Jason Anderson and Ken Roczen are still looking for their first wins of 2023 and Anderson did win in Oakland last year for the first of his seven wins in 2022. Perhaps we see our fourth different winner tonight. 

We'll cover it all as practice is just getting underway in Oakland. Check out the broadcast schedule below with Race Day Live kicking off in a little over an hour.

Free Practice

As the first set of Free Practice headed out, it was Pierce Brown laying down the early pace in 250SX with a 1:09.860. The whoops were becoming a difference maker early and the rider who had it down the most was Jett Lawrence. Lawrence put down a 1:07.020 right in the middle of the session which proved to be 1.5 seconds faster than anyone throughout the rest of the session.

The long rhythm lane was also a point of discussion as most riders were tripling into it but the turning rhythm section portion at the end had different lines with some guys going 3-2-1-2 and others going 2-2-2-2.

 Chase Sexton and Eli Tomac led the field around in 450SX free practice next as both riders had done some press day riding yesterday and know most of the track. It was Sexton with the early pace at a 1:08.406.

Justin Cooper fell on the wall jump near the end of the session and appeared to injure his hand but was able to remount and ride back to the mechanics area by himself. The track bit a few other guys as Chase Sexton and Cooper Webb both had top overs but everything else was smooth sailing.

It was Jason Anderson who would put a lap down right at the end to go fastest at a 1:08.360.

First Qualifying Sessions

Qualifying kicked off with the 250SX guys hitting the track again and it was obvious that the whoops would be the difference maker. Even early on, Jett Lawrence almost went down a couple of times in both sets of whoops when he nose picked the last few in each set.

Phil Nicoletti then went down hard in the back set and would need to be carted off. No update on his condition at this time. Jett Lawrence would end up on top again for Q1 as he just pipped Enzo Lopes for the top time right at the end of the session with a 1:07.465. 
[Update: Nicoletti sustained a dislocated wrist in the crash and went to the hospital]

By the time the 450SX guys came out again, the whoops were starting to turn into jumpers, at least through the first set. Ken Roczen and Justin Cooper were both jumping early on in the session and committed to it throughout. Chase Sexton actually crashed in the whoops in the late stages of the session, as they started to get really notchy about halfway through them.

Despite the crash, Sexton was still the fastest in the session as he fought back against Anderson’s top time in free practice to go down to a 1:06.631. Anderson was still second in the session but nearly a second down as Sexton’s pace was solid aside from his crash.

Second Qualifying Sessions

The second qualifying sessions saw the track cleaned up a lot as there were no C groups today which gave the track crew a ton of time to make sure the track was cleaned up well. Even so, the whoops turned into jumpers right away for many of the 250SX class with only a handful of guys still blitzing the first set on their hot laps.

Stilez Robertson went down pretty hard in the whoops with a few minutes left to go in the second qualifying session for the 250SX class, He would not rejoin the track from there though it appears he’s okay.

Meanwhile, Jett Lawrence set the tone early in the session with a 1:06.470 and that time would not be matched the rest of the way. Max Vohland also went down int eh second set of whoops on the last lap, but he remounted and would be okay as well.

The final 450SX qualifying session of the day was peculiar because normally everyone has the track figured out, but there were several different lines being used in both rhythm sections. Chase Sexton, for example, was going three-on-off-two-step on-step off-single in the rhythm before the finish on his fast laps which not many other riders were doing.

It was working though as Sexton was right on 1:06-flat for several laps in a row before dipping down to a 1:05.771 with the session wrapping up. Jason Anderson and Eli Tomac were behind him in times, but Sexton was about a half second better than anyone for the second straight sessions. So it’s Sexton P1 in qualifying heading into the night show.

250SX Heat 1

On the first gate drop of the night it was Maximus Vohland with the early lead as a big pileup fell into the first corner taking four riders out. RJ Hampshire was up in second place early on putting pressure on Vohland while the opened up a gap on Matt Moss back in third.

Levi Kitchen was nearly collected in the first turn carnage, and he was well down the order early on. He passed into the top 10 on the third lap as he tried to close in on that final transfer spot in ninth.

Hampshire made the pass into the lead on the third lap, but Vohland was not done and tried to pass him back. Hampshire responded to the pressure though and held Vohland behind as they continued to sprint away at the front of the field,

Kitchen did a solid job of slicing forward in the final four laps of the race as he made the move on Mitchell Harrison into fourth place as the white flag waved. He also ran one of the fastest laps of the race late in the race, so things trended upwards after the rough start.

