over to see if there isn't any more teams interested in them before signing a pro contract?

I know signing a pro contract is a big deal but jumping at the first opportunity might not be in their best interest. Sure the pressure is off for the rest of the week knowing you already have a pro contract but whose to say that's the best offer you would of gotten.

In his case he did his podium speech after his moto win, walked off the stage to sign a contract and came back on stage to announce it all within 5 minutes. Pro contracts are more than 1 page long so pretty sure he didn't read much if any of it. Was probably told here's a 3 year contract and you're going to get X amount a year, sign here, initial here.

Not the smartest thing to do in my opinion.

TXDirt wrote:

Since he is on a Yamaha already this contract was probably already in the works. Just like when a Team Green rider signs a contract for Pro Circuit at Loretta's. It's already been in the works for months.

I agree with part of your thinking...

But lets say he doesn't sign the contract, and then goes out in the second moto and breaks his femur. How many contract offers do you think will be coming for him then?

As mom used to say, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

He's got his first contract. If he excels there will be plenty of suitors for his next one.

I get what your saying about going into the following moto's and that there's a chance he could get injured but it's not like he hasn't been on the radar for a while. I get that it's LL and that some of the guy's go pro after that event and that's usually where they sign their first pro contract but they could still get hurt after signing the contract delaying their pro debut to supercross.

I get that LL is the biggest amateur race of the year but I don't get why teams wait to see how some riders perform at this specific event before approaching them with a contract. As you said they could get injured while at LL. If riders have done well at other big amateur events and beat some of the biggest names coming up on different types of tracks why is waiting for LL such a big deal for the teams to sign someone? The top amateurs pretty much attend all the big amateur events so why so much emphasis on this event?

Sure you have to qualify to race at LL but the top amateurs will still be the ones upfront and the ones at the back of the pack will be a non factor for them just like any other event.

-MAVERICK- wrote:

Honest question why don't these guys wait until the week is over to see if there isn't any more teams interested in them before signing a pro contract?

I know signing a pro contract is a big deal but jumping at the first opportunity might not be in their best interest. Sure the pressure is off for the rest of the week knowing you already have a pro contract but whose to say that's the best offer you would of gotten.

In his case he did his podium speech after his moto win, walked off the stage to sign a contract and came back on stage to announce it all within 5 minutes. Pro contracts are more than 1 page long so pretty sure he didn't read much if any of it. Was probably told here's a 3 year contract and you're going to get X amount a year, sign here, initial here.

Not the smartest thing to do in my opinion.

Probably had been negotiating with Star for a while.......

-MAVERICK- wrote:

Honest question why don't these guys wait until the week is over to see if there isn't any more teams interested in them before signing a pro contract?

I know signing a pro contract is a big deal but jumping at the first opportunity might not be in their best interest. Sure the pressure is off for the rest of the week knowing you already have a pro contract but whose to say that's the best offer you would of gotten.

In his case he did his podium speech after his moto win, walked off the stage to sign a contract and came back on stage to announce it all within 5 minutes. Pro contracts are more than 1 page long so pretty sure he didn't read much if any of it. Was probably told here's a 3 year contract and you're going to get X amount a year, sign here, initial here.

Not the smartest thing to do in my opinion.

TXDirt wrote:

Since he is on a Yamaha already this contract was probably already in the works. Just like when a Team Green rider signs a contract for Pro Circuit at Loretta's. It's already been in the works for months.

I agree with part of your thinking...

But lets say he doesn't sign the contract, and then goes out in the second moto and breaks his femur. How many contract offers do you think will be coming for him then?

As mom used to say, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

He's got his first contract. If he excels there will be plenty of suitors for his next one.

-MAVERICK- wrote:

I get what your saying about going into the following moto's and that there's a chance he could get injured but it's not like he hasn't been on the radar for a while. I get that it's LL and that some of the guy's go pro after that event and that's usually where they sign their first pro contract but they could still get hurt after signing the contract delaying their pro debut to supercross.

I get that LL is the biggest amateur race of the year but I don't get why teams wait to see how some riders perform at this specific event before approaching them with a contract. As you said they could get injured while at LL. If riders have done well at other big amateur events and beat some of the biggest names coming up on different types of tracks why is waiting for LL such a big deal for the teams to sign someone? The top amateurs pretty much attend all the big amateur events so why so much emphasis on this event?

Sure you have to qualify to race at LL but the top amateurs will still be the ones upfront and the ones at the back of the pack will be a non factor for them just like any other event.

Why do you believe that the teams wait until LL's to approach riders?

