NASHVILLE — Cooper Webb experienced an ugly crash during the first 450SX heat race Saturday afternoon at Nissan Stadium.
Out of the gate, the Red Bull KTM rider was battling title rival Eli Tomac for the lead. As the pair exited the whoops section on lap one and entered the corner, Webb took the high line around the berm while Tomac dove to the inside on his No. 1 Star Racing Yamaha.
As he exited the corner, Webb tucked the front end, leaning the No. 2 machine into the dirt while Tomac took off out front. Unfortunately, the key moment occurred two seconds later when Adam Cianciarulo came by on his No. 9 Monster Energy Kawasaki machine and clipped the back of Webb’s head.
There was little Cianciarulo could’ve done to avoid hitting Webb, as the KTM was directly in the Kawasaki’s line. The impact appears to have directly affected Webb’s upper back and neck area.
Drama off the start of 450 heat 1 😱#SupercrossLIVE #SuperMotocross pic.twitter.com/46gETY8TJ2
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) April 29, 2023
Webb remained underneath his bike as the remaining 19 riders rode through the corner before the Alpinestars medical crew moved the bike. Though it was an encouraging sign to see Webb moving his limbs, he struggled to stand up on his own. It took several minutes, but he was eventually helped off the track by the Alpinestars mobile unit and transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.
No injuries have been confirmed.
Webb entered the Nashville round 11 points behind Tomac in the championship fight.
With Webb out for the night show, Tomac’s next title opponent would be Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton, who is 21 points behind.
UPDATE: As of Sunday, Webb confirmed via Instagram that he suffered a concussion in the crash and will be out for the remainder of the season. He noted that “everything else has checked out okay.”