Free Practice

The track was drying out quickly by the time the 250A Free Practice sessions hit the track with two sessions going before them. The tops of the jumps were very dry with the transitions remaining damp and mushy in some parts. As such, Jett Lawrence was the first to find a rude awakening as he took a spill after the first rhythm section during his first fast lap. He bounced right back up and continued on though.

Stilez Robertson also went down on a step on step off in one of the long rhythm sections, but he was quick to get back up as well. Cameron McAdoo was fastest early on with a 1:05.630 and was the only rider in the 1:05’s for a little while before his teammate Austin Forkner dipped down to a 1:05.031. Joshua Varize went down in the same rhythm section as Robertson, but he would get back up right away as well.

Forkner would improve his time even more to dip down to a 1:02.749 but RJ Hampshire was in the 1:03’s right behind him. Enzo Lopes surprised with a P3 going 1:04.024.

The 450A Free Practice came up next with Jason Anderson leading the field around. Cooper Webb went to the top in the first roll through of hot laps at a 1:07.291 but the entire field was slowly working on figuring out what lines would work on the track.

Kyle Chisholm became the first one to bite the dirt as he went down at the end of the whoops a few laps in. He would spend a few moments collection himself on a Tuff Block before he would get back up and remount his Suzuki.

Christian Craig went to the top of the board halfway through with a 1:05.071 as he beat out Marvin Musquin by a couple of tenths. Suddenly Eli Tomac shot to the top with a 1:04.050 but Craig was not to be denied as he went down to a 1:03.945. Chase Sexton then put down a 1:03.332 of his own to jump to the top of the board.

Adam Cianciarulo went down at the end of the whoops in the same spot that Chisholm did a few laps prior, but he got back up right away. In the end, Sexton’s 1:03.332 was good enough to remain on top as he took the first shot of 2023.

First Qualifying Sessions

A lot of track work continued to go on between Free Practice and the first round of qualifying for the day which meant the track was a bit more cleaned up by the time 250A got back on the track. Max Vohland went fastest early on with a 1:04.020 but that was off from the top time Free Practice and the times would soon drop quickly.

Soon enough, Jett Lawrence dropped into the 1:02’s with a 1:02.677 but he was quickly pipped by Forkner for top time with a 1:02.603 as the two were separated by less than a tenth of a second. Mitchell Oldenburg had a fall in the exact same spot as Robertson in the free practice in the long rhythm section after the mechanics area. He would be fine though.

Enzo Lopes continued his strong form from Free Practice and went fastest at a 1:02.550 as the Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX rider continued to look on form. A lot of riders were making small mistakes on their hot laps though as the track was getting more technical with the ruts coming back through from the track work earlier.

Lopes would remain on top as the checkers waved with he, Forkner, and Lawrence the only three riders in the 1:02s.

Right back at it for there for their Q1 session went the 450A group led this time by Aaron Plessinger. Jason Anderson took a pretty hard fall as he went out for his first hot lap in the rhythm section after the mechanics area and limped around a bit as he spoke with the Alpinestars Medical Crew. He would eventually remount and continue on in the session.

Colt Nichols also had a fall at the end of the first rhythm section as it appears just a couple spots were really catching guys out. Joey Savatgy crashed in the same section a lap later but was able to nicely step off his bike and run it out. Both riders would resume.

Eli Tomac shot to the top of the board with a 1:02.304 but was then outdone by Chase Sexton who put down a 1:01.678, the first rider into the 1:01’s on the day. Adam Cianciarulo tipped over in between the supercross triples and was stuck under his bike for a few seconds but got going just in time for his teammate Jason Anderson to fall the same way in the same spot. Cianciarulo then tipped over right after the finish line jump moments later in a weird sequence for the Monster Energy Kawasaki boys.

Marvin Musquin jumped to the top of the board next with a 1:01.277 just as the session was getting wrapped up. The time would hold up as Musquin topped Sexton and Tomac in Q1.

Second Qualifying Sessions

As the final set of qualifying sessions got underway, the track was certainly starting to dry out but not quite enough that the transitions were holding up well nor the whoops which had a huge line down the left side of it that was dug out until about the fourth whoop.

Austin Forkner went right to work in 250A though putting down a 1:01.383 but Jett Lawrence was just behind him with a 1:01.595. Pierce Brown then took a turn at the top of the board as he became the first rider all day to dip down to a 1:00.706.