RJ Hampshire would win the heat race ahead of Maximus Vohland, Matt Moss, Levi Kitchen, Mitchell Harrison, Derek Kelley, Derek Drake, Cole Thompson, and Austin Politelli heading to the main event.

250SX Heat 2

It was Robbie Wageman with the early lead ahead of Cameron McAdoo and Enzo Lopes in the second heat race of the night. McAdoo snuck into the lead before the end of the first lap pushing Wageman back to second just ahead of Jett Lawrence who was now up into third.

Lawrence quickly moved around Wageman halfway through the second lap and set his sights on closing down the lead to McAdoo ahead of him. Lopes and Pierce Brown followed through behind them making it a four-rider breakaway at the front of the pack.

At the halfway mark, Lawrence came flying through the second set of whoops to pass McAdoo, but McAdoo tripled onto the table in the next rhythm lane and fought right back through into the lead. Pierce Brown made the move on Lopes to get into third, but they were starting to lose touch with the lead duo out front.

Two laps after the initial pass, Lawrence got the pass to stick on McAdoo with a tremendous run in the whoops. McAdoo tried to fight back in the next corner, but Lawrence was able to sneak away and opened up a small advantage at the front.

Jett Lawrence would cruise away to win the heat race in the end ahead of McAdoo, Brown, Lopes, Wageman, Mitchell Oldenburg, Hunter Yoder, Anthony Rodriguez, and Dilan Schwartz all heading to the main event.

450SX Heat 1

Ken Roczen nailed the holeshot in this one with Jason Anderson right on him. Justin Barcia held down third, with Adam Cianciarulo and Christian Craig filling fourth and fifth during the opening laps. Things stayed close up front, with each of the top five separated from each other by about half a second, but with about two minutes remaining Roczen started separating himself slightly from Anderson. Anderson, meanwhile, was under pressure from Barcia after making a slight mistake in a rhythm section, but he recovered and was able to inch back away from Barcia and go back after Roczen. On the final lap Anderson was all over Roczen and even had a chance to send Roczen over a berm as the two exited the final whoop section, but he thought better of it, which allowed Roczen to barely squeak out of the corner with his lead intact. Roczen won, with Anderson, Barcia, Cianiarulo, Craig, Justin Cooper, Justin Hill, Dean Wilson, and Josh Hill filling the transfer spots.

450SX Heat 2

Cooper Webb Shot out to the lead to kick off the second 450SX heat, with his teammate, Aaron Plessinger, in hot pursuit. Webb started getting away pretty quickly though, and Plessinger soon found himself under fire from Chase Sexton and Eli Tomac, who both went by pretty fast. The battle to watch quickly materialized at the front, as Webb did his best to defend himself from the Sexton-Tomac onslaught. He wasn’t able to hold them off for long, as they both went by right after a long whoop section. One turn later, Tomac went by Sexton and instantly pulled a small gap in the second whoop section. Tomac didn’t check out, but he maintained his gap and was never in danger of Sexton getting close enough to put a move on him. Webb, meanwhile, hadn’t abandoned the fight and was doing everything he could to get close enough to Sexton to show him a wheel, but he couldn’t quite inch close enough. Tomac won, with Sexton, Webb, Plessinger, Joey Savatgy, Colt Nichols, Benny Bloss, Shane McElrath, and Josh Cartwright rounding out the transfer spots.

250SX Last Chance Qualifier

In the 250SX LCQ, it was Luke Kalaitzian grabbing the holeshot just ahead of Julien Benek, but Benek snatched the lead away right away. Dylan Walsh was right behind Benek early on as he had moved around Kalaitzian as well and Walsh was able to op into the lead before the finish line jump on the second lap.

The battle for the final transfer spot was a wild one as Kaeden Amerine had worked his way up to pass RJ Wageman for the final spot and then Hunter Schlosser almost moved around Wageman. Then Amerine crashed and fell way out of it, but Schlosser also slid out. That allowed Maxwell Sanford into third and Devin Harriman into fourth, but Schlosser was sending it. He made the move back into fourth on the final lap and despite Harriman trying to square up the final corner, Schlosser held on.

Walsh took the easy win ahead of Benek, Sanford, and Schlosser in the end who all headed to the main event.

