THE “I AM COOPER WEBB” INTERVIEW

With Jett Lawrence’s recent dominance in the sport, it’s easy to overlook that Cooper Webb is in fact the reigning AMA Supercross Champion. And the 30-year-old’s gutsy third 450SX title win back in May made him the SX series’ oldest ever winner. But, as Webb explains to Eric Johnson, he’s far from being done!

With a fourth-place finish at the season-ending round of the 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb nailed down his third AMA Supercross 450SX Championship. Upon doing so, Webb, at age 30 years and six months became the oldest racer to ever claim the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. Furthermore, with the possession of the 2025 title, Webb joined full-on legends Bob Hannah and Jeff Stanton as three-time SX champions. A championship season underlined by determination and extraordinary consistency – Webb won five main events and stood on the podium 13 times – the native of Newport, North Carolina, now enters the off-season where he is busily preparing to make a run at Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship number four.

“We’re racing against the younger guys, the guys my age, the guys like Eli and Kenny, who are a little bit older. I mean, it’s by far the most stacked this class has ever been.”

And that is exactly where Transmoto’s Eric Johnson found the defending champion, who was fast at work getting both himself and the 2026 Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing YZ450F into fighting shape for the gate drop set for Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, on Saturday evening, January 10, 2026.

“Winning the 2025 supercross championship was so fulfilling. It was my third one, which is incredible to think about. It’s a short list of people who have been able to do that, right? It had been four years between championships for me. And I’m now the oldest supercross champion in the sport!”

“Yeah, man, busy. Busy for sure,” said Webb, a handful of days after placing third Overall in Round 3 of the 2025 FIM Supercross World Championship at Cbus Super Stadium in Australia. “We just got back from Australia and then we had our 2026 team photo shoot. We’ve also been developing the 2026 YZ450F. It’s a new bike and we just have stuff to run through. Last year’s bike was awesome, so it’s just whenever you get a new bike, there is always a little bit to run through all these goods and bads. I’ve been doing that kind of thing. But other than that, everything’s good.”

Webb has the hammer down and it is all systems go throughout the month of December to have all sorted out and ready for January 2026.

“Yeah, it is wide open,” explained the 30-time 450SX main even winner. “I just had the Yamaha Wall of Champions dinner in Georgia. Then we started back to our normal training after that. We also have the Feld Supercross media day over in Anaheim, California, so December is wide open. Then you get Christmas, and you’ve got testing and training, so it is kind of the crunch time before it gets really hectic. Obviously for me and having a great year last year, there are a lot of obligations we have with sponsors and the team and stuff like that. That’s part of it when you are the champion of the supercross series.

“In Australia, there were a lot of really fast guys. It was myself and Eli Tomac and Ken Roczen and Jason Anderson. We had the young gun, Haiden Deegan, there. A lot of top-notch talent and a lot of champions. It was kind of strange to race Haiden and then to race Eli Tomac on his new bike.”

“And I’m glad I did the Australian World Supercross race,” continued Webb. “It was cool. That was my last off-season race, if you will, for the year. But I won’t be doing the final two rounds of the WSX. It was honestly killer in Australia. We had a great time on the Gold Coast. It was a beautiful area. The beaches were stunning. The event was sold-out. The fans were awesome. The track was pretty good. Honestly, there were a lot of really fast guys. It was myself and Eli Tomac and Ken Roczen and Jason Anderson. We had the young gun, Haiden Deegan, there. A lot of top-notch talent and a lot of champions. It was kind of strange to race Haiden and then to race Eli Tomac on his new bike. It was definitely kind of crazy with the feelings. It was good. I was able to get on the podium and got a race win in one of the motos. Overall, it was a great experience. Me and my wife went, and we had a great time.”

Now back home and posted up in preparing for the approaching 2026 racing season, Webb has even able to cast a look back over his jersey sleeve and review his body of racing work from the 2025 campaign.

“Yeah, 2025 was incredible! It really was. It was an awesome year. For me, the supercross championship is what I strive for year after year. To be able to achieve that was excellent. It was my third one, which is incredible to think about. It’s a short list of people who have been able to do that, right? Just the way it happened on this Star Racing Yamaha team was so fulfilling. It had been four years between championships for me. I’m now the oldest supercross champion in the sport. I made a lot of incredible memories with the supercross season. Overall, with the motocross and SMX, those were consistent. We were top five in those races. So, yeah, I’d say it was a solid and amazing year overall. We checked off the big box with the supercross championship, and I couldn’t ask for much more.”

