Cooper Webb doesn't do anything halfway. His approach to racing — fiercely technical, highly prepared, and mentally tuned to win — extends to every corner of his program. Which makes his relationship with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing mechanic Alex Campbell something worth understanding. When Racer X broke down Webb's championship-winning YZ450F in 2025, they went straight to Campbell for the details — because Campbell knows that bike and that rider better than anyone.
Campbell has been spinning wrenches for Webb through the championship years, part of the Star Racing infrastructure that team manager Rich Simmons and crew chief Jordan Troxell have built into one of the most professionally run programs in American supercross. Three titles in Webb's hands, and Campbell has been the one making sure the machine underneath him is exactly right every single Saturday.
The Setup That Wins Championships
Factory Yamaha YZ450F race bikes are not stock motorcycles. By the time they reach the gate at a supercross round, they've been through hundreds of hours of development, testing, and tuning. The engine is built to a specific specification by Brian Calma, the team's engine builder. The suspension is set to Ricki Gilmour's spec for the track conditions. And Campbell is the one who assembles and maintains all of it — the central figure who makes sure every department's work comes together in the machine that Webb rides.
The YZ450F has a particular character that Webb has exploited effectively throughout his championship campaigns — a chassis that turns sharply and an engine delivery that rewards aggressive, committed riding. Campbell understands those strengths and sets the bike to maximize them. Between practice sessions on race day, Webb comes in and gives feedback. Campbell translates that feedback into adjustments — suspension clickers, handlebar position, map selection — and sends him back out with a better machine.
Three championships. One mechanic. That kind of continuity is how titles get defended.
2026 and the Chase for Four
The 2026 season has been more complicated than 2025. Webb sits third in the championship standings, 24 points back from Roczen with two rounds left — mathematically alive, but needing serious help from the front. He nearly stole Philadelphia on the last lap, closing to within 2.4 seconds of Roczen in the mud. That kind of late-race charge isn't just the rider — it's a bike that Campbell kept fast and reliable through the most demanding conditions of the season.
Webb has hinted that this will be his last season racing motocross, with his future focused on supercross only. Whatever happens at Denver and Salt Lake City, Alex Campbell will be in the pit lane, doing the same job he's always done: building a championship-caliber machine and handing it to one of the best riders in the world.
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