Free Practice

The track was drying up quickly as the sun poked through and Free Practice began. The 250SX East group was up first as we got our first look at Hunter Lawrence’s new 1E on the bike. Haiden Deegan had an early tip over as the track wore in with some slick areas still on top, but it was actually Jeremy Martin setting the early pace with a 50.080.

Hunter Lawrence fired back to drop down to a 50.062 but he was once again pipped for top spot as Jordon Smith laid down a 49.749. The track will no doubt get faster as riders were still sliding around in certain spots but the 250SX West class was soon to follow.

Jett Lawrence wasted little time to shoot to the top of the board once the West boys hit the track and he did so setting the new fastest overall time at a 49.648. Enzo Lopes was also strong early as he sat second with a low 50-second lap time before dipping down to a 49.918.

Carson Mumford found himself in the 49’s also with a 49.992 before RJ Hampshire really lit up the leaderboard with a 49.233. Lopes responded immediately to go to the top with a. 49.100 and then Jett eclipsed that with a 48.691. It all capped off with Lopes once again going to the top with a 48.448 after a fury of mixing times around.

The 450 A group was next to hit the track and we finally saw a few of the top guys tripling into the rhythm section after the whoops. Chase Sexton set the pace with a 48.278 with Ken Roczen right behind him on a 48.433.

Only 15 riders ended up in the A group for this round which meant most everyone was doing the same stuff. As such, times were pretty close at the top as Ken Roczen put in a 47.868 to end up ahead of Sexton’s 48.119. Dean Wilson was solid in third with a 48.192.

First Qualifying Sessions

The track crew was able to clean up the entire track before the first set of qualifying began. Times were certainly much faster because of that, and it became a war atop the 250SX West session which came out first this time.

Enzo Lopes was looking solid again as he led the sheets early with a 47.747 but then Hampshire and Jett Lawrence traded the top spot down the stretch. It was Jett who would get the top time by two tenths with a 47.506 over Hampshire who had just pipped Lopes for second.

Haiden Deegan would lead the field around for the first 250SX East session putting in a 48.986 early but similar to the session before it, times were dropping quick. Jordon Smith dipped down to a 48.2 to take the top time but Hunter Lawrence then lit up the board.

Hunter’s 47.408 became the fastest time of the day as he put a solid lap together to take over P1. Smith would lower his time by a few tenths, but Hunter ended the session almost six tenths up on everyone to end up P1 overall after Q1.

The first set of qualifying for the 450 group saw a few of the top guys figure out the over table triple-triple line after going under the tunnel jump and it certainly looked fast. Ken Roczen was one of the riders to utilize that line and he put in a 47.066.

Sexton chose to remain with the on-off-triple-double line and that worked for him as he went down to a 46.751 for the fastest time. Dean Wilson also had a crash where he landed on a Tuff Block in the middle of the track, and he was not happy that it was there. Fortunately, it appears he was okay as he rode off. Justin Hill ended up third fastest in this one.

Second Qualifying Sessions

Rain fell once again between the first and qualifying sessions, but it seemed like just enough to really water the track throughout again. When the East boys hit the track, Jordon Smith was the man to set the early pace as he immediately went down to a 47.288.

Before long, the group was down into the 46-second range as Hunter Lawrence shot to the top with a 46.572 but Smith was right on his heels with a 46.593 of his own. Jo Shimoda, Jeremy Martin, and Haiden Deegan were all exchanging hot laps in P3-5 but each of them remained in the 47’s. Hunter Lawrence’s 46.572 remained the top time in the end.

Levi Kitchen then won the field around for the West group and set the early pace as Jett Lawrence let the whole field go and fell to the back to find some open space. Jett’s first timed lap then was a 48.044 to jump to the top but it was still way off from the top times in the East.

Kitchen took the top time back with a 47.751 but then Jett went down to a 47.471. The whoops were definitely getting more chewed up with some obvious blue grooved spots on them which caught a few guys out. Lawrence lowered his time down to a 47.052 to top the session in the end but it was still half a second back of his brother who ended up with the top time overall.

