Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team’s Cooper Webb has made a positive start to the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross season and silenced many who had written him off from the title race before the fall of the checkered flag. It has been well documented that there was a lack of any positivity last year due to issues with the bike and whatnot, but how does one mentally rebound from such a defeat? In this exclusive Vital MX interview from press day in Anaheim 2, round four (or three) of term, Webb dives into his mindset and current situation.
Jamie Guida, Vital MX: We’re back in Anaheim with slightly better conditions than the first time around. Can we get a win?
Cooper Webb: We’re gonna try, man. Yup, we’re going to try to get our butt off. This time the weather is very dry. You can see how dry it really is, and it’s Triple Crown format. Slightly different from what we’re doing. Doing press day, little track walk, check out and little different track. So far it seems simple enough. The section here sounds a bit interesting (the rhythm section with the third baseline), but we’ll see how it breaks down.
What will it take to catch what Eli is up to? His lap times have been consistently low. You’re not far away, you just need a little more.
Yes, there is some pace, but I am happy where I am. I feel like I can run my laps continuously. I feel like I didn’t push myself last week and give it my all. I felt I missed a lot on the track. Meaning I think I had momentum, but I was probably too consistent and waited too long. Like you said, he has some really fast momentum right now. We worked on that this week. The Triple Crown is all about a good start. It is a short race and a good start will be important, as will consistency. Yes, I am happy where I am. I know what it takes to win now. I saw how you need to ride to win, and I think that was a big step forward. In A1, he crashed and still won. Last week I kept him honest throughout the race and I made some mistakes too. You know, he’s riding really well. It’s going to be a long season, you know? We’re still in a hurry. Like I said, I’m happy with where I am right now and we’re just going to keep building.
In 2019 and 2021, your championship years, it seemed like a totally different person than in 2020 and 2022. Now we’re back in another odd-numbered year and it looks like that person is back again. Do you feel like you just need a year to recover from the championship? It looks like a ’19 and ’21 Cooper this year. You are cutting, aggressive and we didn’t see that last year. Not towards the end of the season anyway.
It’s weird. Everyone’s saying it’s an odd year. I mean, I obviously didn’t win the championship in 2020, but I got second in points. I think I had four main event wins. It wasn’t really an off year like last year… I mean, who knows what the reason is. I think I just kind of threw up last year. It was not a real testimony to many. I think in 2020 we have taken a step in the direction of the bike which we should not have done. Once we got a certain way back to Salt Lake I thought I was good enough at that point. In ’20, I really think it could have been a great season if Dallas hadn’t happened. Last year was a wash and you learn from it. I literally look in the rear-view mirror and hold back a tear. This year I just got back to a good headspace. I am enjoying the bike and I am enjoying racing a lot. You grow and you learn. I think it’s starting to add to that experience, but it’s not easy when you run into guys like Eli Tomac.
