JUSTIN COOPER INTERVIEW: “I WILL BE WITH STAR NEXT YEAR AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN EXTEND THAT IN THE FUTURE”

For much of his 450 rookie season,  Monster Energy Star Racing rider Justin Cooper was third in championship points. Although he was not winning motos, his strong consistent rides left several veteran 450 class riders behind him. It was only near the end of 2024 motocross when bad results at Unadilla and Budd’s Creek detuned him to fourth in championship points-which is where he finished the series. We caught up with the quiet New York native at Ironman and yes, he will stay with his team through 2025.

 BY JIM KIMBALL

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JUSTIN, IT WAS YOUR FIRST FULL SEASON ON A 450, HOW WAS IT? It is easy to adjust to, but it is difficult in the long run.  Just all the traveling is much more than racing 250 Regional Supercross and then Motocross. I am on the East Coast and now I am traveling to Seattle from Florida. Honestly, the travel is the toughest part.  You do get settled down, you get into the race day mode and it is good but just traveling every weekend for thirty-one weekends or whatever has been an adjustment – and it is honestly tough. You just must be mentally set during the week and try to do things at times to take your mind off racing. 

Despite a few bad motos, Justin Cooper was consistently in the top five through out the entire season.

WITH ALL THAT TRAVEL, THERE IS SO MUCH MORE CHANCE FOR CANCELED FLIGHTS AND SICKNESS. Exactly and we dealt with a lot of that.  I slept in a couple of airports this year and that was not fun, but that is just how it goes.  It is not as easy as just traveling to the races.  You obviously have things that pop up and make things tougher.  

THE 450 OBVIOUSLY HAS MUCH MORE POWER THAN THE 250; HAS THAT BEEN A BIG ADJUSTMENT? The 250 Star Racing Yamaha is fast; I think everyone knows that. Also, I have always been a good 450 rider in amateur ranks so adjusting to the 450 was not easy but something that I was somewhat familiar with. We have adjusted well to it.  Obviously, we have stronger, faster riders up here in the 450 class.  It is a premier class and that has been tough adjusting to the competition. But as far as adjusting to the 450, it has gone well, and the team has made it easy with the parts of it that I have struggled with.

Moving forward Justin Cooper will head into SMX as one of the top 450 riders.

IT SEEMS LIKE SUPERCROSS WAS SO LONG AGO, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SUPERCROSS SERIES? It was tough to adapt to the 450 Supercross class.  All these guys are good, and they have all won Supercross championships.  It makes it tough to fit in. I think it took a little bit of time to get comfortable racing those guys. It is just expected as a rookie to have your struggles, so I think as the season went on, we got more racing time under our belts, and it made it a little bit easier heading into those final rounds for me. 

IN MOTOCROSS, YOU WERE THIRD IN POINTS DURING THE EARLY PART OF THE SEASON, EVENTUALLY FINISHING FOURTH IN POINTS. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT OUTDOORS? It has gone well.  We were in third for a while and honestly, it has been close.  Last weekend, it was only two points apart, but we had that big crash off the start, and that did it for us. Aaron Plessinger closed it up. I knew losing all those points was going to be hard to come back from. But whether third or fourth in the championship, I go out there and give it the best I can like always.  It has been a great season.

A breakout year for Justin Cooper leads to more opportunities in the future.

YOU MIGHT GET OVERLOOKED SOME, BUT YOU ARE BEATING MANY 450-CLASS VETERANS. It has been a good battle all year and it has been cool to see where we stack up.  I have been around the podium all season, so I definitely accomplished what I think would be my goal for this year. Being a podium guy in the 450 class is important to me, especially in my rookie season, so just going to keep building from here.

ANY THOUGHTS ON THE UPCOMING SMX SERIES?  HAVE YOU DONE ANY DIFFERENT PREPARATION YET? No, not really.  I think it will come easy, like getting back on Supercross should be not too much. It is going to take a couple of days to get used to it again. But I enjoy the layout of that, it is different and that is high speed, and I am excited.  I think I will do well and as long as my starts are good. I should be fighting for some more podiums. 

YOU HAVE BEEN WITH MONSTER ENERGY STAR RACING YAMAHA SINCE TURNING PRO; WILL YOU BE BACK THERE NEXT YEAR? Yes, I will be with Star next year. Just another year for now and hopefully we can extend that in the future. But at least we have a deal done for next year. I’ve been there seven or eight seasons so far.  I have a good team around me and know them very well, they know how I like my bike set up and how I ride. We are going to keep building with the team, it was my first year on the 450, so I don’t really want to go anywhere else.  I will keep building and trying to get better.