“To go head-to-head there with Chase Sexton at the end of the season was pretty gnarl because he’s such an amazing athlete and champion of our sport. He’s probably one of the most talented guys to ever do it.”

Webb’s first AMA Pro Racing event coming at Hangtown on May 18, 2013, the 12-year veteran explained that the 2025 supercross title fight took all the experience and wisdom he’s accumulated over the years and put it to very good work.

“Oh, yeah, 2025 took everything I had. We’re racing some of the best of all the generations now. We’re racing against the younger guys, the guys my age, the guys like Eli and Kenny, who are a little bit older. I mean, it’s by far the most stacked this class has ever been. There was some injury stuff I had to deal with here and there this year, but I put myself in a good position. To go head-to-head there with Chase Sexton at the end was pretty gnarl because he’s such an amazing athlete and champion of our sport. He’s probably one of the most talented guys to ever do it. Like you said, for me it was perseverance. To have four years of not winning – and have ups and downs and ebbs and flows and injuries and team changes and all that kind of stuff – and then to just win was just awesome. Things were kind of stacked up against me, so when I was able to push through it and get a championship, not only for yourself, but for everyone involved, it’s awesome. Like I said, for us, year after year, the main goal is supercross and I was able to accomplish that goal in winning the supercross championship.”

“I might not be as successful as Ricky was by any means, but I think maybe my mentality and the way I do things does remind Ricky of himself. He was willing to do whatever it takes to win.”

Webb addressed now being the oldest supercross champion in the 54-year history of the championship.

“I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, if I’m honest!,” mused the racer born on November 10, 1995. “It’s pretty special, you know? It is a record, and I don’t know if it will last forever. But for the time being, I’ll hold onto that, right? I just think it shows how good we are. I just turned 30 and there are guys two and three years older than me that are still winners and champions. I honestly think that shows what caliber of riders we are. We can still do it past our prime. I think your prime is usually 23 to 27 years old. For us to extend that and still be winning a little bit past the prime is super special.”

“I have a lot of great talents and attributes myself. Maybe I’m not the flashiest guy when it comes to style and all that, but right now I am currently the most winningest racer in the sport.”

Webb recently stated in the global motocross media that, “I am not Jett, or Chase or Eli, but I am Cooper Webb”. This writer asked him about the statement.

“Yeah, exactly. I think each racer, we all have our specialties and some of us do things better than others, but yeah, like I said, I am Cooper Webb. I have a lot of great talents and attributes myself. Maybe I’m not the flashiest guy when it comes to style and all that, but right now I am currently the most winningest racer in the sport. I’ve got three championships. I must be doing something right.”

“We all work hard, and we all have great equipment, and we all sacrifice a lot. But like I said, I do pride myself in that. In supercross, I probably am one of the most mentally tough competitors on that gate.”

And for Cooper Webb, that ‘something’ is focusing purely on winning.

“That’s 100-percent right. I strive for that every time I’m on the line. I want to be competitive and going for the win. There might be races where I’m winning and everything is great, but there might be some bad races too where you’re not gelling and maybe competing as well as you want to be. I think once you win, especially when you become a champion, it becomes addicting, right? You strive to have those feelings year after year, and as long as I feel that I can still win championships, that’s what’s keeping me motivated to keep going. There can only be one champion, right? We all work hard, and we all have great equipment, and we all sacrifice a lot. But like I said, I do pride myself in that. In supercross, I probably am one of the most mentally tough competitors on that gate. Even right now, I’m headed home from the track at 5:15 PM in the evening. There are other riders that might not want to do that. Trust me: I have a wife and two kids at home, and I would have loved to have been home four hours ago, but the effort it takes to be successful and be the champ at the top of this of sport requires you to be all-in in all aspects. Yeah, man, that’s what I enjoy about it. It’s honestly pushing the body and suffering. And mentally, I go to the starting line checking all the boxes.”

The great Ricky Carmichael recently referred to Cooper Webb as “a warrior and fisher”. Certainly high praise from the GOAT that didn’t go unnoticed with Webb.

“It means a lot,” said Webb as the interview wound down. “He’s the GOAT. I might not be as successful as Ricky was by any means, but I think maybe my mentality and the way I do things does remind Ricky of himself. He was willing to do whatever it takes to win, and it might not be the prettiest, but he’s going to learn and push himself to be there every time. For me, it’s important that every time I line up in supercross, I feel like a contender and can win the championship. That means a lot. Bring on 2026 supercross. I’d love to repeat, right? That’s the goal.”