The first Triple Crown round of the 2026 Monster Energy Supercross Championship saw Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb take the 450SX win with a consistent 4-2-3 scorecard, while teammate Haiden Deegan dominated with a sweep to claim his third-straight 250SX West victory. Both riders spoke to media following the races for these Debrief interviews.

450SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Cooper, we saw the images of you sitting on the track processing that race last week in Anaheim. So mentally, what was the lead up to this weekend?

It was just very emotional, it’s been an emotional month, but this week was tough. Last weekend was just a hard one, you get to three bad weekends in a row and it can take a toll on you. So tonight is just the complete opposite. I feel like a kid again, just to have that feeling of winning. Obviously I didn’t win a main event, which is a little unique, but I’ll take it anyway I can get it. A win’s a win and just was awesome. Like I said, we’ve been pushing for this and it hasn’t gone our way yet. So to finally have it go, I shouldn’t say our way – but my way for sure – was just really incredible.

We’ve seen your struggles this year and I feel like it has been just weird, right? But we get to the East Coast kind of dirt and we see you starting to cut down in the turns and ride more like yourself. Is this you feeling more comfortable and having that little bit more speed, or is this just an accumulation of the season?

Yeah, I think like you said, we just had some weird, unique circumstances these first few, right? Like obviously with the restart and then having a weird crash at A1, crashes in the heat race, getting taken out at San Diego. So just some weird things. And then my late race crash after I felt like I rode really well last week. So just yeah, I think overall, it’s been was today of consistency. I qualified the best I’ve qualified, put myself up there. I felt speed was fine, just had good starts, but not great starts. You know, I was around that fourth or fifth at each time, and obviously want to try to improve on that. But like I said, with these Triple Crowns, you got to be up there. You got to be in the mix, and that’s what we did. I’m proud of that, especially that last one. Like I said, I had that sketchy little moment there, that first lap, and got shuffled back. So to be able to kind of put my head down, pass into a position to win the overall, isn’t easy to do with this stacked field. So I’m proud of that. And like I said, just to kind of turn it around. And the East Coast stuff is obviously something that I do enjoy, the rutty or more broken down tracks. But I think this weekend was just a must if I wanted to keep any championship hopes alive.

Going into A1, you were pretty open at the press day that you reverted to last year’s setting. Once you said you knew that Jett [Lawrence] was out, that you felt confident in what you had last year to take it to these guys. Across these opening rounds with how everything has played out, would you say your expectations of your competition coming into the season, like Ken Roczen, Eli Tomac, Chase Sexton, and everybody else, have they performed about how you expected?

I mean, these guys, they’re good, right? They’ve been good. They’re always the best of the sport.
So I think for me, it was a little frustrating because I felt like my preparation, like I said, you do everything right – I didn’t miss a day. I feel like I’ve worked the hardest I’ve ever worked this off season, and I put myself kind of through the wringer just with testing and so on and so forth. So I came into the season with a high expectation. Maybe it was a little too much on myself to go out there and try to win Anaheim and prove why I’m the champion and do all that. But with that being said, obviously, I think the guys that are great are always great. There’s always question marks when guys change teams and this and that. But Kenny, Eli, Chase, we’re just seeing Hunter [Lawrence] rise to the occasion. We all knew that, right? So, I didn’t underestimate anybody. But it is tough, like I said, sometimes when you feel like you do everything right and you get your teeth kicked.

Today, I saw you in the tunnel. You look like you were being real hard on yourself. You were very focused. I know sometimes life just hits you. How do you keep the positive affirmations going?

Today, it was a lot of tunnel vision, not much fun, not much smiles. It is hard. There’s a lot of pressure for me to perform and for me to go out there and win. I invite that pressure, but it is, like I said, when you feel like you’re doing everything right, you’re training hard, you’re having good weeks, and then the results aren’t coming, and there’s pressure from everyone. So the media, the fans, the team, everyone expects you to win. So I took it pretty hard, and I’m my own hardest critic. So a lot of sleepless nights, if I’m honest, a lot of, ‘Why the hell am I still doing this?’ You know, you get those kind of thoughts going. And so to do that and, you know, just reward yourself, right? Like I said on the broadcast, but my wife really has kept me level-headed and helped me a lot this week just to be like, ‘You know what, like, it is what it is. If it ain’t your year, it ain’t your year.’ So tonight was just a huge spark to get that confidence of like, ‘Hey, it still can be my year, let’s do this thing.’

Kenny mentioned something before you came up about racing the older guys, and he was referring to Eli and yourself. Obviously, there’s a couple of younger guys coming in there, but what’s it like to have your main competitors be guys you’ve raced with almost all your career?

