Behind The Lens Presented By Fox Racing Canada- 2024 San Francisco SX
Usually, visiting the Bay Area is beautiful as there are many interesting things to see and do. However, Mother Nature did everything she could this past weekend to ruin it for everyone involved with the 2024 Monster Energy Supercross Series. The rain began Saturday morning and didn’t stop until the checkered flags flew on the 250SX West and 450SX main events. Despite the gallant efforts of the track crew, the conditions worsened throughout the evening, and the racing became as much about survival as it did about finishing well. In the end, Chase Sexton took home his first win of 2024 in the 450SX class, while Jordon Smith held on to win the 250SX West class. Now, the SX Series moves back down I-5 to San Diego for Round 3. To cap off another exciting week of SX, let’s take a look at some incredible photos from James Lissimore.
The track crew did their best to keep the SF track dry, but at some point the tarps had to come off. Photo by James LissimoreIt was a stormy night in the Bay Area. The location for Round 3 of the Monster Energy Supercross Series was very nice. Jason Anderson showed up in San Francisco fresh off his podium finish at the opening round. Unlike Anaheim where things went smoothly for JA21, a hard crash in turn one ruined any chance he had of another podium at Round 2. Justin Barcia came into Round 2 sick as a dog and sadly wasn’t able to get things going in the main event. The SF track got so bad that at some point the riders just needed to try and survive.
Not known as a great mud rider, Christian Craig struggled in the wet conditions. Dylan Ferrandis has had a solid start to the 2024 SX Series and after two rounds he sits 5th in points. Round 2 was tough for everyone involved with SX. The most important piece of equipment at Round 2 were these. Jett Lawrence looked good early in the night, but a poor start in the main event led to vision problems and several crashes.Hunter Lawrence has had a tough start to his 450SX career. So far he’s gone DNS-11th in 2024. It’s safe to say that this race ruined a lot of bikes. Poor Phil had a podium spot all locked up until his teammate passed him on the final lap. After dominating his heat race, Aaron Plessinger jinxed himself for the rest of the night with a slightly cocky post race speech. After winning his heat race, Jorge Prado didn’t get off to the best start in the main event and struggled to move forward. Ken Roczen rode well in the mud as he went from last to third in the 450SX main event. Chase Sexton got off to an early lead in the 450SX main event and then never looked back. Jo Shimoda is in a tough spot now after finishing last in the 250SX West main event. Jordon Smith has started 2024 well with a second place finish at Anaheim and then a win at Round 2. Our boy St-Cyr almost qualified for the main event with a 5th place finish in the LCQ. Once the gate dropped on the 450 main event it was a mad rush to turn one. Chase Sexton arrived first at turn one and was greeted by a foot of mud. Thankfully Sexton was able to stay up after this close call in turn one. Malcolm Stewart came into 2024 as one of the favourites to win races. But after two tough rounds he’s nowhere to be seen in the points standings. Cole Thompson rode well in the mud, but several crashes in the main event pushed him back to 15th. Despite the conditions, Thompson’s style was still on point. Eli Tomac came into Round 2 as focused as we’ve ever seen him. In the main event, he rode solid to finish in second. At least the bikes at Round 2 looked good before the riders took to the track. Former pro rider turned riding coach Nck Wey points out the good lines to his students.
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