Justin Cooper Finishes Strong!

End of season podium run seals Cooper 450SX milestone

Competition Post: Kane Taylor

Third position in championship for emerging premier class front-runner.

Image: Octopi Media.

A late-season podium run earned Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper a career milestone of third position in the final 450SX standings, with the second-year fulltime premier class rider piecing together what has been a consistent 17 rounds.

A trio of third-place finishes to see out the Monster Energy Supercross series, combined with both the absence of Ken Roczen (Progressive Insurance Ecstar Suzuki) and a successful battle with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Malcolm Stewart, saw Cooper claim P3 overall.

The 27-year-old finished in the top-five a further six times in 2025 – including a season-high runner-up result in Indianapolis – with his third-place score in the championship proving three positions higher than last year when he ranked sixth.

“It was good to end the season third in points,” reflected Cooper. “That was the goal with what we were given – the last three races we podiumed, so that was pretty cool. It was just fun to be in the fight with the guys, I had a great end to the season, and now we look forward to the outdoor season and to bringing this momentum there.

“Third overall in the standings helps a lot for my confidence, to be up there battling with both Coop [Webb] and Chase [Sexton] is special, they were pretty much 1-2 every weekend, so to be there and mix it up with them is fun.”

With the Pro Motocross Championship 11 days from the season-opener at Fox Raceway on May 24, Cooper noted that he is well-prepared entering outdoors and will be looking to improve upon his P4 placement from last year.

“We’ve been doing our fair share of testing for outdoors and I am really excited,” he continued. “I feel like I have always preferred outdoors, especially on the 250, and I had a good year last year in my rookie season, which I am looking to build on.

“I think we are in a good spot heading into the series. I’m really motivated for that, we’ll put this Supercross season behind us and shift the full focus to this summer.”