Ryan Nitzen | January 28, 2023
We’re back inside the Big A for round three (scheduled round four) of the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series. Anaheim 2 marks the first triple crown race of the season, which means both classes will race three mains during the night show. There’s a lot to follow as this is also the first round of Supercross Futures for 2023.
At the end of three main events each, fans saw Chase Sexton and Levi Kitchen stand atop the A2 podium.
Main Event
450SX Main Event 1
The first 450 main started with Chase Sexton grabbing the holeshot and the early lead. This is where he stayed for the entire race as he led every lap of the 12-minutes plus one lap. Sexton also set the fastest lap of the race.
Ken Roczen started and stayed in second for the duration of main one. He held tough against the charging Eli Tomac but just didn’t have enough to close the gap to Sexton. He’s off to a strong start tonight.
Eli Tomac didn’t get the best start, but it’s Eli Tomac so you know that doesn’t matter. He worked his way through the pack and got around Adam Cianciarulo in the whoops to secure third. Tomac charged through the mid-point of the race but settled for the final podium spot.
Some drama off the podium as Jason Anderson and Cooper Webb connected on the final lap. This put Webb on the ground as Anderson finished fifth and Webb in seventh.
Sexton struck first with the opening win. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Main Event 2
This time around Jason Anderson got the start he’s been looking for. He rode a mistake-free race despite the chaos going on behind him. This is the first time Anderson’s stood on top of the box and keeps him in good contention for the nights’s overall.
Eli Tomac kept it consistent with a second place in race two. He fought hard with Ken Roczen and the two put a series of block passes on eachother. Tomac made the pass stick as he continued to hunt Jason Anderson. His 3-2 finishes have him up front for the win with one main to go.
Ken Roczen held second for most of the race as he duked it out with Eli Tomac. A small bobble just before the finish allowed Tomac to seal the deal and left Roczen with third. Cooper Webb stayed close and pressured Roczen at the end but couldn’t get the pass done.
Race one winner, Chase Sexton, finished fifth.
Jason Anderson took a race win in the second main. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Main Event 3
Chase Sexton bounced back with a dominant ride in race three. He got off to a strong start behind Jason Anderson and made the pass stick on lap five. From there it was smooth sailing as Sexton held off a charging Cooper Webb. Sexton’s 1-5-1 finishes gave him the overall win for the night.
Cooper Webb was the man on a mission in race two. He started up front and battled for third with the number-one of Eli Tomac before Tomac eventually crashed out of podium contention. Webb stalked and eventually passed Anderson for the second spot and finished just over a second back from Sexton at the line. Webb grabbed fourth in the overall rankings.
Jason Anderson looked strong again in race three as he took off with the early lead. He led for four laps before mistakes gave the top spot over to Sexton. The 21 slipped back to third in race three, but 5-1-3 finishes still gave him an overall podium for the night. This is the first time Anderson’s been on the box in 2023.
Ken Roczen charged for the entire final race and passed Dylan Ferrandis with just a few laps left. His fourth in race three gave him third overall, his first podium this season.
We can’t talk about race three without mentioning Eli Tomac’s wild crash. He was in contention for the overall but drifted left in the big rhythm section and crashed on a tough block. Tomac did remount but finished a distant 13th.
Sexton topped the final main and took the overall. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
450SX Overall Results (Top 10)
| 1. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
1-5-1 |
| 2. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
5-1-3 |
| 3. |
Ken Roczen |
(Suz) |
2-3-4 |
| 4. |
Cooper Webb |
(KTM) |
7-4-2 |
| 5. |
Dylan Ferrandis |
(Yam) |
4-6-5 |
| 6. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
3-2-13 |
| 7. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(KTM) |
8-7-7 |
| 8. |
Justin Barcia |
(GG) |
11-8-6 |
| 9. |
Adam Cianciarulo |
(Kaw) |
6-11-8 |
| 10. |
Joey Savatgy |
(Kaw) |
10-9-9 |
250SX
Main Event 1
The first race of the night saw RJ Hampshire take off to an early lead. The Husqvarna rider has been knocking on the door for a win as of late and finally checked his first W of the season off the list. He led every lap of the race to win main one.
