Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper earned his first overall podium of the 2025 Pro Motocross 450MX season with a third-place finish (4-2) at the Hangtown Classic in Rancho Cordova, California. Eli Tomac added to the team’s strong showing, taking home a win in Moto 1 and overcoming adversity in Moto 2 to end the day fourth overall (1-9). Cooper Webb continued his upward trend outdoors, joining his teammates inside the top 10 with sixth overall (7-7).
It was a hot one at the Prairie City SVRA, with triple-digit temperatures challenging riders throughout Round 2 of Pro Motocross and Round 19 of the SuperMotocross World Championship. Cooper started strong, qualifying second and grabbing the holeshot in the first moto. Although he dropped back to fourth in the opening laps, he ran a good pace to maintain the position to the finish. In Moto 2, Cooper got another good start in fourth and quickly moved into third before making a pass on his teammate to take over second on the opening lap. The New Yorker continued to ride a consistently strong pace, managing the gap to the leader and securing second for third overall. Cooper leaves Hangtown fourth in the standings, just three points behind second and 19 points from the championship lead.
Tomac carried his momentum from the season opener and was strong throughout the day, qualifying third. In Moto 1, he slotted into third and passed his teammate Cooper on Lap 2 to take over second. As the race wound down, he closed in on the leader and took over the top spot with two laps to go, earning his first moto win of the season. The victory moved Tomac into a tie for second on the all-time 450MX moto win list, with 68 career moto victories. Unfortunately, in Moto 2, he and another rider made contact after the start, putting him back in 26th. Tomac put in a determined ride, charging to eighth by Lap 5, but had a tip-over while attempting to advance further. He remounted in 12th and continued to push forward, ultimately finishing ninth for fourth overall. Tomac now sits third in the championship, one point behind second and 17 points from the lead as the series heads to his home state next weekend.
Webb continued to build momentum in his return to full-time Pro Motocross competition. After qualifying 11th, he made forward progress in both motos. In Moto 1, he was eighth after the opening lap and would cross the line seventh. The three-time 450SX Champion then got a great start to Moto 2, earning the team’s second holeshot of the day. In third after the opening laps, he continued to battle but ultimately would cross the line seventh to improve to a sixth-place overall finish.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 team heads east next weekend for Round 3 of the 2025 Pro Motocross Championship and Round 20 of the SuperMotocross World Championship at Thunder Valley Motocross Park in Lakewood, Colorado, on June 7.
Rich Simmons – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team Manager
“It was a good day, overall. A moto win for Eli and third overall for Justin. I felt like all three riders made some positive gains from last weekend, which is always the goal. Qualifying, starts, and putting two good motos together are key to being in a position to fight for wins and podiums. We will make sure the riders and crew have a good recovery after the hot weekend, and look forward to Thunder Valley.”
Justin Cooper – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #32
“It was a good day. I’ve always liked coming here. I’m not really a hard-packed conditions guy, but somehow I seem to like this place. The day went really well. I qualified second and got the holeshot in Moto 1. I couldn’t hold the pace, though, and dropped back to third in the first couple of laps, and eventually fell back to fourth. In Moto 2, I really came out firing and got up to second. I tried to latch onto Jett (Lawrence) and see if I could make anything happen, but I wasn’t able to close in on him, so all I could do was just manage the gap. I was able to get second in that moto, putting me third overall, which was really good for me. Now I’m excited to go to Thunder Valley. It’s probably my favorite track of the outdoor season, so I’m looking forward to that.”
Eli Tomac – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #3
“It was great to get a first moto win this weekend. Unfortunately, I made two costly mistakes for my chance to win the overall in Moto 2.”
Cooper Webb – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #2
“I had a solid day and made a step forward at Hangtown. It was nice to get a good start and run up front for a few laps in the second moto. Overall, it was a really challenging day with the heat. I haven’t raced in conditions like that for quite some time. My goal is to keep building with each gate drop and get myself closer to the front these next few rounds.”