Part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, Interstate 15 twists through Southern California and ultimately rolls through the town of Corona, California, where right smack off the side of the I-15 is the Kawasaki K1 Test Track. This is where the Monster Energy Kawasaki and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki race teams sort out their racing equipment, which was exactly what was going on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, 2024. Kawasaki’s team riders for the 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, as well as the organization’s mechanics and technicians, were out in force and dialing in their respective race bikes for the looming opening date of Saturday, January 11, 2025, set for 2000 E Gene Autry Way, Anaheim, California and 45,050-seat Angel Stadium. While a pair of KX250F riders bashed out test lap after test lap on the freeway-side circuit, one Jason Anderson, off his KX450F and dressed in Alpinestars race gear, took a seat at a picnic table and shook this writer’s hand.
“I turn 32 in February,” offered Anderson, who raced at Angel Stadium for the very first time way back on January, 7, 2012, in the SX Lites East division. “I have 14 years done and I’m going into my 15th year, so it’s kind of, honestly, surreal. It’s super-cool and I’m excited. You know if you would have told me I would have made it 15 years in this sport and still be here and be on the factory Kawasaki team and still have the body and everything to possibly win races and be on the podium, it’s really cool."
The 2018 450cc AMA Supercross Champion, “El Hombre,” as he is known, is now truly one of the sport’s veteran racers, genuinely pleased to still be going racing and walking through the Angel Stadium asphalt parking lot paddock in 2025.
“For me, I mean I’ve been riding and racing dirt bikes since I was six years old, so being able to still do it at age thirty two is incredible,” said Anderson, a fourteen-time 450cc main event winner during his 450SX career. “And for me, I’m not really a guy that thrives on stuff that other guys thrive on. Guys can thrive on winning and other stuff. I feel like I’m more of a guy that just loves what I do and I just want to keep the dream alive more so than anything. Luckily, I’m pretty capable of doing well.
“Yeah, I mean I’m going into this Anaheim in 2025 and I’m excited still,” continued the native of Edgewood, New Mexico. “It’s crazy because I still feel like that little kid walking in to do the press conference. It’s crazy when I’m up there. Sometimes I don’t even understand how big of a deal it is. From being where I was when I was little and watching those guys and then being up there and being a part of the press conference for so many years now is really cool. And the atmosphere at Anaheim in general is amazing. You know I feel like the closer you get toward the end of your career, the more you want to take full advantage of it. It all goes by in the blink of an eye, but I don’t want it to end.”
One of Anderson’s fiercest rivals in the sport, both then and now, is Eli Tomac. With Anderson now at 31 years of age and Tomac at age 32, do the two veteran racers ever communicate with one another?
“Not much,” answered Anderson. “We don’t really talk much. Most of the time we would probably see each other is at the races. Obviously, we grew up two hours from each other so we’ve been racing around each other since we were on 60s. For him, he’s always kind of kept doing his own deal in Colorado and I’ve always kind of been in California. I kind of migrated here from New Mexico. We kind of have two totally different programs, but at the same time, I feel it is has been pretty cool to go through everything we’ve gone through and all of us are still racing each other some 25 years later.”
Fifth place overall in the 2024 Monster Energy Supercross Championship with an average finishing position of 5.76, Anderson also raced to four podium scores along the way.
“I was lucky I got four podium finishes in the year. I also closed the season strong with five straight top-five finishes. Being able to basically have a strong end to the year and stuff like that was good, but I think there was a little bit we missed on our motorcycle just because we were in the first year of the motorcycle. I think there are things that we have right now that can maybe improve on that.
