The gates have dropped, and the 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship is in full swing! With lots of storylines coming from the Anaheim 1 Supercross over the weekend, we fired off several questions to former long-time pro racer Jason Thomas.
Question: Some rain fell a few days prior to the race. Did it seem like it had any effect on the dirt at all? Did the moisture come out any more than normal during the night show?
Jason Thomas: It definitely did. The track was breaking down throughout the weekend and causing riders to make mistakes. The base dirt acted a bit like a sponge with soft spots and inconsistent levels of traction. The soft spots were the most treacherous and took more than a few riders down during the weekend. If you want an example of how the soft areas can wreak havoc, refer to Hunter Lawrence’s crash on Friday. Random soft spots cause tires and suspension to react unpredictably.
Speaking of rain, for the guys who’re based in California, would the rain have put a damper on their efforts to do any last-minute testing?
Testing should have been wrapped up by the time rains arrived. It may have interrupted a practice session or two, but legitimate testing is unlikely to be scheduled that close to A1. With most of the factory teams riding on Friday’s press session, it shouldn’t have been a big deal.
What’d you make of the track? Did you find it inline with most season-opening tracks, or were there parts of it that caught your eye as being unique for an Anaheim 1 racing surface?
On paper, it wasn’t anything too treacherous or demanding. The conditions changed that a bit, though. Normal sections that seemed elementary became much more difficult to navigate. The rhythm section on the first base line went from challenging to incredibly tough by the end of the main events. Had the rains not come, the track would have been far easier what riders ended up facing.
Max Vohland was great. He won his heat race and was fifth in the main, although he ran as high as third. Is this a good night for him, or should he be bummed he didn’t hold onto that podium spot?
He’s still missing that elusive podium, but he did show us more than we’ve seen before. His ability to command the heat race was very impressive. He’s up against some tough, experienced talent but he looks to have enough top end speed to battle. It was the best I’ve seen him look in supercross, bar none.
Jo Shimoda passed Vohland in the middle of a red cross zone. The AMA reviewed it, but so far no penalties have been posted. Was that pass, in your eyes, iffy at all?
It was so tough to understand when and where riders were supposed to resume normal speed. I didn’t feel that Jo’s move was egregious, and he likely expected Maximus to jump the same combination post medic flag. Those rhythm sections situations are very vague and as long as it’s past the incident, I believe it to be fair game.
Julien Beaumer put in a very impressive ride on Saturday. Did you think he’d be as good as he was?
I was very impressed with JuJu. His starts and early lap speed bodes well for his future. The experience and maturation will all come on its own timeframe, but the raw talent is impossible to teach. For a debut, that was a strong look. I understand why Red Bull KTM was so aggressive in moving him to the factory team. He has something most don’t.
Jett Lawrence was amazing at A1. Is the 450SX field in for a tough season in 2024?
I do think there will be big battles this season. The level that Jason Anderson, Cooper Webb, Chase Sexton, and Ken Roczen were on spoke volumes about the parody we will likely see. Jett didn’t run away and win by 30 seconds and likely won’t. There will be races where he starts eighth and is in the dogfight of his life to move forward. It’s also very possible to see a season where Jett just steadily extends his points lead. I just don’t believe he will dominate every race in runaway fashion. He will win but it’s going to be through race management and wise decision making, not the brutal onslaught of raw fury that a rider like James Stewart unleashed.
Jorge Prado was 13th at the opener. Is that about where you thought he’d be? Or did you think he’d be better, or worse?
I thought he would be a little better, somewhere around ninth/tenth place. The difficult part of that prediction is when assigning riders that would finish behind him. When Eli Tomac is ninth, it’s tough to see Prado ahead of that in his first ever SX race. He will be less nervous next weekend and we will likely see more flash, especially in the early laps.
