Ryan Nitzen | January 6, 2024
Its go time! Welcome to Anaheim One, the kickoff round of the 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series. We’re live from Angels Stadium to bring you the action from A1. Be sure to scroll all the way through this thread to see racing and qualifying coverage.
Let’s go racing! Photos: Brown Dog Wilson
Main Event
450SX
The 450 main event saw Jett Lawrence pick up right where he left off at the SMX finale a few months ago. The 450SX rookie took off with the holeshot and worked to put a gap between himself and the second place battle. In the end, he led every lap of the main event and will take the red (and neon) plate into round two.
Lawrence led early on with Anderson and Webb right behind.
Lawrence took the win in convincing fashion.
Jason Anderson stayed close for second through the whole main event. He kept Cooper Webb at bay for the entire race and the two only swapped spots on one lap. On the same lap, Webb hit the dirt which secured the second spot for Anderson. This matches his best finish of 2023 and is a strong start to the season.
Jason Anderson held off a charging Cooper Webb to take second.
Chase Sexton grabbed third after Webb crashed out of the podium spot. He stayed close at the start of the main but faded back as the laps wore on. On paper though, a thirds a third and Sexton can log that in for his first ride on the KTM team.
Sexton took third in his first race on the KTM.
Webb ran a close third for most of the race before this crash took him out.
Plessinger worked his way through the field for fifth.
450 Podium.
450SX Main Event (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
20 Laps |
| 2. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
+7.188 |
| 3. |
Chase Sexton |
(KTM) |
+13.815 |
| 4. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(KTM) |
+20.484 |
| 5. |
Dylan Ferrandis |
(Hon) |
+23.758 |
| 6. |
Cooper Webb |
(Yam) |
+33.739 |
| 7. |
Justin Barcia |
(GG) |
+35.798 |
| 8. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
+47.887 |
| 9. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
+54.299 |
| 10. |
Ken Roczen |
(Suz) |
+1:05.406 |
250SX West
The Supercross rookie, Julien Beaumer, kicked off the 250 main with a holeshot. He was quickly overtaken by Levi Kitchen but stayed close in second. Beaumer rode strong in a podium position but later dropped to sixth.
RJ Hampshire claimed the A1 win.
Behind them, the man on the move was RJ Hampshire. The 250 veteran showed some serious whoop speed and used the same pass in two different occasions to move from third to first. Once Hampshire got to the lead, he never looked back and went on to take the opening win by more than three seconds.
Jordon Smith held strong for second.
Jordon Smith used his veteran experience to grab second. The Star Racing Yamaha rider found himself in a tight battle for most of the 250 main event but fended off attacks from the other podium contenders. Smith is definitely in the title talks after a strong podium at the opening round.
Levi Kitchen led early on but finished third.
Levi Kitchen held on for third place. He led early on but got tight midway through the race and fell back as far as fifth at one point. With mistakes from other riders, combined with a sneaky pass just ahead of the red cross flag, Kitchen worked his way back into podium contention.
250 Podium.
Jo Shimoda charged through the field and made a last lap pass on Max Vohland to take fourth place. Vohland rounded out the top five in his debut ride with Pro Circuit Kawasaki.
250SX West Main Event (Top 10)
| 1. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
15 Laps |
| 2. |
Jordon Smith |
(Yam) |
+03.138 |
| 3. |
Levi Kitchen |
(Kaw) |
+05.004 |
| 4. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Hon) |
+05.241 |
| 5. |
Max Vohland |
(Kaw) |
+08.442 |
| 6. |
Julien Beaumer |
(KTM) |
+20.232 |
| 7. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Yam) |
+22.651 |
| 8. |
Mitchell Oldenburg |
(Hon) |
+41.915 |
| 9. |
Ryder Difrancesco |
(GG) |
+44.853 |
| 10. |
Carson Mumford |
(Hon) |
+49.650 |
Qualifying
450SX
The track looks good to go despite some SoCal rain earlier in the week. Lap times are running in the one-minute range with a few big rhythms and an oversized finish line jump.
Jett Lawrence set the time to beat. Photo: BDW
Jett Lawrence set the time to beat with a 1:00.6, and showed that he means business in his debut 450SX season. His time in the free practice actually hit a sub-one-minute but won’t count towards qualifying. He’s on pole just a tenth ahead of defending champ, Chase Sexton, and Cooper Webb. Tomac is back in sixth.
Sexton clocked second behind Jett.
Webb rounded out the qualifying podium.
Roczen’s time put him fourth on the board.
450SX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
1:00.686 |
| 2. |
Chase Sexton |
(KTM) |
1:00.729 |
| 3. |
Cooper Webb |
(Yam) |
1:00.748 |
| 4. |
Ken Roczen |
(Suz) |
1:01.040 |
| 5. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
1:01.202 |
| 6. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
1:01.502 |
| 7. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
1:01.709 |
| 8. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
1:01.989 |
| 9. |
Jorge Prado |
(GG) |
1:02.230 |
| 10. |
Malcolm Stewart |
(Hus) |
1:02.268 |
250SX West
The West Coast half of the 250SX riders hit the track for qualifying with Levi Kitchen setting the pace and topping the charts in his first appearnce with the Pro Circuit Kawasaki Team. RJ Hmpshire was second, just 0.3 seconds back. Supercross rookie, Julien Beaumer qualified third out of the B practice and just edged Jo Shimoda for the final “podium” spot.
Hampshire was second behind Kitchen.
250SX West Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Levi Kitchen |
(Kaw) |
1:01.398 |
| 2. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
1:01.607 |
| 3. |
Julien Beaumer |
(KTM) |
1:01.911 |
| 4. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Hon) |
1:01.933 |
| 5. |
Max Vohland |
(Kaw) |
1:02.050 |
| 6. |
Nate Thrasher |
(Yam) |
1:02.079 |
| 7. |
Mitchell Oldenburg |
(Hon) |
1:02.143 |
| 8. |
Jordon Smith |
(Yam) |
1:02.204 |
| 9. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Yam) |
1:02.678 |
| 10. |
Carson Mumford |
(Hon) |
1:03.489 |
Press Day
Feels like any of these riders has a chance at a win this year. Photos: Ryan Nitzen
Who you picking?
