Welcome to the San Diego Supercross, round two (well, technically) of the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series. San Diego was scheduled to be round three of the series, but after torrential rains soaked Oakland, the race was rescheduled. A bit confusing we know. Anyways, we’re racing here in San Diego at Snapdragon Stadium (not Petco Park like years past).
Despite a close night of racing, fans saw repeat winners with Eli Tomac and Jett Lawrence taking their respective main event victories.
450SX Main Event
Adam Cianciarulo started things off with a holeshot and the opening lead. After a few injury-ridden seasons, it’s nice to have AC at the front of the field. He led for a few laps early on and eventually finished in eighth.
Cooper Webb found himself in the lead early on after an aggressive pass on Cianciarulo. Coop then proceeded to lead and fought off Eli Tomac for multiple laps. After getting passed, Webb put up a good fight and stayed close as lappers played a part late in the race. Webb definitely had some confidence tonight and backed up his round one result with another second place finish.
Eli Tomac was on a tear tonight. In the opening laps he went from just inside the top 10 to third in the matter of just a few corners. Once he set his sights on the leaders it was game over. Tomac caught Webb and a battle ensued between the former and reigning champions. Eventually though, Tomac took over the lead and never looked back. He’s now two for two to start off the season.
Justin Barcia held on for third tonight. The TLD GasGas rider is no stranger to contact and he and Chase Sexton had their run-ins early on. Barcia trailed the leaders in fourth for most of the race, but a fall from Jason Anderson bumped him into podium contention. He held off pressure from Ken Roczen for nearly the entire main event and claimed his first podium of the 2023 season.
450SX Main Event (Top 10)
| 1. | Eli Tomac | (Yam) | 25 Laps |
| 2. | Cooper Webb | (KTM) | +01.148 |
| 3. | Justin Barcia | (GG) | +10.251 |
| 4. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | +10.837 |
| 5. | Chase Sexton | (Hon) | +12.851 |
| 6. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Yam) | +20.433 |
| 7. | Jason Anderson | (Kaw) | +22.308 |
| 8. | Adam Cianciarulo | (Kaw) | +23.627 |
| 9. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | +25.136 |
| 10. | Joey Savatgy | (Kaw) | +25.138 |
250SX Main Event
Another wild start and big pileup to kick off the 250SX West Coast Main Event. Levi Kitchen and a few other riders connected just before turn one which caused a domino effect and sent multiple riders down hard. Somehow Jett Lawrence managed to sneak through clean and grabbed the lead by the second turn.
From there on out it was the Jett Lawrence show. It looked like he was getting caught there for a few laps, but Jett continued to pour it on and stretched his lead out as the race wore on. He led wire to wire for his second win of the season. Will anyone else be able to beat Jettson this year?
RJ Hampshire is hoping to be the one that does. He logged another strong second place finish tonight after passing Cameron Mcadoo late in the race. Hampshire came from way back and made up key time in some of the hardest rhythm sections. He set the fastest laps of the race on back-to-back laps and made the pass with just three minutes left on the clock.
Cameron Mcadoo again settled for third tonight. The Kawasaki rider looked strong in the early stages and even seemed to be catching Jett in the opening laps. As lappers became an issue, Cameron said he made a few mistakes and the arm pump set in. This allowed Hampshire to close in and eventually steal second place away for the second week in a row. Mcadoo is three-three to start the season.
250SX West Main Event (Top 10)
| 1. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 19 Laps |
| 2. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | +3.613 |
| 3. | Cameron Mcadoo | (Kaw) | +4.871 |
| 4. | Enzo Lopes | (Yam) | +28.969 |
| 5. | Pierce Brown | (Gas) | +34.393 |
| 6. | Stilez Robertson | (Yam) | +36.086 |
| 7. | Mitchell Oldenburg | (Hon) | +43.232 |
| 8. | Phil Nicoletti | (Yam) | +45.329 |
| 9. | Derek Kelley | (KTM) | +47.205 |
| 10. | Cole Thompson | (Yam) | 18 Laps |
QUALIFYING
The track is a a bit smaller than than the usual Petco Park but that didn’t stop Malcolm Stewart from finding the shortest way around. He locked in the fastest time of the day with a 50.008. His time was just one-tenth faster than Chase Sexton and Cooper Webb.
450SX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. | Malcolm Stewart | (Hus) | 50.008 |
| 2. | Chase Sexton | (Hon) | 50.108 |
| 3. | Cooper Webb | (KTM) | 50.118 |
| 4. | Eli Tomac | (Yam) | 50.473 |
| 5. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Yam) | 50.544 |
| 6. | Jason Anderson | (Kaw) | 50.587 |
| 7. | Adam Cianciarulo | (Kaw) | 50.821 |
| 8. | Colt Nichols | (Hon) | 50.952 |
| 9. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | 51.079 |
| 10. | Justin Barcia | (GG) | 51.206 |
The 250 class is close. Jett Lawrence did put down the fastest lap in the 250’s, but only after a fall in the early stages of the session. He still managed to edge Hampshire for P1. Pierce Brown is back after a heat race incident last weekend. He rounded out the box in qualifying.
250SX West Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 50.099 |
| 2. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 50.361 |
| 3. | Pierce Brown | (Gas) | 51.085 |
| 4. | Enzo Lopes | (Yam) | 51.191 |
| 5. | Levi Kitchen | (Yam) | 51.487 |
| 6. | Cameron Mcadoo | (Kaw) | 51.732 |
| 7. | Stilez Robertson | (Yam) | 51.898 |
| 8. | Max Vohland | (KTM) | 51.915 |
| 9. | Derek Kelley | (KTM) | 52.121 |
| 10. | Wilson Todd | (Hon) | 52.122 |
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