Some light rain began falling as the final 450A session started but conditions were still really good. Roczen and Sexton were shuffling the top spot around as Sexton had it early, but Roczen went down to a 46.958. The top time from the first session of a 46.751 was still the mark though as the session crested the halfway point.

Sexton did respond to go down to a 46.874 as he and Roczen had a clear gap on the field. That’s where the top time would remain which meant the Q1 time put down by Sexton would hold to end up on top overall for the day.

Supercross Futures Main Event

The Supercross Futures finale, which decides who will be the national champion, kicked off festivities for the evening as their race went off before opening ceremonies. Julien Beaumer and Daxton Bennick were the favorites coming in and they started side by side off the start. Beaumer threw it in on Bennick for the lead before the whoops, but Bennick gave it right back to him after the whoops. Then Bennick slid out coming into the next corner and Beaumer slid out into him as they both went down and fell way back.

Casey Cochran then took over the race lead from Mark Fineis and they began pulling away from Parker Ross who was now in third place. Beaumer picked it up in about 13^th and had made his way into the top 10 before he crashed yet again which put him way back and ended his chance at winning the title.

Bennick was able claw all the way back up to sixth spot, but it wouldn’t make a difference. Cochran cruised to the win to take home the 2023 Supercross Futures crown.

250SX Heat 1

The East heat race was the first one to go on the evening. Off the start, it was Haiden Deegan grabbing the holeshot ahead of Hunter Lawrence. Talon Hawkins and Jo Shimoda were battling it out for third place behind them early on as Deegan started to inch away out front.

Jordon Smith missed the supercross triple early and lost a few spots but then Talon Hawkins went down while in fifth battling Chris Blose and slipped way back.

The battle for the final transfer spot was absolutely wild throughout much of the race as Max Anstie and Tom Vialle tried to work forward from bad starts and ran into a super battle going on between Michael Hicks, Coty Schock, Luke Neese, and Cullin Park.

Schock slipped backwards as Anstie and Hicks sliced forward. Parks ended up in the final transfer spot as Luke Neese closed in but the checkered flag waved before chaos ensued.

Deegan won the race by a few seconds in the end ahead of Hunter Lawrence and Shimoda.

250SX Heat 2

The second heat race saw Levi Kitchen launch out to the race lead with RJ Hampshire and Carson Mumford in tow. Jett Lawrence was in fourth place early as the field started to spread out.

The rain started falling down making it slicker all around the track and the field really spready out. Once again, the battle for the final transfer spot was intense. Max Vohland had a rough start and was working forward to catch up to the battle for ninth. Derek Kelley moved around Robbie Wageman into seventh as Dilan Schwartz was dealing with Vohland behind him.

Vohland passed Schwartz but Schwartz squared him back off under the tunnel and got the spot back as he secured the final transfer spot. Jett Lawrence and Mumford had a good fight for third as the track got slicker with the rain, but it was Lawrence who would make the pass stick.

Kitchen pulled away to the win ahead of Hampshire as everyone up front settled in as the conditions worsened.

450SX Heat 1

Off the start of the first 450SX heat race, it was Dean Wilson grabbing the holeshot ahead of Ken Roczen. Roczen was able to take over the race lead into the third corner and immediately began to take off at the front.

Kyle Chisholm was in third for the entire race as he lost touch with Wilson ahead of him but was putting a little bit of time on Tristan Lane and Josh Hill behind him. Joshua Cartwright moved into the final transfer spot around Chase Marquier after Marquier had an issue while in sixth place.

Roczen cruised to the win ahead of Wilson and Chisholm in the end as Hill got around Lane on the final lap to move into fourth.

450SX Heat 2

The final heat race of the year saw Aaron Plessinger grab the holeshot ahead of Adam Cianciarulo and Chase Sexton. While Plessinger put a bit of a gap on everyone out front, Sexton went to work on Cianciarulo for second and was able to sprint by him in the whoops on the second lap.

