Birmingham, Alabama, hosts round 10 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. The de facto replacement for what used to be an Atlanta round of the series has been a success the first two visits. Birmingham is a more intimate venue than most, a stadium that is built in a similar fashion to San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium. The dirt is fantastic, though, with orange clay that sets up for great racing. The outdoor aspect always leaves weather to chance, though, and we dodged a serious bullet in 2024. We are once again catching a break as early week weather had lows below freezing. By Saturday, that all changes and we are going to touch 80 degrees before sundown! With outdoor venues, sometimes you’re the hammer and sometimes you’re the nail. Let’s be thankful we are the former this weekend because we have a gauntlet of outdoor venues in April. What about the track, you ask? Let’s check it out.
The start spans the entire length of the stadium, albeit a smaller stadium floor than most. That lessens the importance of gate position and allows riders to choose the better rut versus solely being concerned with where on the gate they line up.
A long-left hand 180 leads into an immediate rhythm section alongside the home sideline. The ideal line will be to straighten this angled double (apex early and draw a straight line versus following the curve of the jump). Upon landing riders can triple over the 5-foot reverse ski jump, then go 3-3 into the next corner. If for some reason that line doesn’t pan out, the next best line will be to quickly dispatch the first jump, then go 2-3-3-2 into the next 180. The only reason I could see that line being in play is if the first jump is too small to double from.
Coming back the other direction is the only whoops section of the Birmingham layout. This looks to be the 9-whoop variety and I would expect those inclined to jump to be able to by main event time. They would want to stick to the very low line in the berm, shorten the distance covered and then execute a 3-3-3 and out.
A 180 bowl berm slingshots riders back the other way into five similarly built jumps. A 3-2 option is usually the fastest way here but if the corner deteriorates, riders will revert back to a 2-3, especially the 250’s. The sneaky line here is those that are jumping the whoops can go inside after the whoops and go 1-2-2 and significantly shorten the racetrack. It sounds slow on paper but can be effective in the right circumstances.
A short chute cuts diagonally across the start straight and into a tight 180 right. This setup leads to aggressive block passes, especially leading to the checkers. There have been many instances of takeout attempts before the finish with this exact setup as the straightaway allows for the following rider to draw an aggressive entry angle as the lead rider goes wide to setup for the next double. The following rider cares not for the double, his only goal is to reach the intersection point before the lead rider can. It’s a desperation move but watch for this to happen at least once on Saturday evening.
The aforementioned double leads to the finish line jump and into another netted bowl berm to the left. The following rhythm section is one we have seen quite a bit of recently. The back-to-back tabletops present the ability to step from one to the other with speed. This option was very tricky at Arlington as the ruts became problematic by main event time. With Birmingham’s harder dirt, I do think that the step-step option will be the option of choice. The final three jumps present an option to triple to the outside or go 2-1 and stick to the inside. Going three to the berm and three again out of the berm seems like the logical choice but for some reason, going inside usually ends up winning out for the race line. Something to watch there.
Riders fire across the start straight horizontally and into back-to-back option berms. I am thinking they will drag a tuff block or two into the lanes after the start to force riders to commit to one or the other. If they don’t the only choice here is going inside-inside for these two berms which seems less than ideal for racing. I am going to assume this will be similar to Daytona when we go racing, once you commit to one line, you’re in it for the next corner also.
There are three final jumps exiting the second option berm and those on the inside on exit will go 2-1 while the outside riders will want to triple from the berm. The outside line on exit does set riders up much more nicely for the next section, giving them outside leverage so maybe that’s a deciding factor. Dartfish software will be pivotal here for riders to determine which is the quicker line.
- Supercross
- Race Day Live (Qualifying)LiveMarch 21 - 1:00 PM
- Main Program Night ShowLiveMarch 21 - 7:00 PM
- Main Program Night ShowLiveMarch 21 - 7:00 PM
- Main Program Night Show (Encore Presentation)March 22 - 1:00 PM
Who’s Hot
Cole Davies went 1-1-1 at Indy and proved that the pre-season hype was appropriate. He will have his hands full with the rest of the field moving forward but he’s special.
Haiden Deegan comes in with a five race win streak but the East/West showdown will be another test for the reigning 250SX West champ.
Hunter Lawrence now has two wins on the season and retains the red plate he’s held for a bit. He has to be riding a wave of confidence after passing Tomac multiple times to win Indy.
Ken Roczen’s riding at Indy was not indicative of his result. That race 2 crash ruined what could have been a much better evening.
Justin Cooper’s race 2 win was easily the best 450 performance of his career. That was eye opening for teams looking at 2027 rosters.
Who’s Not
Dylan Ferrandis will miss his second straight race with a sprained thumb.
Joey Savatgy injured his foot at Indy without crashing. The pics look painful so it will be a tough go for Birmingham if he lines up.
Bold Predictions
A rule provision is introduced for immediate application: “Amendment 472.1: Tarred and Feathered”. This new inclusion will apply to all lappers that refuse to acknowledge that they are not the main character of the main event.
With so many eligible suitors on both coasts, Haiden Deegan stays awake all night Friday debating who to start drama with on Saturday.
Some MX media outlet, that no one has heard of, starts a rumor that Chase Sexton is leaving Monster Energy Kawasaki to join the Fantic Factory Racing team in MXGP starting at round three.
My Picks
250
Deegs
Hammaker
Shimoda
450
Tomac
Hunter
Roczen
