Ryan Nitzen | March 9, 2024
Welcome to Birmingham, Alabama for round nine of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. This is the first time the series has ever been to ‘Bama and the track is shaping up nicely after mid-week rains.
After two exciting main events, we saw repeat winners with Jett Lawrence and Tom Vialle taking their respective victories.
The start to the 450SX main event. Photos: Brown Dog Wilson
Main Events
450SX
Jett Lawrence led start to finish and became the first repeat winner of 2024.
Jett Lawrence somehow snuck through the first turn in the lead which spelled trouble for the rest of the 450SX field. Lawrence led wire-to-wire for his fourth win of the year, the only rider this year to win two races in a row. This victory further extends his points lead to 13 over Cooper Webb.
Lawrence led all 23 laps.
Cooper Webb nearly grabbed the holeshot but Lawrence slipped by in the first turn. The Star Racing Yamaha rider stayed just a few seconds behind the leader but never found himself close enough to make a pass. Another podium for Webb keeps him second in the points chase.
Cooper Webb stayed close all night but couldn’t make a pass.
Ken Roczen made his way onto the podium with a third place finish. The Suzuki rider started outside the top five but made up time on both Chase Sexton and Justin Cooper with passes late in the race. Roczen looked good in the soft, technical conditions to log another podium finish.
Ken Roczen made his way to third.
450 Podium.
450SX Overall Results (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
23 Laps |
| 2. |
Cooper Webb |
(Yam) |
+2.445 |
| 3. |
Ken Roczen |
(Suz) |
+14.474 |
| 4. |
Chase Sexton |
(KTM) |
+18.153 |
| 5. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
+20.588 |
| 6. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
+25.825 |
| 7. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
+28.245 |
| 8. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(KTM) |
+30.737 |
| 9. |
Justin Barcia |
(GG) |
+30.737 |
| 10. |
Malcolm Stewart |
(Hus) |
+43.308 |
250SX East
Jeremy Martin may be credited with the holeshot but it was last week’s winner, Tom Vialle who overtook the lead early on lap one. The French rider rode to his second win in as many weeks with a wire-to-wire victory. With back-to-back wins Vialle now overtakes the points lead by just one point over Cameron Mcadoo.
Tom Vialle won his second main event in as many weeks.
Cameron Mcadoo finished second for the third weekend in a row. The Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider started up front behind Vialle but didn’t seem to have the pace to run with the leader. As the race wore on, Mcadoo battled with teammate Seth Hammaker but held the spot through to the checkers.
Cameron Mcadoo scored another second place finish.
Hammaker had a wild night with a big heat race crash and a win in the LCQ. Even with a bad gate pick, the Kawasaki rider worked his way up to third and battled for second near the end of the race.
Seth Hammaker finished a wild night with a third in the main.
Max Anstie held the points lead going into the race but suffered a mechanical failure during the 250SX main event. This drops him to eighth in the overall points. Haiden Deegan was also penalized after the race for cutting the track and credited with ninth. He also received a monetary fine for violating the AMA code of conduct during the heat race.
250SX Podium.
250SX Overall Results (Top 10)
| 1. |
Tom Vialle |
(KTM) |
17 Laps |
| 2. |
Cameron Mcadoo |
(Kaw) |
+02.731 |
| 3. |
Seth Hammaker |
(Kaw) |
+03.806 |
| 4. |
Pierce Brown |
(GG) |
+11.091 |
| 5. |
Jeremy Martin |
(Yam) |
+19.339 |
| 6. |
Jalek Swoll |
(Tri) |
+20.104 |
| 7. |
Daxton Bennick |
(Yam) |
+29.047 |
| 8. |
Coty Schock |
(Yam) |
+39.602 |
| 9. |
Haiden Deegan |
(Yam) |
+39.602 |
| 10. |
Chance Hymas |
(Hon) |
+44.055 |
Qualifying
450SX
Points leader Jett Lawrence took the top time in today’s qualifying. Times got increasingly faster as the track dried out and Lawrence found himself with the best time of the day after tangling with Jason Anderson early on. Chase Sexton was two tenths back in second with Eli Tomac in third.
Jett Lawrence topped the 450 qualifiers. Photos: Brown Dog Wilson
In other 450SX news, Hunter Lawrence, Christian Craig, and Dean Wilson are all out due to injury.
450SX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
52.777 |
| 2. |
Chase Sexton |
(KTM) |
52.928 |
| 3. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
52.991 |
| 4. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
53.487 |
| 5. |
Cooper Webb |
(Yam) |
53.648 |
| 6. |
Malcolm Stewart |
(Hus) |
53.826 |
| 7. |
Ken Roczen |
(Suz) |
54.029 |
| 8. |
Justin Barcia |
(GG) |
54.057 |
| 9. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(KTM) |
54.130 |
| 10. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
54.165 |
250SX EAST
Max Anstie is looking to hold his red plate for another week as he set the best time of the 250SX East Coast racers. Seth Hammaker was second, just two thousandths slower than Anstie. Last week’s winner, Tom Vialle rounded out the top three.
Max Anstie was the fastest in 250SX.
250SX East Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Max Anstie |
(Hon) |
54.172 |
| 2. |
Seth Hammaker |
(Kaw) |
54.174 |
| 3. |
Tom Vialle |
(KTM) |
54.304 |
| 4. |
Cameron Mcadoo |
(Kaw) |
54.507 |
| 5. |
Pierce Brown |
(GG) |
54.519 |
| 6. |
Daxton Bennick |
(Yam) |
54.775 |
| 7. |
Jeremy Martin |
(Yam) |
55.036 |
| 8. |
Nicholas Romano |
(Yam) |
55.349 |
| 9. |
Chance Hymas |
(Hon) |
55.677 |
| 10. |
Haiden Deegan |
(Yam) |
55.766 |