Plessinger led for several laps with Sexton right on his tail before Plessinger got the end of the whoops section wrong and went flying over the berm into a camera stand. It took him nearly a whole lap to get going and he was out of a transfer spot when he got up. He was able to catch and pass Joan Cros on the final lap though to qualify for the main event.

Sexton would take off with the win up front from there with Adam Cianciarulo and Grant Harlan following him home.

250SX Last Chance Qualifier

The LCQ got underway, and it was Tom Vialle who grabbed the holeshot but was quickly shuffled to second as Jace Owen went to the lead. Coty Schock also got around Vialle to move into second. Max Vohland was having a rough time starting in fourth early on before being shuffled back to sixth behind Derek Drake. He got back around Drake, but Luke Neese then passed him and Vohland did not make the main. Owen would cruise to the win ahead of Schock, Vialle, and Mitchell Harrison who held the final transfer spot.

450SX Last Chance Qualifier

Joan Cros led early off the start of the LCQ as he put some distance between himself and Colby Copp. Copper was then passed by Jared Lesher and Hunter Schlosser before he got sideways in the rhythm section and went down. Chase Marquier assumed the final transfer spot just ahead of Luke Kalaitzian. The spots would remain basically as is except Schlosser getting around Lesher on the final lap, but Cros would hang on for the win.

250SX Main Event

The holeshot in the East/West Showdown went to RJ Hampshire ahead of Jett Lawrence and Levi Kitchen. Tom Vialle was up in fourth early on, but Jo Shimoda and Chris Blose quickly moved around him.

Jeremy Martin and Enzo Lopes both went down in the bowl corner after the whoops on the first lap with JMart ending up backwards in the other lane. They both would remount way down behind the rest of the field.

Hampshire and Jett out front started to inch away from Kitchen behind them as they were all three leaving Shimoda in the dust. Hunter Lawrence snuck into the top 10 on the fifth lap after an awful start for both he and Haiden Deegan.

Jett was all over Hampshire lap after lap for the first seven laps before he sent it down the inside after the whoops to take over the race lead. He gave Hampshire a little nudge while doing so and Hampshire couldn’t do the next rhythm lane which gifted Jett a big three second lead immediately.

Hunter Lawrence made it up to Deegan for seventh with about four minutes to go and was able to make the pass after the whoops. The field had spread out fairly evenly ahead of him with Max Anstie four seconds up the road and Jordon Smith in sixth another three seconds ahead of that.

Hunter was able to catch up to Anstie and pass him for sixth but couldn’t quite put a pass on Jordon Smith on the final lap to move into second.

Jett Lawrence pumped his fist as he rolled up the finish line to claim the victory in the Showdown and win the final race of his 250 career. Hampshire and Kitchen would round out the podium behind him.

450SX Main Event

The final gate drop of the 2023 Supercross season saw Chase Sexton grab the holeshot with Adam Cianciarulo in second place behind him. Ken Roczen dabbed his leg in the third corner and came up limp as he rolled to a complete stop before the finish line jump and then slowly rolled off the track and out of the stadium, clearly frustrated.

Kyle Chisholm was in third place early on, but Aaron Plessinger found his way through on the third lap and then Justin Hill made the move around Chiz at the start of the fifth lap. Hill then started closing the gap down on Plessinger as AP was closing up on Cianciarulo for second ahead of him.

Plessinger got around Cianciarulo for second and sprinted away as AC dealt with Hill. Hill made a couple runs but AC held steady for about two laps before Hill gave him a nudge after the whoops and moved into third.

All by himself in fifth place at this point was Dean Wilson who was eight seconds back of Cianciarulo and 16 seconds ahead of Josh Hill in sixth. Kevin Moranz was in ninth but went down in the rhythm section after the whoops and slipped back to 11^th as Devin Simonson and Tristan Lane moved through.

The race remained very status quo from there as Chase Sexton cruised to the win to put a stamp on the championship as he is now officially the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross champion. Aaron Plessinger and Josh Hill would round out the podium behind him.