Pierce Brown put in a great ride in the first main. He battled hard and found his way into second near the half-way point of the race. Brown held off Lawrence in a last lap effort to keep the second spot on the box.
Jett Lawrence finished an eventful third. He started third but quickly got second after passing Levi Kitchen in the whoops. Jett had a slight mishap and fell a few laps later which dropped him to eighth in the running. He put on crazy charge to go from eighth back to third in the shortened 10-minutes-plus-one-lap race.
RJ Hampshire grabbed his first win of the year in race one. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Main Event 2
The second 250 main event was anything but predictable. Cameron Mcadoo grabbed the early lead but quickly gave it up to Phil Nicoletti. Filthy Phil avoided the carnage and took over for most of the race was eventually overtaken by the two Star Racing team mates. Nicoletti held on for third at the checkers.
Levi Kitchen rode an almost quiet race to finish second. He followed his team mate Robertson past Nicoletti to lock in the second spot. With so much going on behind the lead group, the MO for the night was keeping it smooth.
Stilez Robertson took the first race win of his career during main two. He stalked Phil Nicoletti for the early half of the race and put down a clean pass just before the finish. Robertson rode smart for the remaining laps and held on for his first career race win.
Jett Lawrence suffered a slew of mistakes in race two. A bad start and a fall shortly after in turn three put him way back. He fought hard for the rest of the 10 minute race and passed multiple riders as most of the field dropped with mistakes. Despite a run in with Cameron Mcadoo on the final lap, Jett locked in sixth at the line.
Stilez Robertson topped the field in race two. Photo: Kit Palmer
Main Event 3
Jett Lawrence rebounded well for the final race of the night. A big holeshot and a few sprint laps off the start allowed him to check out from second and third. Jett had some pressure early on from Levi Kitchen but eventually cruised to victory by over 12 seconds. 3-6-1 finishes gave Jett second overall on the night.
Levi Kitchen jumped into second right off the start and stayed close to Jett Lawrence for the first few laps. Near the halfway point, he seemed to feel some security and put it on cruise control for a strong second place result. His consistent 4-2-2 earned Kitchen the overall, his first win of his young career.
Stilez Robertson put it on the box again in main number three. He started up front and within podium reach and held tough as Kitchen and Lawrence put in their sprint laps. Robertson used his consistent 6-1-3 finishes to grab the final podium position.
Jett won race three, but Kitchen kept it consistent for the overall. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
250SX West Final Results (Top 10)
| 1. |
Levi Kitchen |
(Yam) |
4-2-2 |
| 2. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
3-6-1 |
| 3. |
Stilez Robertson |
(Yam) |
6-1-3 |
| 4. |
Mitchell Oldenburg |
(Hon) |
5-4-6 |
| 5. |
Max Vohland |
(KTM) |
7-8-4 |
| 6. |
Cameron Mcadoo |
(Kaw) |
8-7-5 |
| 7. |
Derek Kelley |
(KTM) |
10-5-7 |
| 8. |
Pierce Brown |
(GG) |
2-13-8 |
| 9. |
Phillip Nicoletti |
(Yam) |
12-3-19 |
| 10. |
Dylan Walsh |
(Kaw) |
14-11-10 |
Qualifying
450SX
Since tonight’s a triple crown format, only the top 18 riders make it directly from practice to the night show. Chase Sexton set the time to beat with a 57.5. He bested Anderson and Roczen who were second and third respectively and only separated by one tenth.
Chase Sexton grabbed the top spot in qualifying. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Anderson put in a fast time to grab second. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Roczen looked fast in third. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
450SX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
57.564 |
| 2. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
58.283 |
| 3. |
Ken Roczen |
(Suz) |
58.371 |
| 4. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
58.529 |
| 5. |
Cooper Webb |
(KTM) |
58.810 |
| 6. |
Dylan Ferrandis |
(Yam) |
58.933 |
| 7. |
Justin Barcia |
(GG) |
59.175 |
| 8. |
Adam Cianciarulo |
(Kaw) |
59.295 |
| 9. |
Christian Craig |
(Hus) |
59.347 |
| 10. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(KTM) |
59.583 |
250SX
Jett Lawrence again clocked the fastest time in the 250SX class. His 57.9 was almost a full second faster than Hampshire in second and would’ve put him second overall in the 450 class. Big news however came as Cameron Mcadoo crashed hard in Q1 and was carted off the track. He did ride in Q2 but no final word yet if he will race tonight.
