We’re going going back back to Cali Cali. Welcome to round three of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series, the indoor portion of the SuperMotocross World Championship. We’re live from Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California bringing you all the action.
The two pre-season favorites, Jett Lawrence and Haiden Deegan, finally checked their first wins of the season off the list at A2.
Main Events
450SX
Justin Cooper qualified out of the LCQ and made the best of it as he grabbed the holeshot in the 450SX main event. “J Coop” led the first seven minutes of the race before handing over the top spot to Jason Anderson.
Anderson, who won his heat race earlier in the night, found himself again in the lead with Jett Lawrence and Ken Roczen hot on his heels. The Kawasaki rider used strong pace through the two whoop sections to hold his place at the front. He led the next eight laps before Lawrence made his move in the first whoop section. Anderson stayed up front and went on to finish third.
“I was able to get out front and the pace up there is really fast, and I had pressure the whole time,” Anderson said. “I was able to get around Justin [Cooper] and be up front, but then I had some of the fastest guys behind me. I’m excited to be up here.”
Jett Lawrence took over the lead from Anderson and never looked back. The Honda HRC rider showed maturity and patience in the slick conditions before checking off his first main event win of the season. With the win, Lawrence now jumps to third in points, tied with Eli Tomac. They’re both just five points behind first place.
“Jason was riding really well, and I was struggling to find anywhere to gain on him or try to make a pass,” Lawrence said. “He had to get a little risky in the whoops… I think we both got sketchy through them. I was being very patient and trying not to rush anything. Lap by lap I just hit my marks. There was the rain, my goggles were fogging up a little bit, but we’re happy to get that [win]. We’re better than we were at the last round at Anaheim, so that’s good.”
Ken Roczen pushed his way to second on the night. The Suzuki rider was in the fight the entire way and made an exciting exchange of passes with Jason Anderson late in the race. That makes two podiums in three rounds for the #94 as he now takes over the points lead heading into round four.
“It’s an absolute dream,” said Roczen. “And just to have a red plate, it’s been a long time, especially on a Suzuki. I wasn’t able to make [a win] happen tonight. This was an absolutely insane race. We were in a battle the whole way, and it was awesome. With the rain and how hard packed the dirt was, it was very slippery out there, but I just kept my focus the whole way… After making a [first] pass stick on Jason I hit neutral, and he got me back. I was bummed because it’s a lot of work to get by.”
Eli Tomac came into the night with the red plate but left without it. The Star Racing Yamaha rider suffered a poor start and was buried towards the back on the opening lap. He fought hard from nearly dead last and managed to crack the top 10 by the end of the race. Tomac salvaged a seventh at the line, dropping him third in points and tied with Jett Lawrence.
“It really came down to just a bad start tonight,” said Tomac. “We had rain before the main, and I ended up just spinning my rear tire really badly. I was almost dead last after the start, and I just did what I could to come back and was seventh. In the big picture for the series, we’re still going to be fine.”
450SX Main Event (Top 10)
| 1. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 22 Laps |
| 2. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | 2.496 |
| 3. | Jason Anderson | (Kaw) | 3.854 |
| 4. | Chase Sexton | (KTM) | 5.582 |
| 5. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 10.122 |
| 6. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 14.853 |
| 7. | Eli Tomac | (Yam) | 17.103 |
| 8. | Cooper Webb | (Yam) | 21.751 |
| 9. | Malcolm Stewart | (Hus) | 26.605 |
| 10. | Justin Barcia | (GG) | 50.512 |
250SX
After a run in during the heat race between Haiden Deegan and Julien Beaumer, the two rivals once again found themselves neck and neck off the start of the 250 main event. They exchanged block passes in the first two turns but Deegan maintained the lead and began to check out.
Deegan put in a series of sprint laps and opened up a gap right away. The Star Racing Yamaha rider led start to finish and made it look easy en route to his first main event win of the year.
“You pissed off the bull last week,” Deegan said. “Juju ran his mouth so it’s time to lock in. You don’t want to piss me off because I come out swinging. A big thanks to my team, they put a lot of work in this week. We grinded from morning until the end of the day, multiple times.”
Beaumer held second for the entire race, dropping off the pace a bit from Deegan. Jordon Smith caught Beaumer late in the race and upped the pace as the two closed in on Deegan. Just when it looked like Smith was ready to seal the deal, he crashed spectacularly in the whoops. This ensured Beaumer would take second at the checkers and maintain the points lead, seven over Deegan.
“[Haiden and I] got together in that heat race and I went down,” said Beaumer. “Nothing too big, nothing to worry about… [In the main] I got off to a good start and he rode great, hats off to him, he was the better man tonight. Now we’re going to get back to work.”
Cole Davies rode a strong race but benefitted most from Smith’s crash as it bumped him from fourth to third. This finish earned him his first career podium.
“I’m honestly just hanging onto the bike” said Shimoda. “It’s really tough on me. I just don’t want to let this [championship] go, I feel like I’ve got to stay in it. Hopefully next week I’ll be a little healthier, but we’ll see.”
