While it is a bummer for Ferrandis to go down hard, especially with so much injury news updates lately, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing has another 450SX rider read to go. Justin Cooper made his season—and 450cc professional—debut on his #32 YZ450F at the Houston Supercross. Cooper entered at the fourth event against the rest of the field that has been able to go through three full rounds already, which is not easy to get up to race pace so quickly. Still, Cooper pulled off a seventh in the first heat of the night before starting outside the top 13 in the main event, eventually claiming seventh after a last-lap pass on Roczen. It was an impressive ride, not only when you consider it as Cooper’s debut 450 race, but also his first supercross race at all since 2021. The 2021 250SX West Region champion missed all of supercross in 2022 due to a foot injury, so this was Cooper’s first AMA Supercross gate drop since May 1, 2021.

“Yeah, it was good,” Cooper said in a post-race quote from the team. “We got better and better throughout the day. There is a lot of learning going on right now, so it’s great to get the first one out of the way. The goal was to be around the top 10, and we achieved that. I finished seventh and even made a last-lap pass and felt good toward the end of the race. I just felt like I had a good flow and wasn’t pushing over my head, but I wasn’t riding too slow, either. Everything came a lot easier for me in the main event, even though the track so was messed up. For my first 450 race, I’m just glad to click my laps off like that and be that consistent, and work my way through the pack. I’m looking forward to Tampa next weekend.”

Jensen Hendler, team manager for the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 squad, was impressed with Cooper’s premier class debut.

“It was also great to see Justin (Cooper) have his first-ever race on a 450,” said Hendler. “He hasn’t raced supercross in well over a year. So, it was really good to get him out there and get his feet wet in the 450 class. There are so many things to learn in that 450 class and he’s still just a rookie, but he went into the main and just rode smart and kept picking dudes off. He was strong at the end and was catching people, and ended up seventh, which was amazing. We’ll continue to grow with Justin and keep fighting, and hopefully get him on the podium before we switch gears to the 250MX Championship.”