Slaw Dog
Monster Energy/Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper was docked five championship points at round 5 at RedBud on Saturday for jumping on a red cross flag.
The TV broadcast showed Cooper jumping on the flag and at the conclusion of the first moto, race officials reviewed footage to confirm that Cooper had violated Section 2.10, Item b.iii., 9.c. of the AMA Pro Racing Pro Motocross Rulebook pertaining to the adherence of signal flags. As a result, Cooper was penalized five championship points. Event results were not affected and he retained his podium result.
Cooper was back in action after sitting out High Point following a scary crash in qualifying which resulted in a chest/neck injury. In his return, Cooper went 4-4 for third overall.
“I always want to win but I’ll take [the podium]. We rode hard from the back. I wasn’t able to get the starts I needed but I did my best to close the gap to the guys up front. I kind of hit a wall in that second moto, so I’m happy to be on the podium. We need to keep working and hopefully that win will come.”
Main image: Pro Motocross