I ride and practice at the same tracks as Cooper during the week. You will not see a rider this smooth and mistake free since Dungey, believe me I never understood why he didnt have any hype, probably because he doesnt post scrub videos all week kind of ridiculous it took this long. Very happy hes lining up at Unadilla, a track he has dominated as an amatuer look out for him to be in the top 10 his starts are also very,very, good and ran lap times 3 seconds faster than Ferrandis at Pala for his Starr Racing tryout. I may be the best source on this rider since he lives 10 minutes away from me, Ill be back with a thread after Dilla! Kid is the real deal!

-MAVERICK- wrote:

I get what your saying about going into the following moto's and that there's a chance he could get injured but it's not like he hasn't been on the radar for a while. I get that it's LL and that some of the guy's go pro after that event and that's usually where they sign their first pro contract but they could still get hurt after signing the contract delaying their pro debut to supercross.

I get that LL is the biggest amateur race of the year but I don't get why teams wait to see how some riders perform at this specific event before approaching them with a contract. As you said they could get injured while at LL. If riders have done well at other big amateur events and beat some of the biggest names coming up on different types of tracks why is waiting for LL such a big deal for the teams to sign someone? The top amateurs pretty much attend all the big amateur events so why so much emphasis on this event?

Sure you have to qualify to race at LL but the top amateurs will still be the ones upfront and the ones at the back of the pack will be a non factor for them just like any other event.

I kind of have a 2 part answer. This is my own opinion so take it for what its worth. First is the old saying if you snooze you loose. These teams are not going to wait all year watching a kid win most of the big races and wait until after LL to approach him. More than likely they have been talking all year or most of the year and being that it looks like he is on Yamaha already it probably has been a done deal for a while. Second part is I think it might be beneficial for some of the kids that are in the top 5-10 or kids that have an outstanding race at LL to wait that have not been on the radar all year and see what comes of the week. Alot of the kids that are winning these races are known buy all of the teams. You really never hear of a kid for the first time at LL.

Found this interesting...

Well deserved contract! Star picked up an amazing rider & a great kid.

TXDirt wrote:

Since he is on a Yamaha already this contract was probably already in the works. Just like when a Team Green rider signs a contract for Pro Circuit at Loretta's. It's already been in the works for months.

I agree with part of your thinking...

But lets say he doesn't sign the contract, and then goes out in the second moto and breaks his femur. How many contract offers do you think will be coming for him then?

As mom used to say, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

He's got his first contract. If he excels there will be plenty of suitors for his next one.

-MAVERICK- wrote:

I get what your saying about going into the following moto's and that there's a chance he could get injured but it's not like he hasn't been on the radar for a while. I get that it's LL and that some of the guy's go pro after that event and that's usually where they sign their first pro contract but they could still get hurt after signing the contract delaying their pro debut to supercross.

I get that LL is the biggest amateur race of the year but I don't get why teams wait to see how some riders perform at this specific event before approaching them with a contract. As you said they could get injured while at LL. If riders have done well at other big amateur events and beat some of the biggest names coming up on different types of tracks why is waiting for LL such a big deal for the teams to sign someone? The top amateurs pretty much attend all the big amateur events so why so much emphasis on this event?

Sure you have to qualify to race at LL but the top amateurs will still be the ones upfront and the ones at the back of the pack will be a non factor for them just like any other event.

APLMAN99 wrote:

Why do you believe that the teams wait until LL's to approach riders?

I know they don't since the top amateurs are already on factory supported equipment. I guess what I was trying to say is why wait until LL to have them sign a pro contract. They invest a lot of money in those kids might as well sign them as early as you can to lock them down. Is it just because it's the biggest amateur race of the year and there's more prestige that surrounds it?

On second thought I guess they already do that since I believe Carson Mumford already has a long term deal with the Geico Honda team that will see him make his pro debut on that team whenever the time comes.

I just think there's a lot of emphasis to do good at that specific race when it shouldn't really matter if you're a top amateur. Whether you beat the top guys at the other big amateur events or at LL what's the difference.

TXDirt wrote:

Since he is on a Yamaha already this contract was probably already in the works. Just like when a Team Green rider signs a contract for Pro Circuit at Loretta's. It's already been in the works for months.

I agree with part of your thinking...

But lets say he doesn't sign the contract, and then goes out in the second moto and breaks his femur. How many contract offers do you think will be coming for him then?

As mom used to say, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

He's got his first contract. If he excels there will be plenty of suitors for his next one.

-MAVERICK- wrote:

I get what your saying about going into the following moto's and that there's a chance he could get injured but it's not like he hasn't been on the radar for a while. I get that it's LL and that some of the guy's go pro after that event and that's usually where they sign their first pro contract but they could still get hurt after signing the contract delaying their pro debut to supercross.