Jett Lawrence was the fastest 250 rider by nearly a second. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Hampshire is a strong second, but almost a second behind Jett. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Enzo Lopes is knocking on the door for a podium. He clocked third. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
250SX West Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
57.998 |
| 2. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
58.784 |
| 3. |
Enzo Lopes |
(Yam) |
58.842 |
| 4. |
Pierce Brown |
(GG) |
59.064 |
| 5. |
Levi Kitchen |
(Yam) |
59.183 |
| 6. |
Stilez Robertson |
(Yam) |
59.663 |
| 7. |
Cameron Mcadoo |
(Kaw) |
59.708 |
| 8. |
Mitchell Oldenburg |
(Hon) |
59.884 |
| 9. |
Max Vohland |
(KTM) |
1:00.186 |
| 10. |
Derek Kelley |
(KTM) |
1:00.206 |
Pics From The Pits
Seeing double. Since tonight’s a triple crown, riders are allowed to have a second bike at the ready. Photos: Ryan Nitzen
Another look at the new Yamaha graphics.
Dylan Ferrandis is rocking some new Thor threads.
Tonight is Haiden Deegan’s first Supercross Futures. Depending how he does tonight, we hear he might race next week’s east coast opener. Also, how good is the all-blue Yamaha
Daxton Bennick is Star Racing Yamaha’s other rider in the Futures class.
Chad Reed was in the Star pits keeping an eye on Dax Bennick.
Honda is taking advantage of the two bike rule and they’re running white bikes tonight.
Which is a nod to Honda’s limited edition color CRF mini bikes. This is the CRF50.
Nichols and Sexton’s bikes have the white and teal.
Here’s the look on the CRF110.
Johnny Omara is a close advisor for the Lawrence camp.
Alpinestars is known for collaborations outside the industry. This week they’ve teamed up with fashion brand Anti Social Social Club. You’ll see Jett in three different one off kits tonight.
Jett’s custom Tech 10’s.
Full house under the Kawasaki tent.
We don’t often see the Airoh helmets up close. Here’s Anderson’s lid.
Adam Cianciarulo is wearing some new Fox gear.
Mcadoo took a big hit in the whoops during the timed qualifying session. He rode in the Medical Mule back to the Alpinestars unit to get checked out but looked to be nursing that left shoulder.
Mcadoo’s bike with visible damage.
Vet MX and Custom Upfits teamed up to build this sidecar which they’ll use to give disabled veterans some true “throttle therapy”.
The Club MX Yamaha’s have some cool parts like that carbon fiber air intake.
Phil Nicoletti runs his seat bump waaayyy back there.
No Malcolm Stewart tonight as a mid-week crash put him out for A2. No word on when he’ll be back.
Rockstar Husqvarna is fielding two riders in the Supercross Futures race tonight. #66 is Casey Cochran and 339 is Talon Hawkins.
Christian Craig is rocking this Fox gear for a new Rockstar flavor.
Another look at Craig’s kit.
Here’s the matching can.
Colby Raha’s X Games bike on display in the Husky tent. Check out all the gold accents.
No Marvin Musquin again tonight as he’s still fighting a wrist injury.
Lots of grip on Max Vohland’s KTM. Look for him to rebound after last week’s issues.
The TLD camp put the new Polaris RZR on display in their limited color option.
You might know SLR Honda for their Baja efforts but they’ve recently expanded to house the Honda amateur program. Parker Ross #12 and Jax Pascal #74 are their riders in tonight’s Futures race.
Ryno sighting in the SLR pits.
Hitch Hotel is a new sponsor for the Moto Concepts team. Its an expanding trailer with an optional bike rack on the front.
Black wheels or gold?
410 on a Suzuki? That’s Brandon Scharer filling in for Derek Drake on the BarX Suzuki team.
Chrome graphics on Dean Wilson’s Honda.
Classic.
Think they get Red Bull TV?
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