INTERVIEW
P84
2016 AMA WEST REGIONAL 250SX/AMA 250MX NATIONAL CHAMPION COOPER WEBB
was allowed per AMA rules to
pick a permanent single-digit
number, or any other number
he wanted, as long as it wasn't
already taken. So, he picked the
lowest number he could—2.
"At the end of the day, the
reason I chose number two is
because of how dominant it is,"
Webb said. "I actually really liked
the number 17 but I knew you
don't get a lot of chances to get
a single-digit number like that, so
I knew I should take one. What's
funny is that 9 was my first num-
ber I raced with, and I used it for
about three years. So, at first, 9
was the one that really interested
me, and it's funny because I'm
buddies with [Ivan] Tedesco [the
last guy to run 9 in AMA Super-
cross and Motocross], and we're
pretty similar in that he won two
Lites SX titles and an outdoor
title, and I was in that same
scenario. And 8 was cool with
the whole [Damon] Bradshaw
thing, and factory Yamaha and
all that, and that would've been
good, too. But ultimately I made
the decision just because of how
dominant that number's been.
The only thing I didn't like was
that Ryan [Villopoto] had just had
the number, but at the same time,
most people are probably always
going to associate 2 with [Jer-
emy] McGrath, regardless. So,
once I kind of realized that it's
really tough to make a number
like that only yours—because
2 through 9 have all been
somebody—then I chose 2."
New Competition,
New Challenge
Now, having won what's avail-
able in the 250cc class, Webb
has signed on to race for the
Yamaha factory team alongside
veteran Chad Reed. Thirteen
years ago, when Webb was
seven, Reed began his tenure
in the premier class as a rookie
with Yamaha. Now, it's Webb
joining Reed on the team to do
the same.
"The 450cc testing is going
good," Webb says of the switch
to the new bike. "It's so much
different from the 250 stuff,
dealing with factory Yamaha.
It's going really good, but it's
just a lot different. I'm used to
testing five things, and that's all
there is to test, but now every
part of the motorcycle has an
option. So, it's kind of figuring
out what's good, what's bad,
and that whole process, and at
the same time I'm working on
getting [physically] stronger and
trying to put in motos and all that
Webb won't get the chance to wear
any of his number-one plates in 2017.
