Cooper Webb Back on Top in Texas
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb bounces back with a clutch Houston Supercross victory to keep title hopes alive / Feb 2, 2026 /
After Anaheim 2, it was palpable that Cooper Webb could feel his championship hopes slipping away. The pressure was on, but few riders respond to pressure like Webb. One week later, the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider was standing on top of the podium at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, delivering a clutch victory at the first Monster Energy AMA Supercross Triple Crown event of the season.
“It feels amazing,” Webb said. “It’s been a really tough month – mentally, physically, and emotionally… It’s never over, like I said last week. I thought it was a nail in the coffin, but that’s why I’m proud of myself. It’s a Cooper Webb move right there, to come back a week later and put myself in position to win.”
Second on the all-time Triple Crown win list with six victories, Webb is no stranger to success with the three-race format. In the opening moto, he got a solid top-five start and fought his way to a fourth-place finish. He backed that up with another strong start to the second moto in fourth, fighting all the way to the end and crossing the line second to put him in contention for the overall victory.
The final moto nearly unraveled early. Webb was fifth on the opening lap when a mistake after the finish-line jump dropped him back to eighth. He quickly recovered to seventh and then launched a charge around the halfway point, making his way through to third in just a couple of laps. Calm under pressure, Webb held the position to the checkered flag, securing the overall victory with a 4-2-3 score and earning his 31st-career Supercross win. It was a championship-caliber ride that gave Webb’s title defense a much-needed boost, and he leaves Texas fifth in the standings, just 17 points off the lead.
“Qualifying went a lot better, a lot smoother, and then it was just a very consistent, solid night of racing,” Webb said, looking back on the day. “I rode really well all night and put myself in a good situation. The last one got a little hairy. I made a big mistake on the finish line jump on the first lap, and got pushed back. Then I made some good passes and put myself in position to get the win. It’s a sigh of relief for myself and the team. I’m just motivated to keep this feeling going.”
His teammate Justin Cooper continued to make progress, even if the results didn’t show on paper. In the first moto, he was 12th after the start and made his way to ninth before the halfway mark, where he would finish. The New Yorker got a much better start to the second moto, slotting in fifth behind Webb. It was a multi-rider fight with Cooper battling for position, ultimately moving into fourth and holding off challenges to finish there.
Another difficult start in the final race of the evening saw Cooper get pushed wide and in 16th after the opening lap. Undeterred, he put his head down and steadily worked his way through to 12th to end the night ninth overall with a 9-4-12 score.
“It was a tough day overall, but we learned a lot today, and we can take a lot of positives going into the next few races,” Cooper said. “I feel like this race went way better than the previous one, and there were improvements. I’ve just got to fine-tune some areas and will be ready to go racing again.”
“It was a good day overall,” said Rich Simmons, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s 450 Team Manager. “We had press day yesterday, and we found a few things with the bike that we could improve on and made some changes today. With this being the Triple Crown, it's important to be consistent, and Webb's the king of consistency. He rode his butt off. That last moto, after landing on the back side of the finish and coming through to third – it was a clutch performance. Justin got a good start in there, and he skimmed the whoops pretty much all day, so big improvements on his side, too. It was a much-needed win for the team, and we’ll move on to the next one."
The team heads to Glendale, Arizona, next weekend for Round 5 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the Monster Energy SMX World Championship series at State Farm Stadium on February 7.