MURRIETA, Calif. – Two-time 450SX champion Cooper Webb’s 2023 AMA Supercross Championship title challenge has come to an early ending following his crash at Nashville on Saturday, the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider now taking the time to recover from a concussion sustained in the incident.
Webb has thankfully been cleared of any additional major injuries following his exit in the opening Heat race of the night, however, the 27-year-old who won the premier class title with Red Bull KTM both in 2019 and 2021 will be absent from the upcoming final two rounds of the 2023 season.
Cooper Webb: “As many of you saw, I suffered a concussion last night in Nashville. I am thankful everything else has checked out okay. This will unfortunately put an end to my SX season. It hurts to have it end like this, but I can hold my head high knowing that I gave it my all.”
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager, Ian Harrison, echoed Webb’s sentiments, acknowledging that safety is paramount for the team’s riders, despite the disappointment of being ruled out of contention this late in the 17-round Supercross season.
Ian Harrison: “It’s definitely not the end to the 2023 Supercross Championship season that the team had hoped for, but we are very relieved that Cooper is okay after what had the potential to be a very nasty accident, as he was really going for it when he went down in a racing incident. Our riders’ health and safety are very important to the team, so knowing he is going to be okay is a huge weight off everyone’s shoulders. Obviously, we were really looking forward to taking the championship hunt all the way down to the final Supercross race in Salt Lake City, but unfortunately, that won’t be the case this year. It’s disappointing, but we will turn our focus towards our 250 riders’ final Supercross races of the season, as well as supporting Aaron Plessinger as he heals from his crash at the previous round in New Jersey, and get a jump start on preparing for the upcoming Pro Motocross Championship season.”
This season has marked a spectacular return to form for Webb riding the 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, securing nine podium finishes over the course of the opening 14 rounds, which included two 450SX Main Event victories in Tampa and Arlington, respectively. He entered Nashville ranked second in the standings, 11 points outside of the red plate prior to his fall.
The 2023 AMA Supercross Championship now heads to Denver, Colorado, for the penultimate round of the series this weekend, before the final round in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Saturday, May 13, will draw the curtains on this year’s championship.