450SX LCQ

Kevin Moranz shot out of the gate to get the all-important holeshot in the 450SX LCQ, but Cade Clason snuck by on the inside near the end of the first lap. Kyle Chisholm held third, with Grant Harlan defending fourth against Tristan Lane and Freddie Noren. Harland missed a rhythm, which allowed Noren to set up a pass, and Noren took advantage to take over the final transfer spot. At this point the top four spots were pretty spread out, with not a lot happening, but on the final lap Lane had inched up closer to Noren and it looked like he was going to be able to slide a wheel up the inside of Noren. Noren responded though and got just enough breathing room to hold onto the final transfer spot. Clason won, Chisholm took second, Moranz third, and Noren rounded out the top four.

250SX Main Event

At the start of the 250SX main, it was RJ Hampshire with the holeshot ahead of Cameron McAdoo and Jett Lawrence. Matt Moss and Maximus Vohland rounded out the top five, but Pierce Brown was able to pass them both before the end of the first lap.

Hampshire started to open a small gap over McAdoo and Lawrence who were battling it out for second. The three of them had already put a couple seconds on everyone else but Brown now in fourth was working to keep the gaps close.

Lawrence made the move on McAdoo for second place, but they were suddenly both under heavy pressure from Brown who had closed up from fourth behind them. While they battled, Hampshire pulled his lead out to about three seconds.

It all fell apart though on the fifth lap for Hampshire as he tucked the front wheel in the first turn from the lead and allowed Lawrence to take over. Hampshire picked it up and was passed by McAdoo as well, but he shot back around McAdoo on the same lap to retain second and go to work on trying to reel Lawrence back in out front.

Levi Kitchen and Enzo Lopes both were coming forward from mid-pack starts and they worked their way around Maximus Vohland at the halfway mark to move up to fifth and sixth, respectively.

As lapped traffic began to come into play, Lawrence was doing a solid job of weaving through them as his lead extended out to over five seconds. The real battle became the battle for third with Brown putting heat on McAdoo.

Brown shot down the inside after the supercross triple with three minutes to go and made the pass on McAdoo. But then Brown messed up the whoops and McAdoo ran him high two turns after that which was just enough for Brown to clip McAdoo’s rear wheel and go down.

That allowed Kitchen to also move around Brown and go into fourth place, but Brown was still putting the pressure on as the battle continued for P4. Brown finally made a pass stick to get bac into fourth as the white flag waved in front of them. Then Brown made another mistake on the last lap that allowed Kitchen back through into fourth where he’s stay.

In the end, Jett Lawrence would win the 250SX main event for his third win of the year ahead of RJ Hampshire and Cameron McAdoo who rounded out the podium behind him.

450SX Main Event

Chase Sexton holeshot this one, with all the heavy hitters in tow. Cooper Webb, Eli Tomac, Ken Rozcen, and Jason Anderson were all bunched behind Sexton on the first lap. Tomac quickly knifed by Webb and put his head down to go after Sexton, and it wasn’t long before the two started getting away from the pack. Sexton maintained about two seconds on Tomac, and there didn’t seem to be anything Tomac could do to cut into the gap during the opening stages.

Further back in the pack Aaron Plessinger was looking great. He’d gotten past Roczen and was going after Anderson for fourth. It took Plessinger a while, but at roughly the halfway mark he had gotten close enough to start applying real pressure to Anderson. He didn’t need to though, because Anderson went down on his own. When he remounted Justin Barcia was all over him and the crowd was braced for Barcia to deal some payback to Anderson, who had parked Barcia last week. Right when it looked like a move was about to come, Barcia bobbled slightly and missed a rhythm, which gave Anderson some breathing room. The two then came up on Roczen, and Anderson was able to get around him quicker than Barcia. After that point the battle between these two was over.

Back up front it was starting to look like Sexton had this one in hand. Tomac not only wasn’t able to close the gap on him, but Sexton had stretched it out to five seconds and was riding smooth and in control. Until he wasn’t. Sexton made a mistake right after the finish line, cased a jump, and spun in. He got going again, but not before Tomac had taken advantage and squirted away with the lead. Now instead of leading by five seconds, he trailed the leader by six seconds. Even worse, Sexton no longer looked very comfortable and Webb could smell blood in the water. Webb latched onto Sexton and wouldn’t let go. Then, right before the finish line, Webb dove ahead of Sexton, sealed him off, and roosted away with the lead.

The fireworks really started about a lap later, when Tomac made a mistake and got tangled with a Tuff Block, which allowed Webb to close the gap to about two seconds, and closing fast. On the final lap Webb was all over Tomac, but Tomac was able to hold on, beating Webb by 0.881 seconds, in a thrilling finish.

Cianciarulo was running seventh early in this one but crashed in a left-hand turn after Barcia got into him.