Image: Octopi Media.

Justin Cooper says the fourth-place finish that cost him the 250SX West red-plate in Daytona was ‘all we had’, after a first lap blunder with a tough block put him on the ground to start the main event.

After dominating the opening round of the 2021 250SX West championship, Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha’s championship hopeful had a rough go in the second main event of the year in Daytona.

Topping the timesheets in both afternoon qualifying sessions, Cooper looked to have the speed to walk away with another win if all things went his way when the gate dropped. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side, as a tough block ended up in his path on the first lap.

“I got a top-five start,” Cooper explained. “Then in the third turn, a hay bale got kicked out in front of me, and got stuck under my bike and put me on the ground. So I started around 21st. I did what I could. It was really hard to pass out there. I only made it up to fourth, but I charged the whole way, and my lap times were pretty consistent.”

Not only were his times consistent, but he also managed to clock the fastest lap of the race in his charge to a hard-earned top five.

“It’s not what I was hoping for,” Cooper continued, “but that’s all we had tonight. We definitely got challenged here in Daytona. We’ll learn from it and come into these Texas rounds ready to win again.”

Cooper now sits four points behind points leader Cameron McAdoo (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) as the series now moves to Dallas, where three rounds will occur in the span of seven days, starting this Saturday, 13 March.