Racing against Monster Energy Supercross points leader Eli Tomac, Cooper Webb crashed on the first lap of Heat 1 in the Nashville round at Nissan Stadium and suffered an injury that required him to be transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.
On Sunday morning, Webb announced on Twitter he will not be able to return during the 2023 Supercross season.
“As many of you saw, I suffered a concussion last night in Nashville,” Webb wrote. “I am thankful that 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 I gave it my all.”
After losing traction with his front wheel, Webb was hit by Adam Cianciarulo, whose Kawasaki ran over Webb’s helmet with hard contact at speed. Webb was helped to the Alpinestars medical cart and was sitting up as they entered the tunnel. He hugged his KTM team members and father before being put on a stretcher that was loaded into an ambulance for the trip to the hospital.
As many of you saw, I suffered a concussion last night in Nashville. I am thankful that 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 I gave it my all. pic.twitter.com/UCSbHFofcn
— Cooper Webb (@cooperwebb_2) April 30, 2023
“We were riding each other pretty aggressively there in Turn 2 and Turn 3,” Tomac told NBC Sports’ Will Christien after winning the heat. “In Turn 2, Cooper came up the inside, and I tried to do the similar thing. We didn’t make contact, but then he washed his front end out, and I happened to be looking back to see if he did fully hit the ground, and I believe Adam clipped him. Obviously, that is unfortunate. It changes a lot of things for us.”
Webb entered the round 11 points behind Tomac and still had a solid opportunity to close the gap with three rounds remaining. While Tomac attained his position with seven wins, Webb was in second with consistency in earning nine podiums in the first 14 rounds.
His streak of top-five finishes in 14 consecutive rounds to start the 2023 season ended as he missed the main event in Nashville, effectively quashing his hopes of winning a third championship. Webb is now third in the standings and 34 points behind.
Drama off the start of 450 heat 1 😱#SupercrossLIVE #SuperMotocross pic.twitter.com/46gETY8TJ2
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) April 29, 2023
Though he was alert and standing shortly after the crash, Webb was in obvious pain.
The extent of injury was unknown for Webb, who won Supercrosss title in 2019 and 2021.
Team manager Ian Harrison issued a statement on Webb: “The team’s first concern is always for the rider. We are hoping everything will turn out OK, but of course after seeing the crash and Cooper getting transported to the hospital, we are devasted as a team.”
Webb’s crash was one of several during a rough Saturday on a tricky track at Nissan Stadium for star riders in the 450 category. Jason Anderson and Justin Barcia also took hard falls Saturday.
Here is what happened to Barcia over the dragons back 😳
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) April 29, 2023
450 Main Event LIVE fueled by @Kroger #SupercrossLIVE #SuperMotocross pic.twitter.com/A2hEsuSdBC
Thanks, Adam 👊🏽. Not your fault. It’s racing and shit happens! https://t.co/DjGZMR7dhB
— Cooper Webb (@cooperwebb_2) April 30, 2023
Other 2023 Injury News
450 riders
Aaron Plessinger, hip
Christian Craig, elbow
Dylan Ferrandis, concussion | Will not return until Motocross
Marvin Musquin, wrist
Malcolm Stewart, knee
250 riders
Stilez Robertson, leg
Cameron McAdoo, shoulder
Jalek Swoll, arm
Seth Hammaker, arm and wrist
Austin Forkner, knee | Injury isn’t the hardest part
Jo Shimoda, collarbone | returned at Atlanta
