Ryan Nitzen | January 11, 2025
The highly anticipated opening round of the 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series/SuperMotoCross World Championship finally got underway in Anaheim, California, and the big question going into the race was who would fire the first shot and take the prestigious A1 win? There were many possibilities, but high on everyone’s list was the defending champ, Jett Lawrence.
Chase Sexton captured his first career A1 victory. Photos: BrownDog Wilson
But what is always the most unpredictable Supercross race of the season, “A1” (or any first round, for that matter), delivered a little bit of a surprise. That person was Red Bull KTM’s Chase Sexton. But for Sexton, the 2023 Supercross Champion, winning A1 isn’t necessarily a considerable surprise, but Jett Lawrance and his brother Hunter battling for 11th place on the last lap was. And perhaps Ken Roczen finishing second and the little-discussed Jason Anderson finishing third probably weren’t on many people’s podium predictions.
Jett Lawrence struggled with multiple mistakes in the main event. He finished outside the top 10.
Sexton was on point all day. He finished third in qualification; he dominated his heat race and came out swinging in the main event. Sexton got a bit lucky when leader Eli Tomac washed out while leading the first lap.
Tomac (3) led the first half-lap but washed the front end. He fought back to fifth.
The Red Bull KTM factory rider, Sexton, said thank you very much, rode into the lead and never looked back. Despite stalling his bike in a tight left handed rut, Sexton never set a knobby wrong on the slick and dry Anaheim track. He took the win with room to spare, more than four seconds ahead of Roczen.
Sexton rode a near mistake-free main event.
Sexton said he came into the race feeling more dialed in with his bike than he did last year, and it showed. He rode with confidence and with the speed he had when he won the championship in 2023.
“I knew where I was at [coming into the race]; like 2023,” Sexton said. “I feel like myself.”
Sexton starts the season with a win.
Roczen, on the Progressive Insurance-ESCAR Suzuki, stepped up to the plate like he always does at A1 and challenged Sexton for the lead early in the race before slipping back a bit and settling for a solid second place.
Roczen landed his Suzuki in second place.
“Second is the perfect place,” he said. “I couldn’t be more stoked. My practice [qualifying] was terrible, but I wasn’t worried. I was calm and executed my race.”
Roczen said second was the perfect result for him at A1.
Anderson started up front and passed through the carnage on the opening few laps. He survived a hectic first turn, where he got bounced around like a pinball, and wound up leading the start of the main event. After a few mistakes he lost spots to both Sexton and Roczen but took a confidence-boosting third at the checkers, less than two seconds behind Roczen.
Anderson led early on and eventually took third.
“I don’t know how I survived that first turn,” he said. “I had a couple of broken spokes [from the first turn], but I felt good on the bike.”
Anderson looked back to form with a podium at the opening round.
Cooper Webb, on the Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha, ran in the lead group for most of the race and took fourth, right behind Anderson. It was a strong start to the season for the two-time Supercross Champion.
450 Podium – Sexton, Roczen, Anderson.
Tomac, on the Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha, rounded out the top five, which, as it turned out, was nearly as good as a win for the veteran racer. The sentimental favorite and top qualifier got a good start in the main and thrilled the crowd when he passed his way into the lead coming out of the first turn.
Tomac battled back to fifth after an early fall.
But while the crowd was still cheering for the former champ, he washed out in a turn and, as quickly as he had gotten into the lead, he was just as quickly trailing the field. However, Tomac was undeterred and came up through the pack like the Tomac of old, passing Justin Barcia on the last lap to take an impressive fifth.
Tomac.
“Talk about a high to a low,” Tomac said. “I couldn’t believe it; I tucked my front end. Anaheim always gets slick, and I didn’t respect that.” Tomac was impressive as he came through the pack: “I was feeling like I should,” he said.
Barcia finished just outside the top five.
Barcia (Rockstar Energy GasGas Factory Racing) and Tomac’s teammate Justin Cooper went 6-7, while Justin Hill (Team Tedder Racing-KTM) had one of the most surprising rides of the night with eighth, and Red Bull KTM’s Aaron Plessinger was ninth. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Malcolm Stewart, who rebounded from a nasty crash in his heat race, completed the top 10.
Justin Hill mixed it up with the Factory teams for eighth in the main.
The shocker of the night, however, was the Lawrence brothers, Hunter and Jett, finishing 11th and 12th, respectively. Both riders were victims of crashes, but Jett just did not look like his usual self. Even though he qualified second, Jett was out of sync on his bike and track. In his heat race, he went down and struggled to work his way up.
Hunter Lawrence and Jorge Prado both crashed in the whoops.
Still, he easily qualified for the main, where he went down in the first turn and again a few laps later. And again, he struggled to make passes deep in the field and could only muster a 12th despite having plenty of time to do so. This was the first time he’s finished outside the top 10 in Supercross.
This was the first time Jett has finished outside the top 10 in a Supercross.
Shane McElrath (Quadlock Honda Racing) was 13th and Prado 14th. Prado looked fast early, but a small crash put him back in the pack. Vince Friese (Honda), Mitchell Oldenburg (Beta), Mitchell Harrison (Kawasaki), Freddie Noren (Kawasaki), Ryan Breece (Honda) and Kyle Chisholm (Suzuki) rounded out the top 20.
450SX Main Event (Top 10)
1. |
Chase Sexton |
(KTM) |
20 Laps |
2. |
Ken Roczen |
(Suz) |
4.293 |
3. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
5.916 |
4. |
Cooper Webb |
(Yam) |
6.861 |
5. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
10.469 |
6. |
Justin Barcia |
(GG) |
11.644 |
7. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
27.925 |
8. |
Justin Hill |
(KTM) |
30.433 |
9. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(KTM) |
32.470 |
10. |
Malcolm Stewart |
(Hus) |
38.700 |
250SX West
In the 250SX West main, Jo Shimoda did what he needed to do win and that was get a good start, which is something that eluded the Honda HRC rider most of last year. Shimoda got off to an early lead and, like Sexton, never looked back. However, he could never completely relax because top qualifier, Red Bull KTM’s Julien Beaumer was never far behind.
