3 Different Winners In 450SX

On Saturday, Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton earned his maiden 450SX main event win. With Ken Roczen winning the opening round, Jason Anderson winning the second round, and Sexton winning round three, this marks the fifth-straight season to begin with three different 450SX winners: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. The last season there was a repeat winner before round three was in 2017 when Roczen won the first two rounds before his arm injury.

2022—three different winners in first three rounds

Round 1 winner: Ken Roczen
Round 2 winner: Jason Anderson
Round 3 winner: Chase Sexton

2021—three different winners in first three rounds

Round 1 winner: Justin Barcia
Round 2 winner: Eli Tomac
Round 3 winner: Cooper Webb

2020—three different winners in first three rounds

Round 1 winner: Justin Barcia
Round 2 winner: Ken Roczen
Round 3 winner: Eli Tomac

2019—three different winners in first three rounds

Round 1 winner: Justin Barcia
Round 2 winner: Blake Baggett
Round 3 winner: Cooper Webb

2018—three different winners in first three rounds

Round 1 winner: Marvin Musquin
Round 2 winner: Jason Anderson
Round 3 winner: Eli Tomac

2017—two different winners in first three rounds

Round 1 winner: Ken Roczen
Round 2 winner: Ken Roczen
Round 3 winner: Ryan Dungey

The Closest Supercross Season Ever Through Three Rounds

Stat of the Week: Two First-Timers with One Stone

Michael Mosiman won his maiden 250SX main event when he held off Hunter Lawrence. Mosiman became the 118th main event winner in the history of the 125/25SX class. Mosiman’s win came in his 35th career main event start.

With Mosiman and Sexton both earning their maiden main event wins in their respective classes, Saturday was the first time since the 2015 Phoenix Supercross on January 10, 2015, that we had two first-time winners on the same night.

When was the last time two first-time winners won in the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship? Not too long ago, and ironically, it was Sexton’s first 450 Class overall win.

Rider Vlogs

Christian Craig

Justin Barcia

Dean Wilson (pre-San Diego training)

Alex Martin

Wageman Bros Robbie & RJ

Joan Cros

Revo Kawasaki Coming Tt America EP7 - FT Dylan Walsh

Oakland SX into San Diego 2022 - Dirt Wurx Alex

Quote from the Paddock

450SX Class

Chase Sexton | 1st in 450SX

“Tonight couldn't have been much better. Obviously winning the heat race would’ve been nice, but tonight was a dream come true. I finally got a solid 20-minute moto in me on race day. I had a good start and just kind of clicked off my laps. I'm excited and it's hard to put into words, but I want to do it again; it's addicting. I've been in those positions so many times late in races that I've kind of gotten used to it; I hadn't won a race, but I've gotten used to having a lead near the end. Tonight I finally got it to close and I wouldn't say it was harder than I thought, but it obviously wasn't easy. I felt really good with the track tonight. It was easy to make mistakes, but I'm just stoked with the testing we did this week; it all paid off. I did have one little bobble at the end of the whoops; I slid a little bit but it wasn't anything to increase my heart rate. I was just trying to nail the whoops every lap. That really was the main part tonight and just being consistent. We did a good job and I'm excited to go back to work."

Eli Tomac | 2nd in 450SX

“It was a solid night. We have been improving every weekend, and we put ourselves in the game tonight with that start. It’s so nice when your work during the week pays off. I executed a good start in the main and was riding well; I was just consistent tonight and felt solid everywhere. It’s really cool how we’ve been improving every week, and now we’re on the podium and leave with the red plate. We are going to keep improving, keep getting better, and with a little bit of fine-tuning, we’ll be there. Consistency is going to be key this season, and we’re going to try and keep it going.”

Dylan Ferrandis | 3rd in 450SX

“To finish on the box is great, so it was a good night for sure. We had some ups and downs, though. The practice was really good. I felt great on the bike and almost had the fastest lap, but in the heat race I got a bad start and didn’t finish up front, so I had a bad gate pick for the main event. I still managed to get a decent start, which was a lot of help, then I just charged my best to the front. I’m happy to get my first podium of the season, and to be on the box with my teammate is really cool. I think all the work that we did with the team and on the bike is paying off. We know what we need to work on, and if we can improve a little bit where our weaknesses are, I think we have a shot at the win at the next race.”