Jett Lawrence jumped into the 1:00’s as well with a 1:00.921 but Brown’s time continued to remain up top as the time wound down in the session. Forkner then found a tenth to go down to a 1:00.595 and Lawrence followed him right in with a 1:00635 as they both pushed Brown back to third, but they all remained within the same tenth of a second as each other.

As the flag waved, it was Forkner’s time that remained the mark as he qualifies P1 on the day for Anaheim 1 in the 250SX class.

The 450SX class came rolling out next for their final session and just like before it was Aaron Plessinger who grabbed the holeshot in the fake start. Chase Sexton wasted no time to light up the leaderboard though as he became the first rider to go sub-1:00 and ran a 59.785.

Christian Craig went down in the whoops and looked a little banged up at first but got back up and rode out of the stadium by himself with his bike pretty twisted up. Both Jason Anderson and Adam Cianciarulo lost the front in separate bowl berms almost simultaneously again in this session, but they popped right back up.

Sexton’s huge time would hold up as he remained the only rider all day to go into the 59’s. Eli Tomac got close with a 1:00.089 but it wasn’t quite enough. So it’s Sexton P1 heading into the night show at Anaheim.

250SX Heat 1

As the gate dropped for the first race of the season, it was RJ Hampshire who launched out to the holeshot and early lead followed by Mitchell Oldenburg. Jett Lawrence was in fourth place behind Max Vohland with Levi Kitchen coming in behind him in fifth.

Everyone made it through the first lap cleanly as Vohland went to work on Oldenburg for second. Hampshire was opening up a small gap out front as the front seven riders were breaking away a bit. Vohland then slipped back towards Lawrence, and they began a battle for third place.

Oldenburg made a mistake and mistimed the rhythm section after the mechanics area which allowed Vohland by into second and then Lawrence passed him just moments later to move into third. Lawrence then snuck to the inside over the tunnel jump to pass Vohland and move into second, but Hampshire had already opened up a three second gap out front by the time Lawrence was into second.

Levi Kitchen then got around Oldenburg next as he moved up into fourth and Derek Kelley was lurking right behind Oldenburg as well with Oldenburg making a couple mistakes and slipping back through the field.

Jett Lawrence ran the fastest lap of the race and slowly started to reel in Hampshire for the lead as they were dropping Vohland behind them in third. Lawrence got close as time expired but then made a small bobble in the long rhythm lane and Hampshire opened it back up as he took the white flag.

In the end, RJ Hampshire held on for the win ahead of Jett Lawrence, Max Vohland, Levi Kitchen, Mitchell Oldenburg, Derek Kelley, Cole Thompson, Hunter Yoder, and Anthony Rodriguez.

250SX Heat 2

In the second 250SX heat race, it was Enzo Lopes who shot out to the early lead just ahead of Cameron McAdoo, but Pierce Brown went down hard at the end of the first rhythm section and wouldn’t get up for over a lap. Once he got up, he had to be helped off slowly by the Alpinestars Medical Crew.

Wilson Todd went down hard with Hunter Schlosser after the second set of whoops and Todd would take a while to get back up as well. Lopes continued to lead the race from McAdoo as they opened up a huge lead over Dylan Walsh back in third. Stilez Robertson went for the pass on Walsh and caught his rear tire and went down moving Derek Drake up to fourth and Phil Nicoletti into fifth.

McAdoo then stuffed Lopes for the lead before the supercross triples and began to take off with it from there. Austin Forkner was off the track early but found his way around Robbie Wageman into sixth in the late stages of the race and he began to close on Nicoletti for fifth.

Forkner made a quick move as he was on a mission and set his sights on Drake in fourth and Walsh in third with time expiring on the race. Forkner made quick work of both of them to get into third, but he was over 17 seconds behind Lopes in second by this point and would have to settle there.

Up front, McAdoo went on to take the win in the heat race by a few seconds over Enzo Lopes as they led home Austin Forkner, Dylan Walsh, Derek Drake, Phil Nicoletti, Stilez Robertson, Robbie Wageman, and Dilan Schwartz in the transfers positions.

450SX Heat 1

Eli Tomac launched out to the holeshot with his teammate Dylan Ferrandis right behind him. Joey Savatgy was in third, but Adam Cianciarulo snuck to the inside to pass into third place and push Savatgy back to fourth ahead of Jason Anderson.

