Star Racing Yamaha Cooper Webb’s late-season struggles have been attributed to a torn ligament in his left thumb, which the two-time 450SX champion confirmed after finishing fifth in Denver.
After tying with Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) in the point standings following Foxborough, Webb has been competing outside of the podium positions in recent weeks while dealing with a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL).
Webb’s most recent podium finish was at round 14 in Nashville, where he took third place. However, his fourth and fifth place finishes in Philadelphia and Denver have allowed Lawrence, who has won the last three main events, to build a 20-point lead with only one round remaining in Salt Lake City next weekend.
“It’s not great,” Webb admitted on the broadcast. “I have a thumb injury, tore my UCL, so just trying to do what I can. Last week we tore it even worse, so just kind of doing my thing and it’s frustrating when you can’t perform. It’s a bummer, but it is what it is – we’re not going to sit on the couch and cry about it.
“It’s 17 rounds and you’ve gotta stay healthy, and I wasn’t able to do that. Jett’s riding great and this whole Star Racing Yamaha team is nothing but awesome. It’s a dagger, for sure, but I know for damn well that we’ll be back… I’ll try to keep my head up. It sucks, so we’ll just be there next weekend and we’ll see what happens.”