Said Monster Energy/Star Yamaha Racing 450 team manager Jeremy Coker:

“What a night! My guys executed their starts, and it paid off. The team has worked very hard, so it’s great to see that all the work paid off. A double podium in the 450 class is hard to come by. We will keep our heads down and work even harder and will come out swinging next week to try and take the top spot.”

Cooper Webb | 4th in 450SX

"It was a struggle today, to say the least. Practice didn't go great and we fought hard in that Main Event giving it everything we had. We're only one point out so I can't complain about that, but we'll get to work this week. I wasn't feeling great last week and I didn't perform very well. We've got some work to do on the motorcycle and myself, so we'll fight until the very end.”

Malcolm Stewart | 5th in 450SX

"The night was great! Another P5 and moving in the right direction. We had a nice little battle going – I think it was Ferrandis, Cooper and myself. The box is right there – a little bit better of a start and we would've been in there but we're moving in the right direction and I'm really stoked on the way I've been riding. I can't thank the whole team enough, everyone's been putting the effort in. It's all about being consistent and just learning each and every race.”

Aaron Plessinger | 6th in 450SX

“It was kind of a tough day – I just couldn't really get into a flow on the track. I had an outside gate pick in the main and I made the best of it. I came around maybe 10th or so, and just kind of clicked off lap after lap and then I passed some people and worked my way up to sixth. As bad as I thought it was, sixth is still a pretty good result for points, so we’ll go back this week and do our homework and come out swinging at A2."

Ken Roczen | 7th in 450SX

“My day was rough; the track was different. We've been on super-soft dirt, and then we come here and it's gravelly and hard-packed. I was kind of chasing my bike setting, so we tried a bunch of stuff that I had previously tried; every practice, I was riding something different. We made the right choice for the main event, and I felt good on the bike. I was able to charge forward and everything was running smoothly until [Jason] Anderson took me down. I had no idea he was even there, but that was probably my worst run through the whoops. I got sideways and went wide, and he just didn't turn and just took my front wheel. My grip was all peeled off. Afterwards I couldn't get that flow back anymore and kind of just hung around in seventh the whole time. It is what it is. Back in the day with those results, I would’ve been 30 points behind, but I'm seven points behind right now. It's crazy – exciting even for a racer; there's still a lot that could happen."

Said Honda HRC team manager Lars Lindstrom:

“What a night! After the rough time we had last week, we were looking to redeem ourselves, and we worked hard all week to do that. Confidence can go up or down so quickly; we were knocked down a peg, so we needed to have a night like this to get us back. I have to say that Hunter is becoming an incredible supercross racer. Rising to the level it takes to beat the best guys in his class isn’t easy, but he’s been able to get there quickly; I’m super impressed and proud of him. That was his race to win, and I know he learned a few things tonight. Our starts in the 450 race were really good, and the competition is so strong at the moment that it really helps to start up there. Unfortunately, Kenny tangled with Jason [Anderson] there while running near the front. Still, he made improvements with the bike this week, and I think he’ll work on a few things to get back up on the podium. Chase rode absolutely awesome! He did what we’ve seen him do all off-season – ride with incredible speed and strength; it looked like a practice day for him. It was so exciting to be there for his first ever 450SX win; it’s been a long time coming, and I think with the monkey off his back, he could do some serious damage to the rest of the field. It was also his mechanic Brandon Zimmerman’s first 450 win and his first win with Chase, so that was special as well.”

Jason Anderson | 8th in 450SX

“Man, I was feeling really good on my KX450SR out there today. I really think I had the speed to battle for the lead, but these things happen. The track was tricky tonight, lots of tight corners and a long whoop section that caused a lot of problems, but I think these difficult types of tracks kind of fit my style and I’m happy I got a chance to showcase that tonight. There are still some small things I want to clean up before next weekend, so it’s back to work on Monday.”

