Round three of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, and we're back in Anaheim. The track was pretty good, the wet dirt made it a whole lot harder than it would've been. The ruts going down the rhythm lane, down the first baseline, didn't look like fun.
We're going to start seeing everyone settle in here, round one is wacky. Round two is a statement, round three is a settling in, and rounds four and five are when we see some clarity.
And there it is! The first win for Chase Sexton on the Kawasaki, breaking Team Green's long winless streak in the 450SX class (they had not won since 2022). He did it in style, passing all the heavy hitters outside of Cooper Webb and Ken Roczen. Chase seemed to manage the race nicely, ALA Jett Lawrence, where he did just enough to stay 2-3 seconds ahead, and there wasn't his usual "I will break you" Ivan Drago-type mentality. Afterwards, he mentioned needing to have a "come to Jesus" talk with himself after he crashed while leading the heat race.
I'm not the only one who thought his night might go sideways when he did that, right? Ok, whew. It was a little too close to Anaheim 1, when he also crashed in his heat race.
Chase was on the PulpMX Show Monday night and mentioned that his changes to the bike were to stiffen the chassis and soften the forks. The split clamp design he had on there is more for flex, and with these aluminum frames, the OEMs have mostly found that riders like that feel. But Sexton, as big and as strong as he is, does seem to be the type of rider that would need stiffness in the chassis, but too stiff in the fork can cause arm pump and harshness, so you go about it the way he did with the PC clamps.
I think Sexton is the fastest raw speed guy in the class (ducks) and so he can really get on a run here with confidence in his bike and a win. Yes, he's won a ton, but new bike, new team, and you never know until you know, you know? Could he rip off a bunch of wins here? Yes, for sure. Could he make some mistakes and throw races away? Also, yes. That is the mystery wrapped in a riddle that is Chase Sexton, and I love watching it.
So, factory Kawasaki went 53 450SX races without getting a win, which to me seemed like a long time, right? I mean, it's almost four years! But it's barely in the top ten of longest OEM winless streaks in that class. Here's that list:
Poor Suzuki, even before they basically pulled their factory team out of supercross racing, they had four of the longest five OEM droughts in the sport's history. So, thanks Ken Roczen and #YellowMagic.
Thanks to MX Reference over on Pulpmx.com, you can see the OEM droughts here.
Hunter Lawrence rode great again, he was caught and passed by Eli Tomac, but he found a way back by ET3, just like he found a way back by Roczen last week. And in a carbon copy of San Diego, he went after the leader late in the race. Chase Sexton said on the PulpMX Show that he fears Hunter a lot late in the race and said he knows he might be the best late in the race. Just a matter of time before the #96 gets that first 450SX win.
I heard that points leader Eli Tomac tried a scoop out for one of the qualifier sessions, but I'm not able to verify that, but it would make sense. With the rain and some track prep stuff, we had a tacky Anaheim for most of the day (although I heard from one rider by the night show it was same old Anaheim, and I heard from another rider it was so different than the usual Anaheim—welcome to the media!), so by the night show, he was not using that tire. I do think this was radically different dirt from the first two rounds, so I wonder if Eli was fighting his bike a bit? No hate comms, he was good for sure and got third, I just wonder if the KTM crew wasn't able to make him 100% happy with the bike with those conditions. He was so incredibly dialed at Anaheim 1.
Update: my deep, deep sources at KTM told me ET did not try a scoop at Anaheim 2, but Prado did in one session. Ok, carry on.
Jason Anderson led a lot of laps out there and ended up dropping back to a fourth. He was punted off the track by ET, which I would think might make him mad, but afterwards, in an interview, he said it was okay because he was going backward anyway. Which is a great answer BTW.
Was Cooper Webb going to get third? Well, he spun five laps in a row faster than Tomac around the midpoint of the race, but then ET picked it up a bit. Then Webb fell in the sand, and that's all she wrote. A season-best (?!?) ride of fifth for the champ, and JT said this is the worst start for any defending champion through three rounds, which I thought would be for sure Emig in '98, but upon checking, Fro's season didn't head south until round four that season.
