RICHARD COOPER TO MAKE IMATRA DEBUT IN 2025

Richard Cooper’s growing list of road racing achievements is set to get longer as he prepares to make his debut at Imatra in Finland on 5-6 July, 2025.

The three-time British champion will race a BPE by Russell Racing Yamaha in the four Supersport races at the Finnish event.
‘I have been keeping my eye on Imatra since Peter Hickman and Michael Dunlop raced there and I am keen to go there and give it a go.’ the 42 year old said.
Cooper had opted out of British championship racing this year, leaving him time to take on new racing challenges. He competed at Daytona in Florida in March before bolstering his already impressive road racing CV with Supersport and Supertwin victories at the North West 200 in May. The North West victories included getting the better of 2025 Isle of Man TT winners Michael Dunlop and Dean Harrison in the second Supersport clash on the famous 8.9 mile Triangle course.
Those results bolstered Cooper’s very impressive NW200 CV. Since making his debut at the Northern Ireland event in 2019 he has notched up 17 podium finishes, including five wins in the Supertwin class and two in the Supersport division.
‘As I am not competing in the British championships this year I am taking a new approach to my racing.’ the Nottingham racer explained.
‘Now that the North West is over I want to go to Imatra on the R6 because I believe it can be competitive on a road race course that is closer to the North West 200 than it is to the Isle of Man TT with mass starts and shorter races. It is more of the type of road racing I like and I am confident I can learn the track quickly enough that I can at least compete for podiums at Imatra.’
Having the chance to race in four races- two IRRC Supersport revents plus two more Open races in the same class- also has its appeal.
‘I am not going all that way to Finland for just one race.’ Cooper explained as he also acknowledged that the new rules for Supersport-spec racing may give the Ducatis and Triumphs an advantage over his R6.
‘Yes it will be new and we will be busy but I like that and I believe that I have the ability to compensate for any disadvantage in performance as we did at the North West 200.’
‘The new rules allow these other bikes on to the grid now and there is no hiding the advantages they have but we are still competitive and we just have to deal with the situation by making improvements ourselves.’ he says.
‘We can make little bits of improvement with our bikes and also with myself. It is still possible to win but I have to use the strengths of my bike and not focus on the weaknesses. For instance, in the Supersport class the Ducati has more torque than my Yamaha R6, with more punch out of the corners. But it probably doesn’t have the top end speed of my bike. So I have to make sure that I make my bike work better, carry more corner speed and avoid getting jammed up in the slower corners.’
Cooper also revealed that he has taken some advice about Imatra from Peter Hickman who has also recently competed at the Finnish event. The pair are good friends with Cooper racing for Hickman’s PHR squad at Daytona this year.
‘Perhaps my only worry is if the weather isn’t good but fingers crossed it will be. If we don’t feel like then we can react accordingly.’
Cooper feels his experience of road racing to date will come into plat at Imatra.
‘I have raced at the Cemetery circuit in New Zealand over railway lines like they have in Finland and I won there.’ he explained.
‘If the weather is on our side I am confident that with the bike and the team I have behind me we can make a mark at Imatra.’
Cooper’s team boss, Alister Russell will also be very busy preparing Cooper’s R6 Yamaha for Imatra following the NW200 and two weeks at the Isle of Man TT with his other rider, Mike Browne. Browne will not compete at Imatra this year as the Finnish event clashes with the Southern 100 meeting on the Isle of Man which Russell will fly to as soon as racing closes at Imatra.