“I would really love to win in my 30s. I haven’t been able to get a win in my 30s yet. So that would be a cool thing if I can accomplish it. That would be a huge thing for me. It’s a fierce sport and it is not easy to win. Not at all. I think it’s tough to be a winner. It’s tough to win for a long time. There are so many aspects of it to where you have to locked in, but then you also have your life on the other side of it, which you also have to keep maintaining. You can’t be always fully locked in. It’s just hard on us, and to maintain a career going long, you have to have that balance, but it is so hard. Especially like right now. We’re getting ready for Anaheim 1 and you have Christmas and New Year’s Day and here we are spending New Year’s Eve at the track. It’s no joke. However, I’m lucky and I really do love what I do, so I have to figure out how to make that happen.”
While out at the K1 Test Track, Anderson posted up laps with new Kawasaki teammate Jorge Prado. To Anderson’s way of seeing things, all has been excellent with the MXGP champion.
“To be honest, it has been really, really refreshing with Jorge here. Obviously, he’s new to all of this, so it’s nice to have that enthusiasm in a teammate. As a 450 guy, every teammate that I’ve ever had has been kind of aged, as in being on the circuit for a while and everything like that. Jorge and him coming from Europe, he still sees the shine on all of this stuff. You know it is sparkling and new to him and it’s refreshing and I think it helps the energy across the whole board.”
A rider who has always enjoyed and maintained a lower profile than many others during his journey through the sport, Anderson has always been known to have his own way of doing and seeing things.
“I think for me, I’m just more lowkey,” nodded Anderson. “I like to go home and do my work and just hang out and enjoy what I do. I think that’s just how I am. I’m not really a big guy on getting a lot of attention, so I just kind of keep to myself, for the most part. I mean there is a lot of stuff I like to do outside of the sport, but it’s hard to do just because my time is taken. You kind of get to the point to where you’ve got to figure out who you are besides racing, you know? Obviously now I feel like I’m on the closer side to the end and I kind of want to figure out who I am. Honesty, it’s tough because you start racing at six years old and then you’ve kind of figure out who you are as soon as you retire. It’s a hard thing to do. As you get older, too, you kind of have to understand the bad nights. You have to leave it there. I still have got to be present with what I do after and not have any negative on my energy whenever I’m away from the track because it is hard on you. But yeah, I definitely feel I can do it and we’ll see where we stack up when we show up to Anaheim 1. I’m looking forward to it and I just want to keep enjoying myself. That’s my biggest thing.”
How will Jason Anderson approach and face such fierce competitors as Jett Lawrence, Chase Sexton, Cooper Webb, Tomac, and more, come the clank of the starting gate onto the Angel Stadium dirt?
“To be honest, I feel like the only approach you can have is to just get the best start you can and create the best result from whatever start that you get. I feel like the days of you being so fast to where you can just run through the pack are gone. Right now the class is really, really, really stacked. There are the title guys and I would obviously like to put my name in there, but then you also have the guys behind them. You have Malcolm Stewart, Justin Barcia, Kenny Roczen, and there are a ton of guys who are still just so insanely good and they definitely get overlooked for how talented they are. All of those guys that I just said, you wouldn’t be surprised to see them P1 in practice. The amount of guys is just insane. The level our sport is going to is amazing. I mean I’m 31, but there are a fair amount of guys who are older than me right now, which is kind of insane. I’m grateful, but it is cool to see all of those guys doing the same thing with me.”
Can the sensational, young, and accomplished Jett Lawrence be defeated in 2025?
“Yeah. I think right now is the time, where if he is going to get beat, he needs to get beat right now. I think if you keep letting him go with his confidence, he can possibly win out until he’s tired of winning. I think right now is a big moment for people to try and stop it. I feel like if it doesn’t happen now, he’s going to be a tough train to slow down.”
Next stop, next Saturday, and the season-opening round of the 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship at Angel Stadium.
“I got my first win at Anaheim in 2014 and that’s over a decade ago, so it would be cool to win Anaheim opening-rounds a decade apart. That’s something that I always thought would be cool. It’s going to be tough. These guys aren’t making it easy on me and I’m just going to try and make it as hard on them as I can. I’m excited to go racing and see how we stack up.”
