Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac and Justin Cooper each earned top-10 finishes at the Spring Creek National in Millville, Minnesota. Tomac finished seventh overall (6-9), while Cooper soldiered on to secure 10th (5-13) at Round 7 of the Pro Motocross 450MX Championship at the Spring Creek MX Park. As part of the continuation of Yamaha’s 70th Anniversary celebration, the team debuted a red, white, and black throwback livery inspired by the recently released 2026 limited-edition YZ models.
After qualifying ninth, Tomac had a strong start in sixth and charged through to the runner-up spot by Lap 5, but ultimately lost some ground and dropped back to sixth. It was another tough second moto, with Tomac in 13th after the opening lap, but he kept pushing and finished ninth, securing seventh overall on the day. Tomac remains in close contention for third in the 450MX Championship, just one point behind teammate Cooper.
Cooper faced adversity early in the day with a crash in the opening qualifying session but managed to push through for a solid result. He qualified fifth and made a charge in Moto 1, working his way from ninth to fifth and passing his teammate in the closing laps. He had another good start to the second moto in sixth, but feeling beat up, the New Yorker did what he could, ultimately crossing the line 13th for 10th overall. Cooper’s efforts have him moving to a 12-point lead in the 450SMX Championship standings.
Next weekend, the team heads to the Pacific Northwest for the Washougal National, Round 8 of Pro Motocross and Round 25 of the SuperMotocross World Championship, on July 19 at the scenic Washougal MX Park in Washougal, Washington.
Rich Simmons – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team Manager
“Another tough race for us, starting with Justin’s crash in Q1. He wasn’t feeling great after that and did his best to get through the day. We had a good week of testing with Eli, but it didn’t seem to translate to the race. We’ll go back to work this week.”
Eli Tomac – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #3
“It was a difficult couple of motos this weekend. We’ll get back to work and try to be stronger next weekend.”
Justin Cooper – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #32
“It was a tough day at Millville. I hit the deck pretty hard in the first qualifying session. My first moto wasn’t too bad, and we were able to hold on for fifth, but I was definitely hurting in Moto 2. I’m glad we got through the day. We’ve got one more before the summer break, so we’ll keep pushing.”