Anderson was able to sneak around Joey Savatgy for fourth as the real battle was going on from fourth through seventh. Aaron Plessinger made the move around Colt Nichols to go to sixth at the same time and started looking for a way around Savatgy.

Tomac was pulling away out front to the tune of three seconds as Cianciarulo was just sitting right behind Ferrandis. Plessinger found his way around Savatgy the next lap through, and AP really seemed to be the man on the move as he started going right after Anderson for fourth ahead of him.

Plessinger pushing on Anderson seemed to ignite the #21 as he closed up on Cianciarulo for third. Then Plessinger really started going after Anderson for the spot as second through fifth were in a bit of a line. Plessinger went for the spot on Anderson but Anderson squared him off and got the spot back as they took the white flag. Plessinger then made it stick on the final lap and Anderson also almost lost a spot to Savatgy in the process.

In the end, Tomac would win from Ferrandis, Cianciarulo, Plessinger, Anderson, Savatgy, Colt Nichols, Christian Craig, and Grant Harlan.

450SX Heat 2

Chase Sexton grabbed the holeshot in the second 450SX heat race of the night with Marvin Musquin and Ken Roczen right behind him. Cooper Webb was in fourth with Malcolm Stewart rounding out the top five.

Roczen went for a block pass on Musquin for second that didn’t work, and it pushed both of them way behind Sexton as Musquin, Roczen, Stewart, and Webb were in a heated battle for second. Sexton had a three second lead after two laps and the chaos was all unfolding behind him.

Musquin made a small mistake and Roczen shot by into second as Webb also got back around Stewart to get into fourth. Webb then made a nice pass to get around Musquin for third as Stewart continued to lurk behind them. Roczen ran his best lap of the race as he tried to get away from the trio behind him.

Malcolm Stewart then had his turn to pass Musquin for fourth as Musquin was struggling to find his flow again after the battle with Roczen. Sexton out front continued to click off the laps as he held a 3.6 second advantage over Roczen and Webb.

Sexton would hold on to win the second heat race ahead of Roczen, Webb, Stewart, Musquin, Justin Barcia, Dean Wilson, Justin Hill, and Justin Starling.

250SX Last Chance Qualifier

Ty Masterpool grabbed the holeshot in the LCQ ahead of Brandon Ray with Jerry Robin and Hunter Schlosser sneaking up the inside to get into second and third, respectively. Ray went down halfway around the second lap as he dropped well down the order. Pierce Brown also didn’t make it back out for this one ending his night officially.

Masterpool led for three laps before crashing in between the supercross triples handing Jerry Robin the lead. Masterpool got up and then immediately went down two corners later pushing him back to seventh.

RJ Wageman was comfortably in fourth working on passing Schlosser for third when he got into the back of him and went down. That would promote Hunter Cross into the final transfer spot, and he would stay there.

Jerry Robin would take the win and bring Maxwell Sanford, Hunter Schlosser, and Hunter Cross with him to the main event.

450SX Last Chance Qualifier

Shane McElrath went flying over the bars into the first corner of the LCQ and brough Cade Clason with him to kick things off as Fredrik Noren grabbed the early lead. Kevin Moranz was going with him as they pulled away from John Short and Lane Shaw behind them.

Josh Hill was able to work his way around Shaw and move into the final transfer spot on the second lap of the race, quickly opening up a gap behind him as well. John Short missed the supercross triple two laps from the end and allowed Hill to go by. Then Alex Ray caught and passed Short but Short was able to get him right back as the white flag waved.

Noren would take the win ahead of Moranz, Josh Hill, and Short in the end.

250SX Main Event

As the metal hit the dirt for the first 250SX main event of the year, it was Jett Lawrence who grabbed the holeshot as Austin Forkner had a huge crash coming into the first turn. Cameron McAdoo was in second place with Max Vohland in third as the medical team tended to Forkner who remained down as the field blasted by.

RJ Hampshire made an early move around Phil Nicoletti to get into fourth place. Forkner was carried by the medial team onto the mule as they sat him down on the back of it and carted him off.

Hampshire was pushing early as he quickly got around Vohland not wanting to let Lawrence and McAdoo get away. Lawrence out front was pushing away from McAdoo though as he slowly opened the gap over three seconds through the first few laps of the race.

Not much was happening as the race moved into the midpoint, but Enzo Lopes was able to catch and pass his teammate Phil Nicoletti for sixth. The Monster Energy Yamaha/Star Racing teammates of Levi Kitchen and Stilez Robertson were right behind Nicoletti as well and Kitchen got around him the next lap after Lopes made the move.