Anaheim 1 (A1) - 450SX Main Event
January 7, 2024| Rider | Time | Interval | Best Lap | Hometown | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jett Lawrence | 20 Laps | 1:02.215 | Landsborough, Australia  | Honda CRF450R | |
| 2 |  Jason Anderson | +7.188 | 1:02.389 | Edgewood, NM  | Kawasaki KX450 | |
| 3 |  Chase Sexton | +13.815 | 1:02.546 | La Moille, IL | KTM 450 SX-F | |
| 4 |  Aaron Plessinger | +20.484 | 1:02.349 | Hamilton, OH | KTM 450 SX-F | |
| 5 |  Dylan Ferrandis | +23.758 | 1:03.345 | Avignon, France  | Honda CRF450R | |
| 6 |  Cooper Webb | +33.739 | 1:02.451 | Newport, NC | Yamaha YZ450F | |
| 7 |  Justin Barcia | +35.798 | 1:03.129 | Monroe, NY | GasGas MC 450F | |
| 8 |  Justin Cooper | +47.887 | 1:03.935 | Cold Spring Harbor, NY | Yamaha YZ450F | |
| 9 |  Eli Tomac | +54.299 | 1:03.015 | Cortez, CO | Yamaha YZ450F | |
| 10 |  Ken Roczen | +1:05.406 | 1:03.380 | Mattstedt, Germany  | Suzuki RM-Z450 |
Cooper Webb was sixth when the checkers flew, but he ran third most of the night and challenged Jason Anderson for second several times. He wasn’t this good during the SMX races last fall. Did you notice anything specific that he improved upon since we last saw him?
He was much, much, much better than the last time we saw him. He was near the top of the board all afternoon long and backed that up with even more when the lights came to life. I was unsure of how this season would begin for Webb. He usually takes a bit to get warmed up and ready for the fight. Not so much this year. He looks to have found himself. Color me very impressed.
Eli Tomac doesn’t finish ninth without having problems, but that’s what happened at A1. What’d you make of his ride on Saturday?
This was my worry with Tomac. To get back to the level that he was on will take time. He had such a strong level of base fitness to work from, he was just continuing to improve throughout the past several years. He wasn’t forced to take extended time off or rebound from a mortal’s fitness level. The last few percent of intensity and fitness are the hardest to recover, especially as age becomes a factor. He’s going to get back to his prior self, it’s just a matter of when and how many points behind he is when it happens.
Hunter Lawrence is an HRC Honda factory rider, but he didn’t qualify for the 450SX main event. Yes, it was his first 450SX race, yes, he was in a first-turn pileup in his heat, and yes, he got screwed on the start in the LCQ. But part of racing is dealing with adversity. Is his DNQ forgivable? Why or why not?
If I was he and Honda HRC, I would just forget Saturday even happened. There was nothing to take away from the night other than understanding how important starts and first lap positioning is in the 450 class. San Francisco will be completely different than the disaster that was Anaheim. Dwelling on the struggles won’t help. Turn the page and focus on making San Fran the first round of 2024. That’s easier said than done but he knows what he’s capable of moving forward. Hunter has faced more adversity than most and will be able to accept it, process it, and forget it.
Tough first 450SX race for Hunter Lawrence...
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Dean Wilson and Vince Friese got into it in the main event, and both ended up on the ground. Friese DNF’d and Wilson was 16th on the night. Did you see what happened, and do you think this continues?
I didn’t see the incident yet but nothing about this surprises me. I do know that Deano was very, very unhappy after the race so I’m assuming Vince was being Vince. It’s unfortunate that these things continue to go on worldwide without serious consequences.
Nerves are always a big part of this race. Did you notice any particular rider who may have made some jitters-induced errors that prevented them from performing to their potential?
I think Jo Shimoda let the moment get to him a bit. His heat race crash and subsequent struggles just looked as if he was trying too hard. He has big shoes to fill with the departure of the Lawrence brothers. He knows a championship is the expectation. He also knows that he’s had a tough time getting off to fast starts in these series. He showed solid resilience by nearly getting onto the podium, but he needs to clean up the details if he wants to finally break through.
