Round 11 of the 2021 Monster Energy Supercross season is complete and it was Cooper Webb taking another victory in the 450SX class, while Hunter Lawrence secured his first win and took the lead in the championship. Following the race, the winning duo were available to the media for a Debrief interview. 

450SX

Image: Octopi Media.

We don’t often get to see you, Eli Tomac, and Ken Roczen all be up front together. You guys end up there sometimes together, but you don’t always start together. Is this any more meaningful knowing that the three heavy hitters in this class all started up there and you were able to get the win?
Yeah for sure. Like you said it’s not often that we’re all three up there. Getting the holeshot was definitely key to that, even though we were all there, the holeshot was super important tonight. But yeah, to be able to race up there and be able to get the win was incredible and super motivating. It was really cool I’m sure for even the fans to kind of get to see us all up there and in the mix was I’m sure cool for everyone.

In the main, Tomac was kind of sitting there and getting close. How much are you focusing forward virsus listening and getting audio clues on where he’s at or different lines that he’s taking?
Yeah like you said he was doing some different things at the beginning, with tripling on to the table, I was kind of being protective on the inside there and as well as doing on-on and actually getting off over the single, and then singling into the turn. So there were a few things  I could kind of hear behind me where he would catch me, and then I was trying a bunch of stuff through the whoops. I felt like he would always get a pretty good run on me there. Once I kind of figured out the on-off and the few things I felt like I kept it a little more at bay. It’s tough in that situation you know, the track is changing every lap and then you kind of have someone on you and you don’t know how close they are or not. If you start opening things up they could go to the inside and make a pass. So it was difficult in that sense but I just tried to focus on my laps and not make mistakes, as the track changed just kind of going with it and keeping the lap times down. Seemed to work out there especially at the end.

That crash in practice was pretty good, it looked like you hit your head pretty good and like you said in the main I felt like Tomac had you a little bit in the whoops. So take us through the crash and the after-effects of that and if you didn’t want to have the same thing happen again and were a bit cautious in the main event. 

Yeah, I actually felt really good in them all day and then yeah I kind of had that crash. I kind of caught some wheel spin and set a little to far and yeah, I had a good one. I was definitely a little sore from that. They were tricky, they were kind of uneven and had some hidden edges. It seemed like in the main event they kind of flattened the inside hump and there was some advantage to, at the end of the whoops, getting back to the inside opposed to kind of railing the outside. So it was kind of a combo of, you want to skim them and go as fast as you can, but also brake and get to that tighter line. You know I’d have to watch the race to see exactly what he was doing, but I could hear him there making a charge. Like I said I was skimming, jumping, trying different things here and there, and I probably should have stuck to what I felt was best. But yeah, it was definitely in the back of my mind every lap after you have a tough one like that in practice.

In comparison to your 2019 title, do you feel like you’re in more control this year over the title chase than you were in previous years? 
I don’t think you never truly feel in control because in racing you never know what can happen. 2019 was a total different year and everything, I had a lot of great races that year and it just seemed like a solid year. I didn’t really have any bad races or real issues. So every year’s different, I think this year you have ups and downs. You have struggles, you have good nights, the competition’s always stronger better as everyone’s evolving. You know I don’t think you’re ever in control, obviously, right now I feel like these last few races have been really good and I’m in a good spot all around, physically, with the bike as well as mentally. I think the experience that I had in 2019 surely helps, you know, with how to deal with things and how to approach the championship, no doubt. But like I said, I don’t know if you’re ever truly in control because you never know what could happen with racing.

250SX West

Image: Octopi Media.

Obviously, you’re in a good position at the start of that main, some things happened behind you as well, talk us through the final from your perspective and just relive those emotions as the laps wound down.
The start I think I was in fifth or something around the first turn and just tried to push my way through to the front as best I could. I was sitting third for a little bit and in the opening laps, everyone can kind of run a close speed while they’re fresh. I was just sitting there trying to make passes where I could and I saw an opportunity and went for it and made the two for one pass before the finish line. Then it was, I don’t want to say easy, but it’s easier because you’re able to just have clear track and you can just manage the race. I think that’s definitely a lot easier rather than coming through the pack and grinding and battling the whole moto. I just kept telling myself ‘one lap to go, one lap to go, one more lap, one more lap,’ then white flag I’m like, ‘alright two more laps, pretend you’ve got two more to go.’ Then in the last corner, I was like, ‘yes we did it’ then it all just came out on the finish line. Everything flashed through my head that I’ve been through in the past two years. It was cool, it was a cool moment that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life for sure.

What’s it been like to have your brother Jett raise the bar for both of you guys and help push each other through the hard times? 
It was difficult. You know when I was really struggling with myself, injuries, my body and not doing well, you know not being able to do what I believed I could do, he was obviously doing really well. He started kind of holding the bar up and holding his side of the deal up for the Lawrence brothers, which my whole life, I’d sign with a different team and Jett would come as my little brother as a package kind of deal because he was good as well. So it was tough, especially when it’s your brother. Obviously, you know I’m happy for him and only want to see him do well, but at the same time, you still have that competitor mindset. You’re like ‘damn, it could have been anyone,’ you just want to be doing it because you believe in yourself and you know you can do those things. So yeah, Jettson’s been flying the flag for the Lawrences for the past year and stuff, so I’m stoked to be able to just get back to 100% and getting started like this it’s awesome. It’s where I know I can be and where I should be, I’m stoked on that and so is he, because he knows everything I’ve gone through my whole life you know.

What should we expect if at the shootout, you and your brother get a one-two start, should we expect clean racing, should we expect some fun? What would that race be like?
It has to depend on the scenario. Who knows where I’ll be in my championship at that point in time, I think Jett’s quite a few points back with only one or two rounds left. Dude I don’t know, it would definitely be fun for sure and it’s definitely something people have been wanting to see, both of us when we’re one-hundred percent. I know Lucas [Mirtl] asked us the other day and I said I’d clean his clock for a main event win in the last turn and he said the same thing. So if it’s coming down to the wire you can expect one of us to send it up the inside and just try to saw off someone’s front end [laughs]. Maybe a little more so than if it was with any other riders just because we could probably fight out there and it just doesn’t seem like the same because we’re brothers and do it home all the time.

Was it a struggle for you to learn supercross or was it actually coming to you pretty quick and you just never got a chance to get on the race track? 
I don’t think I struggled anymore than anyone else. It was just unfortunate crashes, you know, anytime I would crash I would get broken, unfortunately. So I wouldn’t say I was struggling any more than anyone else.