The 2025 season of Monster Energy AMA Supercross just keeps throwing curve balls every Saturday night, on both classes. Just like every other round so far this year, there were a few things that left us scratching our heads. Fortunately we've got former pro and NBC reporter, Jason Thomas, on staff and available to answer our questions!
The track in Detroit seemed pretty tight. Is that accurate? If so, how did that affect the racing on Saturday night?
It was pretty typical for SX if you look at tracks over a large timeframe. The rhythm sections were not over the top, typical whoops, bowl berms, 90 degree corners, etc. I think it was a track that many riders felt comfortable with and I also have heard it was a track that teams built at their facilities as a baseline. The one dynamic that did effect the racing was the openness of the corners which made the leader vulnerable in any battle. If you noticed riders like Max Vohland looking back, it’s because the lead rider was susceptible to a block pass or worse in many sections.
The start, like many other starts, was such that if you holeshot on the inside of the first turn you were then set up on the outside for the next turn. What role does that have, if any, on gate pick?
Most riders are going to position themselves for the first corner and then will manage the dynamic going into corner two. If they try to worry about the second corner before they get through the first, they are putting the cart before the horse. The middle gates were the best by a large margin in Detroit. The inside gates were nearly unusable and the outside gates had a lot more ground to cover to get to the apex of the first corner. Some starts are more equal than others. This one was very skewed toward the middle.
There was a little single before the whoop section. What kind of an effect did that have on how riders went through the whoops?
It did have a disrupting effect to both momentum and the suspension position on entry. Riders want speed and also want the forks to be high in the stroke when entering. That roller put pressure on the forks, lowering their ride height on entry which disallows the desired level, static position that blitzing whoops rewards.
The other interesting tidbit, which I covered on the SMX Insider Post Show, Cooper Webb started using that roller to jump into the first whoop and then go 3-3-3 through the rest of the whoops. Any time a rider can take an obstacle designed to slow people down and actually increase proficiency in the same section, that’s a huge coup.
Which line did you like in the sand section? It seemed like guys were making both the inside and outside work.
It changed many times throughout the day and evening. The track crew was reworking the section and the effectiveness was evolving throughout the racing. The outside was easily the fastest early in the morning but then the inside became clearly better. It was a tricky, fluid situation that riders couldn’t get lazy with.
What a heartbreak Detroit served up for Max Anstie, who had the race won only to have a red flag come out seconds before the clock expired. But how was Levi Kitchen able to beat Anstie after the restart, after Anstie seemed like he had Kitchen covered the whole main event?
The aforementioned sand made the difference. Anstie had a lead and if he goes inside there, all of that cat and mouse stuff likely doesn’t occur. When he went outside and allowed Kitchen to pull alongside over the finish, the entire dynamic changed. Instead of being able to turn and burn, Max had to ride defensively. Further, he went outside in the corner after the start straight (backward) and opened the door to Kitchen making a block pass. Max was flawless most of the day but his race craft in the final few laps was the weakest part of his entire weekend. Tough deal for the rider who has been the class of the field thus far.
Cameron McAdoo had a big crash in the 250SX main event, which prompted the aforementioned red flag. Were you able to tell what started that get-off?
He just got a little wonky in the whoops and instead of braking and saving it, he stayed in it and things escalated. If there’s one knock on McAdoo, it’s the risk taking and crashing. He saves many of these but the ones he doesn’t are often too brutal to walk away from. At some point, caution has to play a role in racing. It can’t just be carefree throttle twisting in any situation. Finding the balance is for each rider to ascertain, but it feels like McAdoo has a tough time staying on the right side of the line when considering the course of a season. I hate it for him, but that’s how I feel. There’s a missing link here somewhere in his risk assessment.
When is the last time you even remember a guy, especially a top guy like Chase Sexton, get stuck in the gate? What leads up to such an accomplished racer making a mistake like that?
I believe he tried to time it. He didn’t flinch, he wasn’t triggered by a rider next to him, and he didn’t check up. He committed to it like he knew it was going to drop. If he gets it right, his start looks a lot like San Francisco 2024. It’s a risky move, though, and one I don’t think he needs to toy with. He’s far too capable to take a chance like that. The penalty is being last place and essentially ruining his race. Thankfully, he’s so fast that he salvaged a podium but he was 12-15 seconds down on the leaders.
How hard is it to eat roost in the sand section like Sexton was, without a visor
It’s more annoying than anything. The sand doesn’t hurt like roost at an AMA Pro Motocross race would. It just gets in your mouth, ruins your goggles, etc. Running out of tear offs could be a real problem but mostly it’s just a nuisance.
Ken Roczen and Cooper Webb had a tremendous battle, with Webb coming out on top. What makes Webb so strong in these situations?
His mental game is simply at the very top of the spectrum. He understands the situation, knows the tendencies of who he is racing, and is able to formulate game plans to come out ahead. The Roczen/Webb scenario is one we have watched play out for years, with almost always the same result. It has to be incredibly frustrating for Roczen but the only way to turn the tide is to buck the trend. Easier said than done, it would appear, but that’s the long and short of it. I do feel Webb’s fitness is a little better late in the race, also. Roczen’s strength is early sprinting and getting to the front immediately but if he's in a dogfight late, he doesn’t seem to have the same lethality.
Do you think Roczen was bummed about giving up the win late in the race, or happy about bouncing back for second from last week’s DNF?
I think it was both. He obviously wanted to win and didn’t want to relive the Webb dynamic, but he was in the fight, and he gained points on Sexton. He’s going to think about those final few laps this week like he has in all of the prior run-in’s but focusing on the positives is important when the races continue to keep coming. There’s no time to dwell on things you can’t change. Arlington will be here before we know it.
