Two-time former 450SX champion Cooper Webb’s 2023 AMA Supercross Championship title challenge has come to an early ending following his crash at Nashville last weekend.
Webb will join GasGas factory rider Justin Barcia on the side-lines as they now take the time needed to recover from their injuries, destined to see them sit out the final two rounds of the series, with the 16th round of 17 set for Denver, Colorado, this weekend.
It’s actually a triple blow too for the GasGas effort, with 250cc class riders Pierce Brown and Michael Mosiman also now out with injury, following what had been an inspired season from the red brand.
Barcia has successfully undergone surgery on his broken collarbone sustained at round 15 of the championship in Nashville. The 31-year-old also unfortunately broke his right shoulder in the fall during Saturday’s main event, along with suffering two broken ribs in the incident.
Meanwhile, KTM’s Webb (pictured here) has thankfully been cleared of any additional major injuries following his exit in the opening heat race of the night in Nashville.
However, the 27-year-old who won the premier class title with Red Bull KTM both in 2019 and 2021 will be absent from the upcoming final two rounds of the 2023 season.
“As many of you saw, I suffered a concussion last night in Nashville. I am thankful everything else has checked out okay. This will unfortunately put an end to my SX season. It hurts to have it end like this, but I can hold my head high knowing that I gave it my all,” Webb explained.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager, Ian Harrison, echoed Webb’s sentiments, acknowledging that safety is paramount for the team’s riders, despite the disappointment of being ruled out of contention this late in the 17-round Supercross season.
“It’s definitely not the end to the 2023 Supercross Championship season that the team had hoped for, but we are very relieved that Cooper is okay after what had the potential to be a very nasty accident, as he was really going for it when he went down in a racing incident,” Harrison said.
“Our riders’ health and safety are very important to the team, so knowing he is going to be okay is a huge weight off everyone’s shoulders. Obviously, we were really looking forward to taking the championship hunt all the way down to the final Supercross race in Salt Lake City, but unfortunately, that won’t be the case this year.”
The 2023 AMA Supercross Championship now heads to Denver, Colorado, for the 16th and penultimate round of the series this weekend, before the 17th and final round in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Saturday, May 13.
Photo courtesy KTM
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