Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Cooper Webb snatched his first win of the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship as Team Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence continued his run at the top of 250SX East series with another win on Saturday night in Tampa. Both riders were available to the media following the races for this Debrief feature.

450SX

Image: Octopi Media.

That was incredible, take us through that main event and also that whoop section, we saw you have a moment through there towards the end of the race, but you were able to correct that the next lap.

Yeah, those whoops were tough, like you said. I had a big moment and I had to change my line, I was doing the line that Chase [Sexton] did and it had a really big V in it and it would just kick you left to right, I don’t know how I saved it. But yeah, I was just tunnel vision, Me and Chase were going back and forth, one lap I’d be a bit better or he’d be a bit better, it was tough to judge with the lappers, especially when you came into that sand section, one time he’d get through clean and the next vice versa, so it was a hard fought race for sure, obviously Chase’s mistake helped me but it was going to be a really fun last few laps. But im just stoked, it has been a long time, the day didn’t go very well for me, especially the heat race, I was pretty dang bad, so it just feels great to pull myself out of that and establish myself at the front again, it’s amazing.

This is a big win for you, do you think this win gives you the confidence you needed to go onto win the championship?

From this week I knew this race was big, I was starting to slip back in the points a little and I was saying all week I needed to come out and execute a good result and I guess with the way the day went, we weren’t really feeling anything special, I felt like I could do well but it just wasn’t really clicking. But going into the main event I just kind of turned my brain off and went to work, I got a good start which always helps and rode some really solid laps and put myself in a good position. But, like you said, from a championship standpoint, it’s definitely a great sport to be, we’re in a really god spot and I think for me, confidence is key. I got that first win and I got that feeling back, so I’m excited for the future.

You mentioned today you weren’t feeling it in qualifying and in practice. Once you got into second position in the main event tonight, was it your race craft or bike set-up or the fact that it’s been so long between wins that helped you get the job done tonight?

It’s weird, I feel like you kind of wake up and do track walk and you just have a good feeling about the day, at least for me, and I did today. Qualifying went pretty well, but the heat race was awful, then you kind of just sit back and think ‘man I don’t know if I can turn it around’, but I really just had no choice, I had to turn it around, and our dart fish guru Seth [Rarick] yelled at me and said I should just pack it up and go home, so I had to prove him wrong [laughs].

You mentioned in the broadcast you were watching Chase get a bit flustered towards the end of that main event, is that a part of your tactics, pressuring these guys into mistakes?

I think it’s just tough when you’re leading, especially tonight in the sand late in the race, inside and out depending on how you got them, could be really good or really bad. At the end I got a little bit closer to where the lappers played their part, you know you want to go one way but maybe they go that same way, so you could just see, you’d want the lappers to get out of the way but they don’t. It’s tough, but I could tell as it was getting late, the pressure was starting to rise as far as getting a win. I saw the kicks in the whoops throughout the main, but at the end when we could barely get that triple, it was hard to carry that speed into the whoops which was then causing us to make some mistakes. So, tonight I was stoked with how I rode the beginning of the race, I had some really good intensity which we worked on this week.

When you nearly went down in the whoops with a little less than three minutes on the clock, realistically did you think there was a chance of getting Sexton barring him having an issue or did you think you were out of it?

No, I made the mistake because there lapper was kind of in the line I’d been all day, I changed lines at the last minute and I just knew how that V was, I just held on. I felt really good and I felt like the pace we were going was strong, I just felt in a good spot, so once that happened, I knew it wasn’t really a big deal and I could just feel like I could catch back up, then obviously he made the mistake, but I was still well within range for sure.

250SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Take us through that last lap pass for the lead to take your second win of the season.

My mechanic was saying there’s going to be a lot of mechanics that hate him in pit lane [laughs], he was just yelling at lappers telling them to get out of the way and stuff because they’re in the middle of their own battle. But yeah, wild, obviously I didn’t plan that, it was just kind of a hail mary lap and it just ended up working out.

And what point did you feel you could catch Nate [Thrasher], was there a point where you felt you felt like there was a definite chance?

I could kind of see him coming into the last turn, I could see him in the other lane, it was just kind of head down bum up and try and do my best, gibe the best 15 minutes I had and where we’ll be is where we’ll be. But lap by lap I just felt good and my bike was working good, I just got in a zone where I didn’t even realise it was raining as much as it was, which is cool, cause normally when it starts raining it’s the worst thing, so it was good to not really notice that.

Is this one of the best wins you’ve ever had in your career?

Yeah, I was saying it’s definitely the most hyped I’ve been after a win. Like, my first ever Supercross win I was more emotional, but this one was pretty cool, especially at home, I’ve got half my neighbourhood here so I didn’t want to look like a dork, there was a lot on the shoulders [laugh].

You caught Haiden [Deegan] and Michael [Mosiman] quick and made passes on them, then they got you back, take us through that back and forth.

I don’t really remember. I do remember being behind Michael, I was definitely faster and I felt like I was being respectful and nice and giving him his room. He done something similar in practice where I was like ‘dude what are you doing?’ In the end iu was like ‘alright I’m going to have to force a pass,’ you know I’m not trying to clean anyone out for a fifth or sixth place position, it makes no sense. Obviously I didn’t want to put him on the ground, I didn’t mean to buy any means, but yeah, nothing really crazy to talk about, I was just coming through, I wasn’t feeling tired or anything it was still within the first 10 minutes of there race duration, so I was kind of still just dissecting it, not trying to make any silly moves. I didn’t want to put a wheel in and wash the front on a greasy spot or something like that.

Touching on that, watching you guys battle it seemed like you guys were ending up in situations where he wasn’t where you were expecting him to be, was it kind of driving you nuts?

So, as far as race strategy goes, once you’re behind someone and it’s still early in the race, you’re trying to catch, surely he’s not just out there trying to defend sixth place, you know? Surely he wants to win… Like Nate said about clean racing, it’s good to race with someone that has that respect and you know, neither of us are going to clean each other out, but when one guy starts to go out of his way and try and slow you down and cat and mouse, like ‘bro, we’re in sixth place what are you doing?’. That’s kind of when it brings out more of an aggressive pass, you know you have to force the issue and try and stop his momentum so you can get away, cause it’s always the same with that guy, you’re going to get your front guard sawed off in the next turn, so it’s just the same thing, it happened in practice, I was on the inside coming out of the sand, I come down the straight and he’s on my inside so I backed off, and then he does the whole braking thing to stop me at the bottom of the berm, like ‘bro it’s the second lap of practice, are you good?’.

In terms of points, Nate isn’t really your main competitor, so why push so hard to get him greasy conditions?

I told you dude, half my neighbourhood is here [laughs]… I live 30 minutes up the road, half my street is here, I got a custom gear set, I can’t just settle, you know [laughs].