Mitchell Oldenburg was running a very quiet fifth place behind Vohland as they were about 10 seconds behind the three riders up front, but the battle was slowly starting to brew with Oldenburg closing in.

Hampshire was inching up onto McAdoo for much of the second half of the race as they both sat just three seconds behind Jett Lawrence out front. Oldenburg meanwhile finally made the move on Vohland to get into fourth place with just under three minutes remaining in the race.

With under two minutes left to go, Hampshire capitalized on a few mistakes from McAdoo to shoot into second place. Lawrence was then five seconds out front after Hampshire made the move and extended it out to six seconds on the following lap.

Jett Lawrence would hold on to claim the victory in the opening 250SX West main event of 2023. RJ Hampshire and Cameron McAdoo would round out the podium with Mitchell Oldenburg and Max Vohland finishing inside of the top five.

450SX Main Event

As the gates dropped to kick off the 2023 season, it was Colt Nichols who grabbed the holeshot, but Justin Barcia sliced through to grab the early lead ahead of Eli Tomac. Ken Roczen was in third with Malcolm Stewart getting into fourth and Chase Sexton into fifth.

Ken Roczen made an early run at Tomac for second and nearly had him, but Tomac fought back and held the second spot in the early running. The battle seemed to wake Tomac up a bit as he immediately closed on Barcia for the race lead.

Barcia made a mistake on the tunnel jump on the fourth lap of the race that gave Tomac the lead and then Barcia crashed two corners later when he got sideways in the rhythm section after the mechanics area. That moved Roczen, Stewart, and Sexton up as they all continued their battle for second place now.

Jason Anderson squared up Aaron Plessinger behind all this to get fifth spot as Dylan Ferrandis and Cooper Webb sat right behind them. It was almost two four rider trains going on at the same time.

Malcolm Stewart was able to make the pass on Roczen for second place and in doing so Roczen missed the finish line jump which allowed Chase Sexton by and into third place as well. Cooper Webb then got around Ferrandis and his teammate Plessinger as the #2 was on the move.

Ferrandis also was able to get around Plessinger next as the field was somewhat condensing and the two four packs were turning into one big eight pack out front. Cooper Webb down in sixth place was actually the fastest rider on the track as the race was approaching the midpoint.

Tomac crashed away the lead on the ninth lap of the race as he got the tunnel jump wrong and was shuffled all the way back to fifth place right in front of Cooper Webb. Jason Anderson was also going to work on Ken Roczen for third place as Webb was going after Tomac suddenly.

Jason Anderson then crashed the very next lap trying to work on Roczen still and got pushed back to eighth behind Plessinger but just in front of Colt Nichols. Malcolm Stewart now led the race with Chase Sexton a few seconds back and Tomac was on the charge again back in fourth place.

Chase Sexton was able to catch and pass Malcolm Stewart for the race lead and in the process gave Stewart a little bump off the track. Stewart got back on still in second place but was suddenly right in front of the battle between Tomac and Roczen. Tomac made the pass stick on Roczen for third place right after the 13^th lap completed.

Dylan Ferrandis was next to catch and pass Roczen as he moved into fourth place and wasn’t too far behind Tomac and Stewart ahead of him who were beginning to battle for second. Plessinger slid out from seventh place on the same lap and drifted back to 11^th behind Justin Barcia.

Cooper Webb got around Ken Roczen a lap later as Webb continued to remain one of the fastest riders on the track with the time ticking away. The crowd came to life as Eli Tomac was able to catch and pass Stewart for second place and was only three seconds behind Sexton going over a second a lap faster.

Sexton made a big mistake out front the next lap and Tomac caught right up to him quickly for the lead. Tomac then passed Sexton in the same spot he got Stewart just moments early to amazingly retake the lead. Malcolm Stewart then had a huge crash out of third place where he went over the bars and would take a while to get going again. That moved Webb onto the podium as he had just moved around Ferrandis and benefitted from Stewart going down.

Cooper Webb then completed an incredible march forward to pass Sexton right as the white flag waved. Justin Barcia fell for a second time while running ninth and slipped back outside of the top 10 again.

Eli Tomac would go on to take the victory to kick off the season. It was also the first time in his career that he claimed the victory at Anaheim 1. Cooper Webb and Chase Sexton would round out the podium behind him with Ferrandis and Roczen claiming spots inside the top five.