Our old friend in USA, Eric Johnson continues to deliver great interviews, some 45 years after he found the sport of motocross, at the USGP in 1981. One of the true legends of motocross media today he allows us to run his Justin Cooper interview from Pala.

Eric Johnson Interview

Having spent his entire career with the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing organization since turning pro in 2017, Justin Cooper launched the third year of his 450 outdoor campaigns in the AMA Pro Motocross Championship last Saturday at Pala's Fox Raceway.

Stringing together 3-6 moto scores for fourth overall, Cooper and his No. 32 Yamaha YZ450F slotted in between rivals Jett Lawrence of Honda and teammate Haiden Deegan in the overall 450 standings.

The 28-year-old also revealed that he had renewed his contract with the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing outfit for the 2027 racing season. Ahead of this Saturday's round in Rancho Cordova, Cooper filled us in on what comes next for him.

“I’m back in Florida,” said Cooper, preparing for the next 20 motos of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship this summer. “We aren’t staying out in California in between races. There is always stuff to work on. We had a good day riding today and another day riding tomorrow and then head back out to California.”

Cooper was pleased with his performance at Fox Raceway.

“I felt like it was a really solid day,” explained the soft-spoken New Yorker. “Pala is not one of my favorite tracks, so I feel like a fourth-place overall was positive and we’ll take it and its good momentum going into the next few rounds. We get to adapt to all these different tracks. Some are obviously a little easier to ride and Pala ain’t one of them. I feel like the hardpack and potholes and just the way the California tracks get is always tricky. I like a little bit of loam and a little bit more of a softer base. That’s why we race for the championship. We get all of these different conditions and that’s part of it and I feel like the day went really well considering everything.”

Getting a somewhat slow jump out of the gate to start the second moto at Pala, Cooper rounded and came out of the first turn in 17th position. Undaunted, Cooper steadily motored through the field to meet the checkered flag in sixth place.

“If you start like that, you’re work is cut out for you,” said Cooper. “Especially in this class when you’re starting back there. I had a few close calls, but other than that I was able to charge all the way through the second moto and stay strong and pick some guys off.

“The competition was kind of what I expected,” he said. “Obviously, the Lawrence brothers are always good, especially at Pala. It was good to be in the battle there and I think it’s only going to become better. I feel like my riding was really good and I’ve got a little bit more to show. I felt like I was riding in my comfort zone and not taking too many risks. With how gnarly the track was, I felt like I was pretty much in control and able to do the race pace quite well. That was nice to feel coming off the supercross championship. It’s a whole new series so you always wonder how you’re going to stack up outdoors and we’re right where we need to be. It’s just a lot going on with the different outdoor bike setup and just finding a setting so quick heading into outdoors. We kind of rely on years past and I felt like we nailed it pretty good. We were definitely comfortable out there, so that was a positive, for sure.”

Cooper thought the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team had the works YZ450F dialed in quite well and felt at one with the motorcycle all afternoon.

“Yeah, everything felt good at Pala,” he explained. “The stuff that we did struggle with, we can kind of go back this week and make those changes and work on being better, right? It’s all good.”

How did Justin Cooper find battling with Jett and Hunter Lawrence, Haiden Deegan, Jorge Prado and the other top riders?

“It was fun,” he answered. “A lot of hype around those guys, so it was nice to go slide in there and do battle with those guys under the radar. Nothing really surprised me. I know they’re all going to be good, so it was definitely good to be in the mix. I felt like I was closer than I normally am at Pala. With that track I definitely feel like there is a limit and you don’t want to override that track. It doesn’t do anything good for you. I felt like I was in a good flow and a good pace and I just tried to do my own laps. You can definitely struggle there, so with how everything went and how I felt, it was a really good day. Yeah, I’m ready for some more racing.

“I feel like those guys are always up there on the start, so I’m definitely going to have to be there with them right away. The pace is no joke, so I’m just going to work on that this week and hopefully get out front and then really lay it down. I feel like I don’t have any pace advantage over these guys, so I definitely have to be up there on the start to have a chance.”

Next up for Cooper is Rancho Cordova, a track more to his liking.

“I enjoy Hangtown,” said Cooper. “I feel like it’s always a really good racetrack. And it always brings the heat, too. The heat is always really, really bad there. It should be a little bit tougher this week, I think.”

After that the series moves on to Thunder Valley Motocross Park outside of Denver, which Cooper considers “probably my best track," and then to sweeping High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris, Pa., another of his favorites.

“Yeah, I’m excited for most of these rounds,” said Cooper. “High Point is definitely a track that’s tricky for me, but I always enjoy going back East, for sure.”

Winning motos against the best racers in the world is what really motivates him though.

“We haven’t won a moto yet. I’ve got a lot of seconds," he mused. "I’m going to try my best. It ain’t no easy task, but I’ll definitely put my best foot forward each day and make the strides to go out there and get it done. I feel like if you win an overall, you’re the best guy in the world that day. The class definitely keeps getting more and more competitive. It’s good to see and it is definitely more rewarding when you do get those good results.

"An overall podium finish is always awesome, (but) I think the goal is to get a win this year. I’m still chasing that. That would be huge for me. I’m capable of doing it, I’ve just got to be in the right positions. You have to execute the whole day. I’m at the point where I want to make it happen. We’re close and it is definitely good to see that.

"Yamaha is home for me. It’s my ninth year with them; I’ve been there my whole career and yes, it makes it really easy to make changes and to get a feeling that I’m comfortable with. That’s never a problem and we work really well together. It’s time to win.”