Image: Octopi Media.

450SX champion Cooper Webb has reverted to the previous generation 2025 YZ450F to commence his Monster Energy Supercross title defense, the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider confirming during Friday’s pre-season press conference.

The 30-year-old spent much of the off-season – including races in Paris and Australia – onboard the updated 2026 model, however is back on last year’s title-winning chassis for Anaheim 1.

“We’re not on the ’26 now – we are on the 2025 as it is what I have won on,” Webb confirmed. “We had a great off-season developing the 2026, and basically it got to a point where we couldn’t choose [between the two].

“One bike did one thing better, the other did another thing better, and we had a big sit down and I said, ‘Look, guys, I’m happy with it, but it’s a scary feeling going racing on a bike that you’ve never raced,’ and so they gave me that trust to go with what I found comfortable.

“We are on the ’26 engine package, which has been awesome – thats been a big improvement for me on the bike, and as we move forward we’ll continue to develop the 2026. But as I said, I’m not a man who does well with change, so I’m sticking to what won me the title last year.”

It’s understood that Webb was searching for more agility on the new bike, which the previous bike had already been developed for in race trim, while teammate Justin Cooper is expected to continue on the 2026 version after debuting it during the playoffs last year.