What Really Happened in Daytona?

Two mistakes cost Cooper Webb 3.7 seconds. In a rare twist, those mistakes were all Ken Roczen needed to beat Webb straight up.

We all know the story by now—Webb has a fine-tuned ability to stalk Roczen and steal the race win in the closing laps. We all thought that was going to happen again, but Roczen’s pace and Daytona’s gnarly conditions cracked Webb’s armor.

Flipping the script, Roczen finished just 5.1 seconds ahead of Webb, his slimmest margin of victory over Webb since Anaheim 1 in 2022. But 3.7 of those seconds came from just two costly errors:

• Lap 10: Webb stalled, costing 1.4 seconds.
• Lap 13: Webb nearly crashed, losing another 2.3 seconds.

Not only that, but Webb significantly backed off the pace following his mistake on Lap 13.

Roczen vs. Webb Lap Times Before/After L.13

Before and after lap times are measured using the median.

Webb admitted he had to push the pace to try and catch Roczen, but the mistakes cost him. Had he kept it clean, we might have been adding another chapter to the long-running saga of Webb chasing down Roczen for a dramatic last-lap win.

It pushed me to ride harder and I made some mistakes, which allowed the gap. He [Roczen] won straight up. 

–Cooper Webb after Daytona 2025

Webb’s Still “Won”

Despite finishing second, Webb left Daytona in a “winning” position by doubling his points lead over Chase Sexton, who barely salvaged a 5th after a brutal night.

Webb’s Championship Standing After Round 8

Only once before (2019) has Webb left Round 8 with the red plate, and that year, he never lost it again. This time, his lead is even bigger. Mistakes may have cost him a win at Daytona, but in the big picture, Webb is still in control.

Hampshire’s Hometown Statement

Half a second. RJ Hampshire was half a second per lap faster than Tom Vialle. Practically unheard of in Supercross.

But wait. How did Hampshire only win by 2.4 seconds? On paper, it doesn’t add up. The red flag strikes again! The 250 East division saw their race stopped for the third consecutive round, reseting progress and wiping out Hampshire’s early lead.

Vialle tried to take full advantage of the restart, but it wasn’t enough. Before the restart, he lost 4.1 seconds to Hampshire. After? Another 2.4 seconds gone. Even if Vialle’s crew pinpointed his weak spots, Hampshire still outpaced him by a quarter second per lap after the restart.

Not only that, after Lap 1, Hampshire was either the fastest or second-fastest rider on the track every single lap.

Lap Time Rank by Podium Finishers

Furthermore, Hampshire was faster than Cooper Webb. Yes, track conditions between the 250 and 450 Mains weren’t identical. But we did see a 250 in the 450 Main—Coty Schock—giving us some comparison.

250 vs. 450 Lap Times

Hampshire is gearing up for his 450 debut in Pro Motocross, but first there’s a supercross championship to chase. After a disastrous 18th place at Round 1, he’s been on an upward trajectory.

This weekend’s East/West Showdown could be a game changer in his title hunt. He won Nashville 2024 and finished 2nd in Salt Lake City 2024 when he was in title protection mode.