Cooper came into Budds Creek with increased confidence after earning a spot as the MX2 rider for the U.S. Motocross of Nations team. Although Cooper had been off the bike most of the week while feeling under the weather, he started the day as the second-place qualifier. That translated to a solid top-five start in Moto 1, but unfortunately, the New Yorker ended up going down with another rider on the opening lap. He had to fight his way back from 33rd and picked off riders to finish the 17-lap race in ninth. Cooper nailed the start in Moto 2, claiming a season-leading seventh holeshot. He held off pressure for the first five laps before relenting the lead. It was a hard-fought moto, but with depleted energy from pressing through in Moto 1, Cooper claimed fourth at the checkered for fifth overall.
With injuries keeping him from this race in 2021, Thrasher made his first-ever trip to Budds Creek and utilized the qualifying sessions to get comfortable on the track. He qualified ninth and put himself in a good position at the start, ultimately grabbing one of his best starts of the season in fifth. Thrasher was staying with the front group but had a crash on the second lap that pushed him down the charts to 11th. With most of the race ahead of him he put his head down and picked off several riders, ending the moto seventh. The second moto was better for Thrasher, who started eighth and kept it consistent to finish the race in sixth for sixth overall.
Farres got the call this week to race with the team and with just a little time on the bike, the Spaniard got going at Budds Creek with a 10th-place qualifying position. He quickly put the rest of the field on notice after starting ninth and ran in the top five just a few laps later. Riding well, he was able to build a gap and earned an impressive sixth-place finish to start the day. Farres grabbed a 10th-place start in the second moto and started to make moves forward, but had a tip-over that pushed him back to 13th where he ended up finishing to give him ninth overall.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team heads to Ironman Raceway for the penultimate round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship just outside Indianapolis, Indiana, on Saturday, August 27.
