Its time for Tampa! Round five of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series heads to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida for the first stop on the east coast tour. Malcolm Stewart earned his first career main event win while Max Anstie starts the 250 East series on top.
MAIN EVENTS
450SX
What a wild ride in the 450SX main event! Chase Sexton got the coveted holeshot and ran out to the early lead. The points leader had things under control with a comfortable lead a chaos ensued behind him. Late in the race Sexton ran into lappers and began making mistakes. This allowed Malcolm Stewart to close in while running second place. Sexton later crashed in the whoops and dropped to fifth.
Malcolm Stewart scored his first-ever main event win here in Tampa. The Rockstar Husqvarna rider closed in lap after lap with smart lines through the whoop section and pushed his way to second in the race. He made up crucial time on Chase Sexton and sealed the pass when Sexton crashed in the whoops. Malcolm cruised to victory for the first time in his career.
Cooper Webb nabbed a second place at the line. The gritty veteran passed Chase Sexton through the whoops late in the race. Webb now jumps to second in the overall points.
Jason Anderson ran up front early in the 450 main event but dropped off the podium as the race wore on. He later moved to third after Sexton’s crash and grabbed the final spot on the podium.
Troubles for Ken Roczen struck when he collided with a lapped rider. The #94 hit the deck hard and derailed his chain, effectively ending his night.
Eli Tomac lined up for the main event but struggled throughout the race. He cruised around with his bruised calf and crossed the line in 17th.
450SX Main Event Results (Top 10)
| 1. | Malcolm Stewart | (Hus) | 23 Laps |
| 2. | Cooper Webb | (Yam) | 7.102 |
| 3. | Jason Anderson | (Kaw) | 12.161 |
| 4. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 15.445 |
| 5. | Chase Sexton | (KTM) | 16.726 |
| 6. | Justin Barcia | (GG) | 19.634 |
| 7. | Joey Savatgy | (Hon) | 25.257 |
| 8. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 45.531 |
| 9. | Justin Hill | (KTM) | 1 Lap |
| 10. | Shane McElrath | (Hon) | 1 Lap |
250SX EAST
Pierce Brown led the start of the 250SX main event over two other Star Racing Yamaha riders of Max Anstie and Daxton Bennick. The three Yamahas held the podium positions for the first half of the race until Brown hit the deck in the whoops and the race was red flagged. He did not finish the race.
Max Anstie started first on the staggered restart and held the lead until the checkered flag. The 250SX veteran cruised to victory at Tampa and holds the red plate going into round two.
Daxton Bennick crossed the line in second place. He followed his Star Racing Yamaha teammate across the line and held down second from the restart on. This marks Bennick’s career best finish. After the race, Bennick was docked five championship points for jumping on a red cross flag.
Cameron McAdoo finished third in the main event. The Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider is riding with a torn ACL but soldiered through the pain. Even with a mistake on the restart, McAdoo held strong in the third spot.
Pre-race favorites Tom Vialle, RJ Hampshire, and Austin Forkner all suffered their share of struggles in the main event. Vialle took fifth while Forkner and Hampshire crossed 17th and 18th respectively.
250SX East Main Event Results (Top 10)
| 1. | Max Anstie | (Yam) | 16 Laps |
| 2. | Daxton Bennick | (Yam) | 3.326 |
| 3. | Cameron McAdoo | (Kaw) | 6.430 |
| 4. | Seth Hammaker | (Kaw) | 8.470 |
| 5. | Tom Vialle | (KTM) | 11.058 |
| 6. | Chance Hymas | (Hon) | 12.225 |
| 7. | Cullin Park | (Hon) | 17.950 |
| 8. | Nate Thrasher | (Yam) | 19.716 |
| 9. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 21.332 |
| 10. | Carson Mumford | (Hon) | 28.639 |
QUALIFYING #2
450SX
Big news from the second 450 timed qualifying session as Eli Tomac pulled off early with what looked to be a knee or ankle injury. He dabbed his foot and immediately pulled off in noticeable pain. Yamaha announced an update saying “Tomac is okay and will race tonight at Tampa Supercross.”
Chase Sexton jumped to the top of the time sheets with the fastest time of the day (54.1). Cooper Webb was a close second with Malcolm Stewart in third. Hunter Lawrence and Justin Cooper rounded out the top five while also being in the 54-second range.
450SX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. | Chase Sexton | (KTM) | 54.179 |
| 2. | Cooper Webb | (Yam) | 54.543 |
| 3. | Malcolm Stewart | (Hus) | 54.751 |
| 4. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 54.772 |
| 5. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 54.895 |
| 6. | Jason Anderson | (Kaw) | 55.078 |
| 7. | Joey Savatgy | (Hon) | 55.234 |
| 8. | Eli Tomac | (Yam) | 55.266 |
| 9. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | 55.432 |
| 10. | Justin Barcia | (GG) | 55.554 |
250SX EAST
After running up front in the first session, Max Anstie came out swinging in Q2 with the fastest 250 time, one of only two riders in the 54-second range. RJ Hampshire, last year’s 250 West champ, grabbed second, just one tenth back from Anstie. Seth Hammaker, fastest from Q1, was third overall.
250SX East Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. | Max Anstie | (Yam) | 54.827 |
| 2. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 54.978 |
| 3. | Seth Hammaker | (Kaw) | 55.735 |
| 4. | Nate Thrasher | (Yam) | 55.779 |
| 5. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 56.025 |
| 6. | Daxton Bennick | (Yam) | 56.321 |
| 7. | Pierce Brown | (Yam) | 56.394 |
| 8. | Max Vohland | (Yam) | 56.651 |
| 9. | Cullin Park | (Hon) | 56.705 |
| 10. | Tom Vialle | (KTM) | 56.812 |
QUALIFYING #1
450SX
Eli Tomac set the pace to start the day’s first qualifier with a lap three-tenths faster than Yamaha teammate, Cooper Webb. Malcolm Stewart looked good for third with Chase Sexton and Jason Anderson rounding out the top five.
450SX Qualifying #1 (Top 10)
| 1. | Eli Tomac | (Yam) | 55.266 |
| 2. | Cooper Webb | (Yam) | 55.519 |
| 3. | Malcolm Stewart | (Hus) | 56.098 |
| 4. | Chase Sexton | (KTM) | 56.344 |
| 5. | Jason Anderson | (Kaw) | 56.466 |
| 6. | Joey Savatgy | (Hon) | 56.593 |
| 7. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 56.732 |
| 8. | Justin Barcia | (GG) | 57.071 |
| 9. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | 57.074 |
| 10. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 57.253 |
250SX EAST
A new face of 250 riders took to the track for Q1. Both 250 Supercross champions, Tom Vialle and RJ Hampshire, are lined up and looking to repeat success from 2024. Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker jumped to the top of the board with the fastest time of the morning. Hammaker’s lap was nearly half a second faster than Max Anstie back in second and Pierce Brown in third. Note that neither Tom Vialle (crash) nor Austin Forkner were in the top 10 to start the day.
250SX East Qualifying #1 (Top 10)
| 1. | Seth Hammaker | (Kaw) | 56.277 |
| 2. | Max Anstie | (Yam) | 56.354 |
| 3. | Pierce Brown | (Yam) | 57.117 |
| 4. | Nate Thrasher | (Yam) | 57.577 |
| 5. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 57.879 |
| 6. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 57.977 |
| 7. | Carson Mumford | (Hon) | 57.987 |
| 8. | Max Vohland | (Yam) | 58.357 |
| 9. | Cullin Park | (Hon) | 58.717 |
| 10. | Cameron McAdoo | (Kaw) | 58.868 |