Justin Barcia | 9th in 450SX

“San Diego is a wrap and honestly, for a bad day, it was a good day. I got an average start in the main but I was riding good and then I ended up having a crash. I had to re-group and put a charge all the way back up to eighth. Ninth definitely wasn’t where I wanted to finish but I salvaged it. I felt like I rode really well, just came up a bit short of where I wanted to be. All-in-all, I’m looking forward to getting back to Anaheim, a place that treats me well, and I’m ready to get back on the podium!”

Marvin Musquin | 10th in 450SX

“We got better throughout the day, which was good, and I put myself into a good position for the heat race. I had a good ride in the heat race, I charged up to Cooper and got close to him for second. In the main, I had a great gate pick and I pulled the holeshot, which was amazing. I got passed by Chase [Sexton] and lost rhythm and everybody behind started passing me to the inside, that was a unique track with those 90 degrees turns. After that, I started racing backwards and thinking behind instead of forward and unfortunately it killed me.”

Justin Brayton | 11th in 450SX

The whole day was good. I qualified in eighth place, my Heat Race was solid, and things were going good in the Main Event. I was right behind that lead group when I had a weird crash. My front wheel tucked and then caught, which sent me over the bars. I dropped to 14th place but came back to 11th. What can you do? Overall, it was a solid day from top to bottom, I just have to stay off the ground.”

Dean Wilson | 14th in 450SX

"On paper my night doesn't look very good but I actually felt good with my riding. I actually got a pretty good start in the main but my clutch broke on the first lap and I stalled it. It took a minute to get the bike going and I was kind of riding without a clutch for the whole race. A little bit frustrating because I felt really good physically and I felt like I could have done the whole Main Event at a good pace but it is what it is and we'll come back next weekend."

Brandon Hartranft | 15th in 450SX

"The whoops were gnarly and I was hitting them great all day. There were a lot of positives today and working hard during the week is showing race results. I still have a lot more in me and I'm ready to show it next weekend."

Said Twisted Tea/HEP Motorsports Suzuki team manager Dustin Pipes:

"Brandon continues to progress. I’m eager to see where this leads as the series continues. Justin put himself in a position to succeed all night and it was unfortunate that a couple racing incidents hampered his results. The progression is there and the team has been working well together. I’m eager to see where we net out in the coming weeks."

Mitchell Oldenburg | 16th in 450SX

“I haven’t done anything but 15 laps of riding on Wednesday, but even those were challenging. I gave it my best, but it was frustrating because it was one of those days when you need to push the extra little bit and can’t. It was all my body was willing to give. We’ll get back to work this week with the program, and because the East Coast is the focus, it’s good to get out of here safe.”

Justin Bogle | DQ’ed following penalty

"I got a pretty nice start in the main. I wasn’t really riding my best, but I was still up there. Then I got cleaned out hard. It took me a while to get up and get going. It's not the season I was hoping, but I'll just keep on keeping on.”

Adam Enticknap | DNQ for main event

"The suspension and the chassis were working really good here in San Diego." Enticknap described the racing, "In the LCQ I wheelied on the start. Then in the third corner I connected with another guy, and he stood me up and a few more riders got by me. I rode the best I could, but just couldn’t make it happen here in San Diego. I'm looking forward to Anaheim 2, that's definitely my home race so I'm excited for that weekend."

Adam Cianciarulo | Injured, DNQ for main event

“Obviously not how I wanted my weekend to go but I’m trying to remain positive. I was feeling good early in the day and even set the fastest lap in qualifying for a moment. However, my start in the heat set me back in the pack and put me in some very close battles which forced a lot of strain on my body so I went back to the truck to talk to the team. We’re still focusing long term and collectively decided it was best to take more time to heal.” 

250SX Class

Michael Mosiman | 1st in 250SX

“It’s a huge blessing to get the win and even what that means for the points now. It feels awesome to re-pay all the good people who have believed in me for so long – and to prove them right – feels really good. It’s been a long time coming and it’s a long journey, I’m just stoked to be able to pull it off. I can’t thank my team enough!”