Jo Shimoda rode away with the A1 win.
After 15 laps, Shimoda took the win by 4.747 over Beaumer. “This is the start I’ve been wanting every single time,” Shimoda said. “I had consistent laps and never looked back.”
Shimoda was visibly happy with the victory.
Triumph’s Jordon Smith was running up front early in the race before going down, clipping a Tough Block with his clutch lever and dropping to sixth. However, Smith came back and passed Ryder DiFrancesco (Rockstar Energy GasGas Factory Racing) two laps from the finish to get on the podium.
Beaumer won his heat race and finished a strong second in the main.
DiFrancesco might’ve missed out on his first podium, but fourth was a career-best for the GasGas rider by four positions.
Jordon Smith battled back to a podium position with two laps to go.
Haiden Deegan, the defending SuperMotocross World Champion who was the favorite to win A1, got tangled up just out of the first turn and went down. He was 19th after the first lap but fought his way through the pack to take fifth.
Ryder Difrancesco looked comfortable up front in the early parts of the main event. He finished fourth.
“I’m not really happy, but it’s better than last year,” he reasoned.
Coty Schock (Yamaha), Anthony Bourdon (Yamaha), Cole Davies (Yamaha), Garrett Marchbanks (Kawasaki), who holeshot the race but later fell, and Cole Thompson filled out the top 10.
Haiden Deegan crashed in turn two but fought his way up to fifth.
250SX West Main Event (Top 10)
1. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Hon) |
15 laps |
2. |
Julien Beaumer |
(KTM) |
4.747 |
3. |
Jordon Smith |
(Tri) |
11.599 |
4. |
Ryder DiFrancesco |
(GG) |
13.081 |
5. |
Haiden Deegan |
(Yam) |
18.945 |
6. |
Coty Schock |
(Yam) |
19.879 |
7. |
Anthony Bourdon |
(Yam) |
36.822 |
8. |
Cole Davies |
(Yam) |
39.681 |
9. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Kaw) |
43.943 |
10. |
Cole Thompson |
(Yam) |
44.623 |
QUALIFYING
450SX
Eli Tomac means business. In what’s been announced as his final season, the Star Racing Yamaha set the pace in the final qualifier with the fastest time of the day. The track is technical but most of the top riders were all doing the same lines and clocking similar times.
Tomac looks fast as he set the best qualifying time. Photos: Brown Dog Wilson
Tomac’s 1:03 puts him on pole going into the night show, two-tenths faster than Jett Lawrence. Chase Sexton held the top spot for post of the session and was the final rider in the 1:03 range. Jason Anderson and Hunter Lawrence rounded out the top five, more than a second off Tomac’s pace. Notably fourth through 10th place were all on the same second.
Jett Lawrence was just a hair off in second.
Sexton rounded out the podium and was one of only three riders on the 1:03 mark.
450SX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
1. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
1:03.119 |
2. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
1:03.372 |
3. |
Chase Sexton |
(KTM) |
1:03.477 |
4. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
1:04.268 |
5. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
1:04.360 |
6. |
Justin Hill |
(KTM) |
1:04.469 |
7. |
Malcolm Stewart |
(Hus) |
1:04.531 |
8. |
Cooper Webb |
(Yam) |
1:04.595 |
9. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(KTM) |
1:04.864 |
10. |
Dylan Ferrandis |
(Hon) |
1:04.919 |
250SX West
Big news out of the 250 West as Levi Kitchen pulled the plug on his championship campaign. After coming down with an illness earlier in the week, he did not ride the qualifying sessions which keep him eligible for the East coast series.
Julien Beaumer was the fastest 250 rider of the day.
Deegan looked fast and clocked second behind Beaumer.
This allowed Julien Beaumer to take the top qualifying spot. The Red Bull KTM rider went back and forth with Haiden Deegan as the two traded the top spot back and forth multiple times. Beaumer’s time was just over a tenth faster than Deegan’s as they were the only two riders in the 1:04 range. Ryder Difrancesco clocked third fastest with Jo Shimoda and Jordon Smith rounding out the top five. Cole Davies, the Star Racing Yamaha rookie, qualified sixth from the B practice.
Ryder D looked good for third overall.
250SX West Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
1. |
Julien Beaumer |
(KTM) |
1:04.669 |
2. |
Haiden Deegan |
(Yam) |
1:04.796 |
3. |
Ryder Difrancesco |
(GG) |
1:05.690 |
4. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Hon) |
1:05.801 |
5. |
Jordon Smith |
(Tri) |
1:06.076 |
6. |
Cole Davies |
(Yam) |
1:06.218 |
7. |
Anthony Bourdon |
(Yam) |
1:06.361 |
8. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Kaw) |
1:06.554 |
9. |
Michael Mosiman |
(Yam) |
1:06.619 |
10. |
Stilez Robertson |
(Tri) |
1:07.376 |
Pics From The Pits
The Ducati Desmo450 MX was unveiled last night. It’s said to be available in July of 2025. Photos: Ryan Nitzen
Triumph Factory Racing graphics sport a new Call of Duty logo. You can actually ride a TF 250X in the latest COD game.
New vented side plates for Anderson’s KX450SR.
Got boots? Fox has their riders dialed in with some limited edition Instincts.
Ken Roczen’s bike on display at the press conference.
Alcavi bikes is a Aldon Baker’s bike brand. They sponsor the Triumph team.