I get that LL is the biggest amateur race of the year but I don't get why teams wait to see how some riders perform at this specific event before approaching them with a contract. As you said they could get injured while at LL. If riders have done well at other big amateur events and beat some of the biggest names coming up on different types of tracks why is waiting for LL such a big deal for the teams to sign someone? The top amateurs pretty much attend all the big amateur events so why so much emphasis on this event?

Sure you have to qualify to race at LL but the top amateurs will still be the ones upfront and the ones at the back of the pack will be a non factor for them just like any other event.

APLMAN99 wrote:

Why do you believe that the teams wait until LL's to approach riders?

Bobby (Star Racing) didn't approach Justin today, this was just an announcement.

-MAVERICK- wrote:

I get what your saying about going into the following moto's and that there's a chance he could get injured but it's not like he hasn't been on the radar for a while. I get that it's LL and that some of the guy's go pro after that event and that's usually where they sign their first pro contract but they could still get hurt after signing the contract delaying their pro debut to supercross.

I get that LL is the biggest amateur race of the year but I don't get why teams wait to see how some riders perform at this specific event before approaching them with a contract. As you said they could get injured while at LL. If riders have done well at other big amateur events and beat some of the biggest names coming up on different types of tracks why is waiting for LL such a big deal for the teams to sign someone? The top amateurs pretty much attend all the big amateur events so why so much emphasis on this event?

Sure you have to qualify to race at LL but the top amateurs will still be the ones upfront and the ones at the back of the pack will be a non factor for them just like any other event.

APLMAN99 wrote:

Why do you believe that the teams wait until LL's to approach riders?

-MAVERICK- wrote:

I know they don't since the top amateurs are already on factory supported equipment. I guess what I was trying to say is why wait until LL to have them sign a pro contract. They invest a lot of money in those kids might as well sign them as early as you can to lock them down. Is it just because it's the biggest amateur race of the year and there's more prestige that surrounds it?

On second thought I guess they already do that since I believe Carson Mumford already has a long term deal with the Geico Honda team that will see him make his pro debut on that team whenever the time comes.

I just think there's a lot of emphasis to do good at that specific race when it shouldn't really matter if you're a top amateur. Whether you beat the top guys at the other big amateur events or at LL what's the difference.

I doubt that this kid would have "lost" his Star contract if he'd have not won that moto, or even any of his motos......

It's theatrics and marketing. It's a huge gathering and everyone wants to make a splash in front of the largest crowd possible.

Think of it like Boeing and Airbus. They sell airplanes all the time, but before certain air shows/trade events they stop announcing orders so that they can do it in front of large crowds. Very similar to waiting until Loretta's to announce your amateur recruits that you've actually already wrapped up a while ago.

I guess it makes sense to announce it at Loretta's since anyone and everyone from the industry is there for the week.

Hopefully the transition to the pro class goes well for everyone that signs a pro contract this week especially since supercross will be here before we know it. Get through SX healthy and then turn things up a notch outdoors.

JBlain619 wrote:

Found this interesting...

B class ain't no joke bro

JBlain619 wrote:

Found this interesting...

not really interesting when the track wears in. and they will touchup sections of the track multiple times a day. if a moto gets that touch up it will shave few seconds of that groups average lap times.

you watch those timings all week, you'll see it for yourself.

-MAVERICK- wrote:

Honest question why don't these guys wait until the week is over to see if there isn't any more teams interested in them before signing a pro contract?

I know signing a pro contract is a big deal but jumping at the first opportunity might not be in their best interest. Sure the pressure is off for the rest of the week knowing you already have a pro contract but whose to say that's the best offer you would of gotten.

In his case he did his podium speech after his moto win, walked off the stage to sign a contract and came back on stage to announce it all within 5 minutes. Pro contracts are more than 1 page long so pretty sure he didn't read much if any of it. Was probably told here's a 3 year contract and you're going to get X amount a year, sign here, initial here.

Not the smartest thing to do in my opinion.

ML512 wrote:

These deals are worked out in advance, that was more just for show. These kids have had teams looking at them all year if not longer, they'd know if they have a chance at another team or not. Most of these kids have actually tested with the pro team and their bike before the deal is done as well.

This

JBlain619 wrote:

Found this interesting...

dboivin wrote:

not really interesting when the track wears in. and they will touchup sections of the track multiple times a day. if a moto gets that touch up it will shave few seconds of that groups average lap times.

you watch those timings all week, you'll see it for yourself.

Those were back to back motos and they touched the track up before each since they are the motos that will be on the TV broadcasts after the event. I'm well aware of the event and considering Seth wasn't on anyone's "list" except the people that know him well, it was an impressive ride. Especially considering his lap times bested the newest Star riders times.

Keep in mind that he crushed it in Arenacross lites this winter as well.
Yamaha not letting him go.