Hunter Lawrence | 2nd in 250SX

“San Diego was cool and another good night with a really good race on our hands. I was really happy with how everything was going and then unfortunately it got tough, trying to navigate with all the lappers. Obviously, they're in their own race and I'm also trying to fight for a win, so it's a tough situation to be in. I probably could have navigated a little better, but all in all we're still happy. We’re fit and strong, and our speed and fitness are great in the mains. I was able to unfortunately crash but pull back four-and-a-half seconds, so that shows I'm in a great place. I’m really looking forward to next weekend. The bike has been great. The team has been really helping me during the day, and we've been working together so well. Everything is coming together.”

Christian Craig | 3rd in 250SX

“It was a crazy night, a crazy ride, for sure. There’s nothing worse than laying on the ground in the first turn. I’m not really sure exactly what happened. I came together with another rider, and I clipped someone’s back tire and went for a ride. After that, I just put my head down and kept reading the board. I saw P5, P4, and then I saw third in sight, and I knew it was possible. So yeah, 22nd to third, I’ll take it. We minimized the damage tonight from a first turn crash, dug deep from Lap 1 to the checkered flag, and got it done. You never want to do it like that. You always want it to be easy like the first two, but that’s not how supercross goes. It’s a crazy sport, and anything can happen, so you’ve just got to try and make the most out of it.”

Said Monster Energy/Star Yamaha Racing 250 team manager Jensen Hendler:

“San Diego was a good night overall. We are happy to get out of here with a third for Christian, and Nate showed podium potential. Christian got caught up in a first turn pile-up in the main but got up and put in some work! He charged up to an impressive third-place finish, and it was just an awesome ride. Nate had a pretty good start and found himself in third pretty early, but a mistake found him off the track and having to fight his way back up to eighth. We’re leaving here happy to have two healthy riders and are focused on a championship season.”

Vince Friese | 4th in 250SX

“Tonight was the night when I really needed a start, and I didn’t get one. That was the only bummer takeaway from the night. I think the guy next to me flinched a little bit, and it threw me off. I was a lap and a half away from a podium. I think it will come. The guys at the front are all so fast, and I wish I could have been in with the lead guys a little longer. I put up my best fight but tried to stay clean, and that was as aggressive as I could be. I saw the clock ticking down and knew it was for a podium, so I couldn’t let it go. Overall, it’s not a bad result. I collected points, I’m healthy, and we’re getting better. I’m still learning this bike, how to race it and everything, but I think that I’ll get up there.”

Jo Shimoda | 5th in 250SX

“Overall, I think today was a good result. We qualified in fifth, finished fourth in the heat race and were trending upwards all day. I think without the first turn crash in the main I could have finished on the podium. My goal is to compete for wins, but we fought hard today and came away with a season-best finish. Thank you to everyone on the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team for the support. I’m going to work on a few things this week and be ready to go for Anaheim 2.”

Carson Mumford | 6th in 250SX

"It was a great night for me getting another holeshot and leading my first ever laps in the main. I got another strong start and was riding well for over half the race. I just made too many mistakes, but still ended up with a new career-best: sixth!"

Jalek Swoll | 7th in 450SX

“I know where I should be, so seventh-place kind of stings but it’s my first week back so I'll take it. I’ll get some laps in this week and work on getting my starts back and I'll honestly be just fine. I feel like I'm in a good spot speed-wise, so I feel really confident going into next week and I know I'm going to turn it up."

Nate Thrasher | 8th in 250SX

“It was a tough night in San Diego. I felt good throughout qualifying, but a few costly mistakes made for a long night! We made some progress on our starts, but I’m not satisfied. I’m going to continue to put in the work to be where I want to be.”

Dilan Schwartz | 17th in 250SX

"The day was going really well. I started riding more like myself and I felt way more comfortable. Unfortunately, in the main I cross jumped and couldn’t get to my brakes and rode into the tough blocks. It was a bummer, but you live and learn, and I will definitely take the positives into next weekend."

Team Solitaire (Wageman and Surratt)

This team is not producing PRs but did throw out this tweet to list the finishes of team riders (14th for Robbie Wageman and 15th for Ryan Surratt) and shared the following: SD was ok…fans went off, food was good, and drinks were cold! Would’ve been cool to not get blown up in first corner…but now it’s on to Anaheim to “RUN IT BACK”

We have confirmed with the team to make sure they are indeed going to RUN IT BACK and a source was able to confirm it so, indeed, they will RUN IT BACK this weekend.