Here's the thing, though. Webb is riding well! Points are the points and all that, and do I think he's going to get a fourth title after three rounds? No, I do not, but there's no panic button for CW2 here on my end. It's just been "stuff" happening to him. Oh, what could've been had that red flag not been thrown at Anaheim 1!!
Privateer Joey Savatgy is taking the "he's so fast at the practice track" talk and getting some real results! Fifth last week, sixth this week is awesome. Savatgy's your favorite racer's favorite racer. Lots of other riders know he's really fast, a good dude, and you could make a case he's been screwed a bit by the industry in terms of rides and his timing. He rode just in front of a battle royale behind him to a good finish. Same thing happened last week!
We had Joey on the PulpMX Show Monday night, and he expressed that he's very comfortable with his bike right now. He says it's very predictable, he knows exactly what his Honda is going to do and when, which has helped him to do what he's been doing so far. Could Savatgy, with a good SX season (he's not doing all the outdoors), land back on a factory team? I think so, as I said, he's well-respected for his skills.
Haiden Deegan rode great all day long, and he did what he needed to do in the main event. I guess if I'm picky, I would think he would've gotten Michael Mosiman sooner than he did, but like, whatever. He was slowly reeling him in, and once he got by, he pulled away rather easily. "Us" experts said that Deegs needed to dominate this series to really be ready for 450SX, and so far, so good.
Michael Mosiman is a nice story here. From a serious neck injury to a broken face, Mosi's had some things to overcome, and here he is. I would bet that out of the 78 riders Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing has, Michael's probably the guy that needs the least amount of attention, which makes him perfect for Star Yamaha. In the off-season he mentioned that he's had to force himself to be more picky with the bike and asking for stuff. That's not his nature. Nice riding lately, that's for sure.
I talked to Ryder DiFrancesco after the main event, and I told him that he's progressed to the point where a so-so or bad start means that he will just end up on the box. He's gotten to that point, and he agreed, he's a "guy" now, you know? He rode very well and had a hell of a battle with McAdoo for the last spot on the podium. Also, there are heavy rumors that his teammate Dax Bennick is flying at the test track, so there's that.
Some other news and notes:
- Ken Roczen got a bad start (14th at the stripe) and then fell on the first lap. So, Roczen had the joy of passing 14 riders to get up to 8th at the end of the race. He rode well, but what are you gonna do?
- Jorge Prado won a heat race. Although his last two mains have been eehhhh, he's still good, people.
- Justin Cooper has passed the most racers through three races. I know they worked on his bike for starts coming into Anaheim 2, but yeah, back to the drawing board, I guess.
- Garrett Marchbanks did it! He successfully completed his first 450SX main event (his other one was in Daytona and doesn't count) for a 14th. Rough start for G, but it's onward and upward for him from here. He was telling me that he wasn't stoked on the 14th, and sure, I get it but then look at the field ahead of him. Everyone ahead of him, outside of Prado, has won multiple 250SX races, and ten of the riders are champions in at least 250SX. Deep field!
- I don't know what was up with Max Anstie all day long. He was never fast, he never looked anywhere near as good as he had been through two rounds, and I don't know, man. Maybe he was sick? Maybe he's sick of talking to Lewis? I would be. This weekend is big for Anstie if he wants to win this title.
- Levi Kitchen has fallen in all three first corners to start the year. He is not having a good time, ICYWW.
- Chance Hymas really needed to stay injury-free this year, but he couldn't do it. He put his shoulder out, and Honda PR says he will probably be out three weeks, which let's hope that's all. Not awesome for Honda and Hymas.
- Cool story with Josh Varize being back and riding well here. He's had one top ten in 250SX in the last four years and just got his second. Three mains in a row as well for the privateer.
- Max Vohland says that his pants gave him arm pump, and he needs to do some pant testing. I've heard a lot of things in my years in the sport, but this is a first for me. I hope he can figure out his pants, so he doesn't get arm pump.
Thanks for reading OBS, we're onto Houston and the Triple Crown! These are always fun to watch, and it's cool to be back in Houston as well. Email me at matthes@racerxonline.com if you want to chat about this race or whatever else.
