Both Cooper Webb and Tom Vialle produced statement performances towards their respective title campaigns in Pittsburgh, with each rider viewing round 15 as a ‘must-win’ situation with the Monster Energy Supercross championship entering its final stages. Both riders spoke to the media following the main events for this Debrief feature.

450SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Cooper, this is exactly what you needed, and you executed. Just how much weight was on your shoulders after last weekend?

Yeah, it was a lot of weight, especially after last weekend which was a bit of a defeat, right? So it’s been a good week, but a long week. When you have a bad race like that, it’s a long seven days, but it was getting to a point where I needed to do something. I was able to execute in that main event, got the holeshot, and was able to sustain that pressure from Chase [Sexton] the whole time, which wasn’t easy. There was a lot going on, the track was tricky and was one that could catch you off guard if you pushed it too hard, and the lappers were hard to navigate as well. But overall, very happy with my ride, and a much-needed win for sure.

Was there a specific moment of your race where you thought you had the win and it was over?

Not until the checkered flag came out. I saw Chase’s mistake and tried to capitalize and put down a couple of fast laps, and my one big mistake was missing that on-on-off rhythm, which was only a couple of laps after his. I tried to capitalize when he did make that mistake, but he was able to reel it back in pretty quickly, but it’s always tough when you’re out front because you don’t know where it is that you are losing or gaining [time]. I knew that the track would be hard to pass on tonight, so I tried to stay consistent, and honestly, the lappers were hard tonight – they would get out of the way, but we would catch them quickly, and there wasn’t much they could do in the ruts. But for me, I didn’t think I had it until the checkered flag came out.

Tonight, you became the eighth different rider in history to earn 30 450 Supercross main event wins. What does it mean to you to put your name up on the list with greats like McGrath, Carmichael, Reed, and those guys?

Yeah, I mean, I’m still a long way from those guys. But it feels awesome, being just a young kid from North Carolina, with dreams of being a pro dirtbike racer, and to now have 30 450 main event wins is pretty crazy. We racers can take this for granted at times, but it is super special when you start looking at that stuff.

Now that we’re heading west again, how do you feel about entering the next two rounds?

Yeah, I feel good – I like the elevation and the football stadiums. I’ve had great success at Salt Lake, and I’ve always enjoyed going to Colorado and racing there, too. So, we’ll do the best we can – I’d say we’ll all make some changes for the altitude that will help, and I’m excited, it’s coming down to the wire, and I’m sure it’s going to be a good last two rounds.

Cooper, to be able to lead the main event from the front and kind of control the race, how important was that tonight in navigating the traffic and staying composed?

It wasn’t easy, but I think it was much needed. We both knew that the start was going to be a huge key to the race, because I knew that it was going to be hard to pass unless you were going extremely aggressive. I thought it was going to be very hard to pass tonight. I felt good and stuck to the game plan of jumping the whoops – I watched the 250 main, and it was working out for those guys, and I stuck to my lines and stayed calm under pretty intense pressure, and it was a mentally tough main event.

You’ve spoken a lot about not making bike changes because you have been comfortable, but on the podium, you mentioned making a bike change, and a weekly change is usually bigger than one on race day, so what has changed?

Yeah, we made a shock change, first time in two years [laughs]. I gave the team free rein this week, and they did their thing, and we made some good progress, so I am stoked with that. It’s always a bit of a risk, at least in my opinion, doing a bike change after having had so much success but I feel like it was a needed change to help me be a little better, a little stronger in the whoops, and we’ll fine tune it this week and hopefully get it even better.

You have two championships, going for your third. Does this one feel any different from the other two?

I feel like this one has honestly been a lot different. The situation that we’re in now, these last couple of weekends, where it’s been very heads up between Chase and me, has been pretty unique. Every session, we seem to be going back and forth and have raised our level really since the break, and are both riding really well, so I guess I would say with this one, it’s been more one-on-one. But there is always pressure, that’s what makes this sport what it is, and it can eat at you, but there’s also the flip side where you’re in this championship position, maybe you can get another one. But it’s not easy. I don’t think anyone in this room would want the stress of what comes with it, but that being said, that is part of it, and that’s why, when you execute, like I have twice now, it means so much to you.

The rivalry between you and Chase has been great with the finger gestures over the finish line, although we saw a new one from you with a rocking the baby gesture. Is that something new?

I had to switch it up! I got the finger bangs, so I had to come up with something new, but at the end of the day, there is tension and all of that, but I do have a lot of respect for Chase. And I think that our generation has some of the best riders who will ever do it in the sport, in my opinion. So theres a lot of respect, but I definitely want to kick his ass.

