Without Star Yamaha backing Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac saving the US team, the USA would not have been at the event nevermind standing on the podium! We caught up with Jeremy Coker at the end of the weekend to see how stressful and then rewarding the event was for not just team USA but also Star Yamaha.
Jeremy Cooker, probably a really stressful last couple of weeks, but you ended up on the podium and in the battle for the win, so was it all worth it for Team USA?
Yeah, it’s always worth it for us to come and support our country here. I think there was a lot of critics out there that were saying, you know, this team would be maybe fourth at best and we went out there and proved that we had the potential to win and just barely fell short. But, all three guys performed, you know, like they should and they really did it for the country and I couldn’t be any more proud of them.
How was the rush to get this all organized for you? Because Cooper won the 250 and then suddenly Eli, two weeks ago or something, pretty much was the last chance to learn for Team USA and he said yes.
Yeah, it was definitely a big undertaking, but my crew, all the mechanics and crew chiefs and everybody did phenomenal.They bust their ass to get everything ready and I couldn’t be any more proud of the crew and the whole Star Racing team for what they did.
And was it hard just to get material on planes in time and all that sort of stuff?
Yeah, it was definitely very stressful. I mean, even us flying here, we weren’t sure if our stuff was going to make it yet, but it made it. So all in all, it was good.
Just on the track. Yesterday, really, really rutty. Today, not so much, but a bit of that rain. How was the guys’ bike setup? Were you searching a lot or were you okay?
Yeah, honestly, we didn’t touch the bikes all weekend and yeah, yesterday was a little bit of a struggle for a couple of guys. But they knew that it was just on them and they needed to figure it out and they figured it out. And Cooper on the 250 got better and better and better and really delivered that last moto there.
Did you expect that to go that way? Because obviously, under pressure, he’s class.
Yeah, I mean, that’s purely just he needed to ride the bike. He’s been on that bike for two weeks.The more time he got on the bike, the better he was going to get.
And Eli, the cheers from you guys when he holeshot that last moto.
Yeah, that was Eli Tomac and I knew when we walked out of the truck going to that moto, he had the game face on that he was going to win.
And was he nervous? Was Cooper nervous because of the lack of prep?
No, I think zero nerves today.
And have you enjoyed the trip yourself? Probably quite stressful coming to England, seeing this track, GP riders?
Yeah, all in all, it was a good trip.
And now, how much of a break do you guys get before it all starts again?
None at all. We got World Supercross coming up and then Paris Supercross and then next year. No break.
And finally, Hayden Deegan, unbelievable this season. How’s his wrist surgery? Do you know what coast he’s riding next year?
Everything went good and coasts are definitely not decided until around Christmas time.
