Image: Octopi Media.

Justin Cooper continued his good form at High Point finishing P5 overall despite admitting High Point is normally a track he struggles at. The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider has landed inside the top five in six of the first eight motos of the year and sits a strong P4 in the championship heading into the first weekend off.

High Point certainly didn’t show the usual strong points of Cooper as he was eighth in combined qualifying on the day, his worst of the year thus far. But he rode to strong 4-6 moto finishes to pick up good points on the day.

“The day went well,” said Cooper. “I struggled a little bit in practice. It started out pretty wet and we got some weather, so I rode a little bit timid in practice, but in the motos it came around. I felt really good in the first moto, then I laid it down when I was in third, and I ended up fourth in that one.

“In the second moto, I got shuffled around in the first turn, so I was pretty far back, but I actually felt better in that moto. I was working my way through the pack, and sixth was all I could really do in that one. Overall, I was just happy with where we left off. Usually, I’m not so good at this track, so I was happy to find a good flow.”

Coming off a 3-3 performance at Thunder Valley where he led much of both motos, High Point wasn’t exactly a situation that saw Cooper on his same form. But as he continues to adapt and learn the 450 class in AMA Pro Motocross, team manager Jeremy Coker believes it’s all part of the process.

“All in all, it was a good day,” said Coker. “Justin had a decent qualifying and a really good first moto with a good start. In the second moto, he kind of had a bad start and had to fight his way through the pack and ended up with a good overall in fifth. We’ll go back to work and keep fighting and come back better after the break.”