Cooper Wins Second 250 Moto at Spring Creek
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper scores Moto 2 victory and secures second overall at a challenging Spring Creek National / Jul 16, 2023 /
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper tasted victory in yesterday’s second moto at the Spring Creek National, securing a runner-up overall finish at Round 7 of the Pro Motocross Championship. It also marked his third-consecutive overall podium as the New Yorker tries to make his bid in the hotly contested race for the 250MX crown. Levi Kitchen joined him in the top five (7-4) for a successful first outing at the Millville, Minnesota track. Also having a solid debut at the Spring Creek MX Park were rookies Haiden Deegan and Daxton Bennick. Deegan overcame challenges to salvage points with a 5-8 moto score for seventh overall, while Bennick improved to a top-10 finish in Moto 2 for 11th overall (14-10).
Cooper topped the timesheets in the first qualifying session and was second in the combined times despite a get-off in the second session. He got a good start in the first moto and slotted into third but was passed by Kitchen on that opening lap. Cooper reclaimed the position on Lap 4 and advanced to the runner-up spot a couple of laps later but, shortly after, was shuffled back to third and ultimately crossed the line fourth. In the second moto, the New Yorker got another good start in third and passed his teammate Kitchen on Lap 4 to claim the runner-up position. Sitting comfortably in second, Cooper took over the lead after the series points leader went down on the final lap and rode on to victory. His second moto victory of the season moved him a point closer to the competition in the hotly contested 250MX championship that has five riders within 21 points of the leader.
Kitchen spent his time in qualifying learning the track and ended up 11th in the combined times. He got a great start with his teammates in the top five and passed Cooper early to take third. He then set his sites on closing the gap to Deegan, but had a moment and ultimately would cross the line seventh. In the second moto, he got a better start, narrowly missing the holeshot and slotting into second. After being passed by Cooper on Lap 4, he tried to hold the final podium spot but was shuffled to fourth around the halfway point, where he would finish to end the day fifth overall.
Coming in with the red plate, Deegan was looking to have another strong performance during his rookie season. Like Kitchen, the Spring Creek MX Park was an all-new track for the 17-year- old, but he had a solid qualifying effort in eighth. He then got a great start into the runner-up spot in the first moto and was running a strong pace before having a moment and going off track on Lap 6. He quickly rejoined the battle but ultimately was shuffled to third and then went on to cross the line fifth in the challenging conditions. Unfortunately, Deegan didn’t get off the gate as he had hoped in the second moto and found himself back in 13th after the first lap. Undeterred, he kept pushing and made his way to eighth to end the day seventh overall and score valuable points to hold the runner-up spot in the championship.
Also a first-timer at the Millville, Minnesota, track, Bennick continued to make progress at his third pro race. He had a solid qualifying in 16th, and although he didn’t get a good start towards the back of the pack, he put his head down and charged back to 14th. In the second moto, he was 15th after the start and made another charge through the pack behind his teammate Deegan. He advanced all the way to ninth but was passed with five laps to go, ending the day 11th overall with a 14-10 score.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team heads to Washougal, Washington, on July 22 for Levi Kitchen’s home race and round eight of the Pro Motocross Championship and the 25th round of the SuperMotocross World Championship at the Washougal MX Park.
Jensen Hendler – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team Manager“Overall, it was a good day with Justin getting a moto win and second overall. We had a good qualifying, and our guys got some great starts. It was a new track for everyone but Justin, so there was a bit of a learning curve, but they kept pushing. Levi went 7-4 for a top-five overall. Haiden got a bad start in that second moto but came back and went 5-8 for seventh overall. Dax had another good result on another tough track and came back to 10th to end the day 11th overall at his third pro race. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to leave with the red plate, but we’re still in this. We’re going to go back to work and come back next weekend at Washougal.”
Justin Cooper – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“It was a good day. I had kind of a mediocre first moto, and I wasn' t too pumped on that. My intensity was off, and I just felt pretty flat, but I came out swinging for the second moto. I got a pretty good start in the top five and made my way to second. I was managing the gap to Hunter (Lawrence), and then he made a mistake. I was close enough to capitalize and then brought it home from there. It was good to end the day off with a win, and it was good points on the day. We’ve just got to keep the momentum rolling from here.”
Levi Kitchen - Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“It was a decent day for me. I struggled a little bit at the beginning of the day. It was my first time at Millville, so there was a lot to learn. I was pretty happy with the second moto. I got a good start. A few of those guys just had a little more pace than me, but I gave it my all and dug deep. I’ll take the positives from the day. I’m really looking forward to next weekend. It’s my home race, so I’m stoked for that.”
Haiden Deegan – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“Today was a little bit of a struggle for me, but we’re just going to learn from it. It’s my rookie season, and not every race is going to be perfect, so we are trying to finish each round strong and learn. It was my first time at this track, and we learned a lot today, with bike setup and just learning new tracks in general. Now it’s time to go back to the Farm and start the recovery process, and try to get freshened up for next weekend so that I can get back on the box because it’s not fun being off of it.”
Daxton Bennick – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“Qualifying was pretty good. I got a good flow with the track and an idea of what I wanted to do in the motos. My first moto didn’t go that great. I think I came out 20th and I got back to 14th. Then in the second moto, I came out about 15th, and Haiden was right in front of me, and I paced off of him for that moto. I ran with him for about 15 minutes, and we got into the top 10. I got to ninth for a little bit, but (Austin) Forkner got me in the end. It was a good way to finish my pro trial before Loretta’s, getting a top 10 in that final moto, so I’m pretty happy with that.”
2023 Pro Motocross 250MX Spring Creek Resultshttp://www.americanmotocrossresults.com/xml/MX/events/M2335/M2F2PRESS.pdf
2023 Pro Motocross 250MX Results Championship Standingshttp://www.americanmotocrossresults.com/xml/MX/events/M2335/M2F2POINTSPOSITION.pd
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