Welcome to round one of the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series. We’re live from Angel Stadium for Anaheim One to bring you all the race day action. Scroll through for race recaps, qualifying times, and a big photo gallery from the pits.
What a night. Two action packed mains in front of a completely sold out crowd certainly gave the fans their moneys worth. Jett Lawrence struck first in the 250’s while Eli Tomac nabbed the win in the 450 main event.
Main Events
450SX
Colt Nichols made his 450 debut tonight with the holeshot in the main event. By turn two though, Justin Barcia forced his way into the lead with Eli Tomac and Ken Roczen closely in tow. Barcia is an A1 ace and looked to be riding a wide bike in an effort to hold off Eli Tomac. The GasGas rider eventually fell victim to the rutted track and Tomac snuck through shortly before Barcia fell in a tricky rhythm section.
Tomac then took over the lead with Roczen just behind him. At one point, all seven manufacturers were placed inside the top seven spots. Shortly after taking the lead though, Tomac fell when he slid the front end off the start tunnel jump. This gave Malcolm Stewart the lead and dropped Tomac back to around fourth.
Up next it was Malcolm Stewart who took the lead spot and seemed to be running away with what would’ve been his first ever main event win. Chase Sexton had other plans though and kept pushing forward behind Stewart. The Husqvarna rider missed a key rhythm which allowed Sexton to close right in, passing Stewart and even putting him off the track in the process.
Then it was Sexton with the runaway lead. But Tomac continued to march his way back from an early crash. Sexton made a few mistakes in the rutted rhythms and Tomac made his move just after the finish line. Sexton’s mistakes continued as Cooper Webb closed in late in the race and snagged the spot from Sexton.
Malcolm Stewart hit the deck later on which resulted in a 22nd place finish. He finished under his own power but the Husqvarna was severely mangled. He looks to be okay for next weekend.
450SX Official Results (Top 10)
| 1. | Eli Tomac | (Yam) | 21 Laps |
| 2. | Cooper Webb | (KTM) | +02.778 |
| 3. | Chase Sexton | (Hon) | +04.350 |
| 4. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Yam) | +05.921 |
| 5. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | +11.147 |
| 6. | Colt Nichols | (Hon) | +25.203 |
| 7. | Jason Anderson | (Kaw) | +30.692 |
| 8. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | +34.136 |
| 9. | Adam Cianciarulo | (Kaw) | +36.064 |
| 10. | Joey Savatgy | (Kaw) | +37.385 |
250SX
The first 250 main event of the year kicked off with a bang, literally. Jett Lawrence took the holeshot as one of his main competitors, Austin Forkner, took a huge crash on the start straight. Forkner caught wheels with another rider right off the gate and was ejected from the bike before the race really began. He left the track in the medical mule and did not finish.
Meanwhile, the Jett Lawrence show continued up front. He led every lap of the 15-minute main event and did so with relative ease. The rutted track didn’t do him any favors but Jett held it down up front with the fastest lap of the race. He kicks off the 2023 season with a big W.
RJ Hampshire qualified into the main event with a bold heat race win and looked to keep that momentum going. He got off to a top-five start and picked off a few riders in the first couple laps. As the race wore on and lapped traffic got thick, the battle for second between Hampshire and Mcadoo started to unfold.
Mcadoo eventually got caught up with a lapped rider and cased the main rhythm section which allowed Hampshire to slip through and take second place away. He held the spot through to the checkered flag. Mcadoo took third.
250SX Official Results (Top 10)
| 1. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 16 Laps |
| 2. | RJ Hampshire | Hus | +05.259 |
| 3. | Cameron Mcadoo | (Kaw) | +10.671 |
| 4. | Mitchell Oldenburg | (Hon) | +26.900 |
| 5. | Max Vohland | (KTM) | +31.562 |
| 6. | Enzo Lopes | (Yam) | +40.781 |
| 7. | Levi Kitchen | (Yam) | +48.376 |
| 8. | Phil Nicoletti | (Yam) | +57.722 |
| 9. | Stilez Robertson | (Yam) | +1:01.489 |
| 10. | Derek Kelley | (KTM) | 15 Laps |
Qualifying
450SX
The track is tough today after recent rains soaked Southern California. Half the track (after the start and before the finish line) is soft and rutted, while the rest of the track (after the finish) is hard packed and even dusty at times. There’s only one real whoop section (after the finish) and they’ve been giving riders fits all day.
Chase Sexton clocked the fastest time of the day and was the only ride to crack the 59-second mark. He was just three tenths ahead of Eli Tomac while Marvin Musquin was third.
450SX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. | Chase Sexton | (Hon) | 59.785 |
| 2. | Eli Tomac | (Yam) | 1:00.089 |
| 3. | Marvin Musquin | (KTM) | 1:00.497 |
| 4. | Jason Anderson | (Kaw) | 1:00.602 |
| 5. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | 1:00.644 |
| 6. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Yam) | 1:00.852 |
| 7. | Cooper Webb | (KTM) | 1:00.890 |
| 8. | Adam Cianciarulo | (Kaw) | 1:01.140 |
| 9. | Malcolm Stewart | (Hus) | 1:01.253 |
| 10. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 1:01.335 |
250SX
Safe to say the 250 West Coast is stacked this year as the top four guys were all within two tenths of each other. Austin Forkner put in the fastest time with a 1:00.595, just ahead of Jett Lawrence and Pierce Brown.
250SX West Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. | Austin Forkner | (Kaw) | 1:00.595 |
| 2. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 1:00.635 |
| 3. | Pierce Brown | (GG) | 1:00.706 |
| 4. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 1:00.763 |
| 5. | Cameron Mcadoo | (Kaw) | 1:01.601 |
| 6. | Levi Kitchen | (Yam) | 1:01.635 |
| 7. | Enzo Lopes | (Yam) | 1:01.647 |
| 8. | Max Vohland | (KTM) | 1:01.811 |
| 9. | Stilez Robertson | (Yam) | 1:02.213 |
| 10. | Mitchell Oldenburg | (Hon) | 1:02.290 |
Pics From The Pits