It’s awesome, man. I’ve been pretty public about it, but I think our group is one of the best groups probably to ever do it – I really do believe that. You look at the record books and all the wins we’ve accumulated, and we’re still here, able to win – it’s inspiring, right? I think everyone knows this is a younger man’s sport. And so obviously Eli’s done it, Kenny’s done it, and myself. They’re a little older than me, but I’m now 30. So it is inspiring and just it’s a confidence booster to say that I’ve raced the best guys throughout my whole career. And there’s young guys that are obviously deserving and going to probably come in and win a lot of championships. But for the time being, it’s cool for us to kind of stick together. And still be at the top of the sport. Us three will be battling for this championship just like we were 10 years ago.

250SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Haiden, congratulations, another perfect day for you, but you did so now in a Triple Crown format where a lot of guys will say that that’s so much harder to do. So is there maybe some additional satisfaction with this win?

Yeah, I’m happy I could do that, better my starts today. Whole shot of the first race, and then had two around the top three starts, the second two, so happy about that. And yeah, it’s nice to know that I can get to the lead quick like that, because I feel like what I’m really known for is those late-race charges, you know, can outrace people, the endurance and stuff, and when the track gets rough. But it was good that I was able to, you know, make passes quick and get to the lead.

You’ve got so much confidence in your speed, and that absolutely showed chasing those guys down. How do you keep from looking forward if you’re racing at 70 percent, as you claimed earlier?

Yeah. I was riding smooth. That’s kind of where I’m at right now, mistakeless, and that’s my goal is to just pit perfect laps down. The only way you can really get better at something is if you’re doing it, you know, multiple times, trying to better yourself and doing perfect laps. I feel like if you’re kind of messing around too much, you’re not going to keep getting better.

Does the trash talking or the banter keep you focused?

Yeah, anything keeps me focused. That’s just a little addition that I’ve had since I was born.

During press day, we talked about the starting blocks, and you’ve gone from quite skyscrapers to pretty much smaller ones, and you were able to get some better starts, including a holeshot. Did that have anything to do with your starting technique?

I’m just doing anything and everything to get better starts. That’s all kind of where I’m at. I’ll do anything at this point to start up front. So we’ve just been working our butts off, myself and the fam. That kind of get intel for me and the team as well. Just trying to make these weekends easier on myself.

The pass on Levi [Kitchen] in that last main event. He looked like he ran it in on you, and then did you mean to just absolutely prove a point to the guy that you mentioned that you don’t know who he is on the podium? And then two, it just seems like you’ve been really short and concise lately, even with your interviews, just everywhere. Is that something that’s part of the plan, or what’s going on?

Yeah, racing-wise, it is kind of is what it is, honestly. If you want to go back and forth and race, I’m down for it. I’m switched on now. I’m not going to let something happen to me like that again. I try to keep the eyes peeled, right? But yeah, I’m just trying to be smart. I got some big years ahead of me, so I want to keep maturing and just really chasing the goal and the outside distractions, try to limit them, and just keep on trying to get better on my dirt bike so I can win more championships.

You’ve pretty much been dominating the last three races. Is there any thoughts in your head of going to race a 450 at say, Daytona or something when the East comes up?

Yeah, you just kind of got to look at the big picture. What good would it really be for me? You kind of got to look into it like, okay, you go race, say, you go win or you go get 10th. What is that even? So what? I ain’t going to win a championship over there. I ain’t going to get on a podium over there. It matter. I have a 250 championship to win. So the goal is to stick 250, try and win this Supercross title and come out swinging in outdoors and get solid prep in so I can come into outdoors on a 450, the strongest I’ve been.

How are you bike-wise so far this season? Is there still more you want out of the bike or you pretty much 100 percent, no more testing, you’re good to go?

No. After that first round, I was like, the bike’s amazing. Obviously, the first round didn’t go the way I wanted. But we figured out ever since then. We had a chip on our shoulder after that, and I’m just out here to prove a point now, so keep dominating. But I feel like the bike has just been perfect ever since the first round. I’ve not changed one thing on it, so it’s been perfect.

There has been some booing towards you in some other stadiums. Is this something you’re trying to limit yourself to grow your fan base and make sure that when you get to the 450 class, you’re one of the most loved riders?

I don’t mind either. I mean, obviously, the cheers are cool. And I feel like Texas, this is the first time this season where the whole crowd has just erupted and are stoked and are grateful to see this type of racing and are excited to watch it. And I was obviously stoked to the Texas fans. Some of the hometown crowd let me down a little, but it’s all right. You know, Texas, you know, revived it. I was stoked at the whole crowd erupted like that.

This dominance that you’ve had in the last couple of rounds, it seems like it’s kind of almost the cherry on top of your 250 career. How do you continue that momentum for the rest of the season while also looking on to outdoors and 450?

Yeah, I feel like I kind of just want to go out with a bang, just kind of stamp that. You know, I was the best 250 guy. And I feel like I’m on the road to do that. But yeah, we got a big year ahead of us and I’m truly excited.