250SX Main Event Results (Top 10)
| 1. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 17 Laps |
| 2. | Julien Beaumer | (KTM) | 4.498 |
| 3. | Cole Davies | (Yam) | 20.196 |
| 4. | Jordon Smith | (Tri) | 33.393 |
| 5. | Coty Schock | (Yam) | 35.553 |
| 6. | Jo Shimoda | (Hon) | 44.671 |
| 7. | Michael Mosiman | (Yam) | 53.859 |
| 8. | Drew Adams | (Kaw) | 58.298 |
| 9. | Anthony Bourdon | (Yam) | 1:04.595 |
| 10. | Hunter Yoder | (Kaw) | 16 Laps |
Main Event Highlights
Post Race Press Conference
QUALIFYING #2
450SX
Another nail biter in the final 450SX qualifying session. Points leader, Eli Tomac came out swinging in his all-red kit and ran up front for almost the entire timed quali. Almost. Jett Lawrence uncorked a double-over-table line just after the finish which gained him nine-tenths over Tomac. Lawrence is the day’s fastest qualifier and tops both sessions for today. Chase Sexton clocked third overall, 0.02 seconds off of Tomac’s time. He was the last rider on the 57-second mark.
450SX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 57.086 |
| 2. | Eli Tomac | (Yam) | 57.904 |
| 3. | Chase Sexton | (KTM) | 57.984 |
| 4. | Malcolm Stewart | (Hus) | 58.569 |
| 5. | Jason Anderson | (Kaw) | 58.570 |
| 6. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 58.771 |
| 7. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | 58.996 |
| 8. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 59.098 |
| 9. | Justin Barcia | (GG) | 59.123 |
| 10. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 59.227 |
250SX WEST
The second round of qualifying looked a lot like the first with Haiden Deegan and Julien Beaumer again trading fast laps in quick succession. Beaumer jumped to the top of the board and was the only 250 rider in the 57-second range. Fun fact, he would’ve qualified second in the 450 class! Deegan looked fast but seemed to be trying “too hard” and washed the front end on his attempt at a fast lap. He’s credited with third overall. Jordon Smith stayed out of the limelight but continued to log quick laps, coming out second.
Also noteworthy that Drew Adams and Enzo Lopes qualified eighth and ninth respectively in their first race of the year. A1 winner, Jo Shimoda, qualified tenth and is racing despite dealing with two broken fingers on his left hand.
250SX West Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. | Julien Beaumer | (KTM) | 57.829 |
| 2. | Jordon Smith | (Tri) | 58.419 |
| 3. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 58.499 |
| 4. | Cole Davies | (Yam) | 59.461 |
| 5. | Michael Mosiman | (Yam) | 59.499 |
| 6. | Coty Schock | (Yam) | 1:00.226 |
| 7. | Anthony Bourdon | (Yam) | 1:00.491 |
| 8. | Drew Adams | (Kaw) | 1:00.512 |
| 9. | Enzo Lopes | (Yam) | 1:00.547 |
| 10. | Jo Shimoda | (Hon) | 1:01.186 |
QUALIFYING #1
450SX
A close battle in the first qualifying session. But would you expect anything else? Eli Tomac held the top spot for most of the session but Jett Lawrence jumped to the top of the boards on his final lap. Jett’s 57.9 is just one-tenth quicker than Tomac’s. Malcolm Stewart was third, another tenth back from Tomac.
Jorge Prado hit the deck in the long rhythm and injured his shoulder during Q1 and will sit out tonight’s racing.
450SX Qualifying #1 (Top 10)
| 1. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 57.939 |
| 2. | Eli Tomac | (Yam) | 58.084 |
| 3. | Malcolm Stewart | (Hus) | 58.570 |
| 4. | Chase Sexton | (KTM) | 59.157 |
| 5. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 59.402 |
| 6. | Jason Anderson | (Kaw) | 59.531 |
| 7. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Hon) | 59.686 |
| 8. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 59.710 |
| 9. | Justin Hill | (KTM) | 59.724 |
| 10. | Justin Barcia | (GG) | 1:00.015 |
250SX WEST
The first round of qualifying is wrapped up with Haiden Deegan setting the pace to start the day. The big stories are of injuries as Marchbanks, Masterpool, DiFrancesco, and Robertson are all missing in action tonight. Two newcomers, Drew Adams and Enzo Lopes have joined the ranks and are ready to mix it up in the night show, posting times inside the top 10.
Once again Haiden Deegan and Julien Beaumer were the top riders trading the trade two top spots. Deegan claimed the fastest run on the last lap of the session, beating Beaumer by a mere four-tenths. Michael Mosiman was third in the first qualifier, but was over a second back.
250SX West Qualifying #1 (Top 10)
| 1. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 58.948 |
| 2. | Julien Beaumer | (KTM) | 59.343 |
| 3. | Michael Mosiman | (Yam) | 1:00.540 |
| 4. | Jordon Smith | (Tri) | 1:00.580 |
| 5. | Enzo Lopes | (Yam) | 1:00.923 |
| 6. | Drew Adams | (Kaw) | 1:01.160 |
| 7. | Anthony Bourdon | (Yam) | 1:01.329 |
| 8. | Cole Davies | (Yam) | 1:01.434 |
| 9. | Coty Schock | (Yam) | 1:01.504 |
| 10. | Gavin Towers | (Hon) | 1:02.106 |
Press Day Video
Pics From The Pits
