Image: Octopi Media.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Cooper Webb acknowledges that it is ‘still early’ in his hunt for a third-career premier class Monster Energy Supercross Championship as the season nears halfway.

Webb was successful in capturing the crown during the 2019 and 2021 seasons, both onboard a 450 SX-F which saw him build in the opening rounds and then able to maintain a consistent presence fighting for victories across the majority of each series.

Despite a challenging 450SX campaign last year, Webb has rebounded in 2023 and took his second victory of the season on Saturday in Arlington’s Triple Crown. The result sees him close within two points of red plate-holder Eli Tomac, with Chase Sexton only a further three points back in third, but managing things race-by-race is important.

“Yeah, that’s the age-old question, it’s tough with all of us being so close and we’re going fast, so you have that little bit of risk and you also don’t want to make mistakes,” Webb explained. “It’s still early and now as you can see there’s definitely a pattern, so we’ll just keep fighting for race wins and just keep plugging away – we’ll see where that takes us through the season.”

A recurring theme with Webb is that once he gets a first win of the season, he gains momentum and can be difficult to stop. Since returning to the top step at Tampa, he has been convincing in his points haul throughout the races that have followed, only missing out on victory in Oakland by less than a second following a late-race spirited charge.