This result shakes up the championship quite a lot, as you needed to get a win, Coop, to put Chase in a bit of a situation. Where do things sit now?

That’s a tough question, everyone keeps on saying ‘Oh, just get one win’ and mathematically it’s over, but dude, that ain’t the case. Do you think it’s easy to go and get second in every race? No, it’s not. Anything can happen, it’s motorsports, and it’s not over until it’s over – mathematically, sure this win helps, but we’ve seen the way he’s been riding, we’re giving it our all, and the same goes with Malcolm [Stewart], JCoop [Justin Cooper], Kenny [Roczen], AP [Aaron Plessinger] and all of these guys who can get in there an mix it up on any given night. This win takes some pressure off, but for me, it was more about stopping the bleeding after last weekend.

250SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Tom, congratulations, this is a big win for you. You’ve had some significant races this season, but to pick up a win, what does this do for your confidence heading into Salt Lake?

This one was really important, I felt like I had to win to stay in the championship and have a chance in Salt Lake City, so I had a pretty rough start to the day with a big crash in practice, and I hit my head pretty hard. I was actually fine, I got lucky with the crash. My heat race wasn’t very good, but I got a great start in the main event, put in some solid laps to begin with, and then thought, ‘Yeah, I have to do it.’

Can you take us through the last few weeks? They’ve been challenging for you, beginning in Foxborough.

The last three races have been pretty tough. I lost a lot of points in Foxborough, which was a big bummer because I was in fifth with two laps to go, and that would’ve given me a lot of points. Another big crash in Philly during the heat race was tough, but I never stopped training and trying during the week, knowing that we could bounce back, which we did tonight. I think the start was important, both Seth [Hammaker] and RJ [Hampshire] have started in front of me the last two races, and tonight I started in front of them, and that was important.

Were you aware of how the points were shaking down tonight, with both Seth and RJ having tough rides when you were chasing down Nate [Thrasher]?

I saw Seth in another rhythm when I took a look over the Supercross triple, so I knew he was a little far back, but Nate was really fast through the whoops with skimming them and then I think I caught him in other areas of the track, so it was hard to get close to him. I felt better in the whoops in the last five laps, and then I could make the pass. I didn’t know where RJ was, I couldn’t see him. But I saw that Seth was pretty far back, and I think out of all the main events this year, this one was the most important to win.

The crash during the day, how were you able to put that in the rear view and move on into the night?

I made a mistake myself going to the inside and tried to triple, but the jump was a little longer than I expected, so I had a pretty big crash, but with how I landed, I got lucky. I hit my head pretty hard, my bike was bent up, but overall I was fine and I didn’t feel it too much in the night show.

If you win this title, you have to move up to the 450s. What are your thoughts on the situation?

Yeah, I’d be happy to move to the 450 if I win the title. I’ve got no other choice, thats the way. I’ve been riding the 450 a bit lately, and I feel good on it, so I would have to move.

Would you stick with KTM, or are you looking for other rides?

No, still nothing is decided yet, but I would like to…I’ve been with KTM for so many years, so I think that would be an easy way to move to the 450 if I win the title, so that would be the plan.

At the beginning of the season, we were talking about how you may not have had the top-end speed of some of the competition. Tonight, it seemed like you were really fast. Was that something to do with the track?

I agree, the first two races, my speed was a little off, but I think since Daytona, I’ve been pretty much fighting for the win in those races, but I just couldn’t quite make it happen. I think I finished two or three times second, so I have been close to winning a couple of times, and I just couldn’t capitalize on the last five laps. We’ve had a lot of one-time winners this year – only Seth has two wins, so I think we’re all pretty close.

Tom, you’ve done a lot of winning in your career, but tonight’s win seemed really important towards your title prospects for this year. Where does this one rank in terms of importance?

Yeah, I feel like I had to win to have a good chance in Salt Lake City. Luckily, I actually did enough to get the red plate, so that is good, and gives me a good chance to go for the win at the last one. I had to make it happen tonight, I was seven points behind Seth, which meant I couldn’t finish behind him, otherwise it would’ve been a lot of points. The start was important, I executed well, and rode great.

Blitzing the whoops at the start of the race was faster, but I’m wondering, when it comes to blitzing or jumping, when do you make that call that this is what you’re going to do?

It was a tough one. The whoops were pretty gnarly, normally they’re a little easier in the night show, but I feel like tonight they were the same as the afternoon, so I didn’t know what I was going to do until the sight lap, because I didn’t think I would make it 18 laps of skimming. Nate was skimming, and it was a bit faster, but I was just trying to jump and be consistent every lap, and it wasn’t too bad.