Sexton Earns First Kawasaki Win, Deegan Goes Makes it Two in a Row at Anaheim 2 SX

Tomac is now the lone rider to finish on the podium in each race thus far, with two wins and a third. He has an eight-point lead over Lawrence in the 450SMX Class standings, as Lawrence moved up to second on the heels of back-to-back runner-up finishes. Sexton moved into third, 13 points behind Tomac, while Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki’s Ken Roczen dropped to fourth (-14) after he missed the podium for the first time in a valiant eighth-place finish that saw him fight back from 21st on the opening lap.

Chase Sexton – 1st Place – 450SMX Class

“It’s been a long few months, going back to the [crash at the] Vegas SMX finale. That was not good for me. It’s hard to get back here [atop the podium], honestly. It’s been a journey. Even after the Heat Race tonight I was wondering what I was doing wrong and knew I needed to just go out there and do my laps. I strapped up for the Main Event and just rode solid and more within myself. I can’t say enough about the team and everything they’ve done to get us to this point. It’s good to put Kawi back on top.”

Hunter Lawrence – 2nd Place – 450SMX Class

“I just need a little more consistency throughout the day. Every time I went on the track I made a change to the bike, so every time I was learning the track again and trying to adapt to the bike. However, we are learning a lot and hopefully we can carry that through the rest of the series. I need to be better from the start through the beginning of the race. You could see I was a bit slow to get going, but I picked it up towards the end.”

Eli Tomac – 3rd Place – 450SMX Class

“The big picture [championship] is great. That race was a whole lot of everything. A lot of offense, a lot of defense. I tried some moves and got passed, and vice versa. I’m happy to defend that podium spot, it was important for me, but that was a very intense race. Overall, I’m happy with the finish and looking forward to next weekend.”

The Western Divisional 250SMX Class once again saw the battle for the win come down to a pair of Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammates in Michael Mosiman and Haiden Deegan. Mosiman led the field through the first turn for the holeshot, ahead of Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Cameron McAdoo, ClubMX Yamaha’s Max Vohland, and Deegan. As Mosiman secured control of the race early on, Deegan charged up to second. From there, the duo pulled away from the field and paced one another for most of the 15 Minute + 1 Lap race. With three-and-a-half minutes to go Deegan closed in on Mosiman and made quick work of a pass for the lead. With the clear track, Deegan quickly moved more than five seconds clear of the field and easily claimed back-to-back wins to officially take hold of the early title fight.

Deegan took his ninth career win 8.5 seconds ahead of Mosiman, who now has third and second place finishes the past two races. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Ryder DiFrancesco came out on top of a tight battle with McAdoo for DiFrancesco’s second career podium result, his first coming at the Anaheim opener just two weeks ago.

Deegan has a nine-point lead over Mosiman in the Western Divisional standings. Their Star Yamaha teammate Max Anstie dropped from second to third, 10 points out of the lead, after his worst result of the season thus far in sixth.

Haiden Deegan – 1st Place – Western Divisional 250SMX Class

“That was amazing. Good ride. Solid ride. I need to give it up to [Mosiman], when people put in that extra work a lot of the time it goes unnoticed. He’s the only guy I see out there putting in the extra effort. I gotta give him credit and that’s what makes him such a tough competitor.”

Michael Mosiman – 2nd Place – Western Divisional 250SMX Class

“It feels great [to be on the podium]. Every time I go to the gate I look up at the stands, see all the fans, and make sure I appreciate the moment. We put in so much work just to be able to perform and when that happens it’s just an amazing feeling. I’m stoked on the race and stoked on my start. Whenever you can get a holeshot that makes a world of difference.”

Ryder DiFrancesco – 3rd Place – Western Divisional 250SMX Class

“I knew if I could keep [McAdoo] close that I could get him. It didn't happen [initially] but I figured I could wear him down and get it done at the end. I guess Anaheim is my place. It’s close to home.”

Accompanying the action of the 450SMX and 250SMX classes was the first race of SMX Next – Supercross, featuring the most talented and high-profile A and B class prospects in amateur motocross. The race featured a hand-selected field of 22 racers and was dominated by young Australian Kayden Minear, who went wire-to-wire in his first-ever Supercross race. The 18-year-old was never challenged throughout the 8 Minute + 1 Lap race and spearheaded an impressive sweep of the podium by Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing. Minear took the checkered flag 1.7 seconds ahead of 16-year-old Caden Dudney, who was followed by 18-year-old Landen Gordon. Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green’s Vincent Wey, the 16-year-old son of former SMX star Nick Wey, was in podium contention throughout the race, but ultimately settled for fourth.