Well, the moment that every Motocross and Supercross fan had been waiting for finally happened over the weekend. Yes, after months of anticipation, the gate dropped on the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Series in Anaheim, California. We all got lucky this past weekend as the rain and storm clouds cleared just in time to let this opening round take place under sunny skies and really perfect weather conditions for the night of racing. The track started off a little wet in certain spots; however, the Dirt Werx crew used every opportunity they had throughout the day and night to massage the track into something race-ready by the main events. When all was said and done, every rider interviewed after the race mentioned how challenging the Anaheim 1 track was and that the latter stages of the main events were mostly about survival. Of course, the A1 track did claim a few of the top riders during the main event, but those crashes appeared to be caused more by human error than deteriorating conditions. Regardless of the overall conditions, I thought the racing was excellent, and like most people, I lost track of the lead changes in the 450SX main event. With the number of mistakes we witnessed, I think it showed just how much pressure and urgency the riders felt to win the opening round of the SX series. Even on the 450SX podium, Eli Tomac- who won pretty much every big race in his career- was excited because he finally won the opening round in Anaheim, and he did it the hard way, which made it even more special.
As I mentioned above, the Anaheim track crew did a fantastic job all week keeping the track dry and getting it race ready on Saturday. But I’m not sure what they’re going to do for Round 2 in Oakland. Depending on which forecast you look at, it’s either going to rain every day this week, including all day Saturday, or it’s only going to rain a few days this week and then again on Saturday. Either way, it’s going to be very challenging to get the Oakland track built, sealed, and ready for Round 2. Not to mention, if it’s going to rain on Saturday what type of conditions will they have for the night show? I cannot remember the Monster Energy Supercross Series ever cancelling or postponing a race so I’m curious to see what they do here. I know Feld and the Dirt Werx crew have worked wonders in the past as they battled Mother Nature, but this week could be more challenging than anything they have had to deal with before. The word is that they’re going to build a tamer track this week and then let the riders loose in the mud on Saturday. Let’s all cross our fingers that Round 2 in Oakland will catch a break in this wet California winter and we’ll get to watch some more great racing this coming weekend.
Looking back now at the results from Saturday night, there were certainly a few good and bad surprises. On the good side of things, I think we can all agree that Tomac was much better and definitely more aggressive than expected. Not only did he charge to the front of the 450SX pack early in the main event, but then he did it a second time after he remounted from his crash. I (wrongly) predicted that Tomac was going to need a few rounds to get fully comfortable on his new 2023 YZ450F. Right from the beginning of practice and qualifying on Saturday he looked very good. Especially when he was being aggressive and attacking the challenging Anaheim track. I think that was the difference as Tomac (and Webb in the final laps of the 450SX main event) was the only rider who actually looked better as the track got worse. Whether that was because of fitness, bike set-up, experience, or perhaps a mix of all three, Tomac looked like he could’ve gone another five laps. It was a brilliant performance from the defending 450SX Champion and if he’s this good so early in the series, then that is bad news for everyone else.
Cooper Webb obviously looked good as he not only appeared more comfortable on his KTM, but his fitness was also on par with Tomac’s. The A1 track definitely suited Webb, as the whoop sections were short and he always seems to do well when conditions are challenging. Ken Roczen looked good also, he had some great speed during the first half of the main event. Ken appeared to fade a little during the second half of the race, but so did every rider except Tomac and Webb. Chase Sexton and Malcolm Stewart both had the lead at one point and could’ve easily gone on to win the season opener, but little costly mistakes allowed Tomac to catch up and go for the pass. Overall, the 450SX main event was very entertaining and other than this weekend, where conditions could be wet and all about survival, I think we’re in for a treat here in the coming weeks as once again there are five or six riders capable of winning.
In the 250SX West class it was all Jett Lawrence who showed up when he had to on Saturday night. During qualifying, Jett looked uncomfortable while the PC Kawasaki boys looked smooth and fast. However, when the gate dropped on the main event Lawrence grabbed the early lead and never looked back. Cameron McAdoo kept Jett close but didn’t seem to have the speed to make a push for the lead. Austin Forkner was another Kawasaki rider who was very fast in practice and in his heat race, but a big mistake 30 feet out of the gate in the main event cost him huge. I don’t know what to say about Forkner other than I feel bad for the kid. He has all of the tools needed to be a multi-time champion but during the most intense moments and when things matter the most on the race track, Forkner’s brain does not seem to operate at the same speed as his body. Trust me, no disrespect by this, he’s an elite rider. However, all successful athletes have the ability to slow things down mentally when the most pressure-filled moments arrive. I questioned whether or not Forkner is able to consistently do this as there was just no need for what happened on Saturday night to happen. I can see him getting sideways out of the gate and clipping another rider, that happens to everyone once in a while, but when that happens you have to relax and realize that you’ve messed up your start and then focus on setting yourself up to make passes in turn one. What you don’t want to do is continue to hold the throttle wide open and allow yourself to get ping-ponged around until you end up on the ground and out for the series. I know, it’s easy to sit back and be an armchair quarterback but that was tough to watch on Saturday night and it’s not the first time Forkner has made mistakes like that. I will say though that in his defense once you clip another rider with your front tire and with your starting device engaged, your bike becomes extremely unstable. With so much weight pushing down on the front wheel a bike (as we saw with Forkner and with Adam Cianciarulo in the 450SX main event start) you almost lose total control of your bike. This is why is was crucial for Forkner to chop the throttle the moment he had contact with Hampshire. I guess hindsight in 20/20!
Our Canadian riders had a decent night in Anaheim as Cole Thompson battled back from a poor start to finish 13th in the 250SX West main event. Although Julien Benek and Parker Eales missed the night show, both riders gained a lot of experience and will be better moving forward. I think it’s great that riders like Benek and Eales are racing in the 250SX West Series as it’s going to make them better riders without a doubt. As for Cole, he was a little disappointed with his main event result. When the track was the way it was and you don’t start up front, there isn’t much you can do. Look at Phil Nicoletti, who was well off the pace in qualifying but in the main event he started inside the top five and then held on for a solid 8th. Anyway, Cole knows what he has to do this weekend in Oakland and he had this to say about his Anaheim 1 result, “Overall, the bike and the team were awesome this weekend. I’m not happy with my end result in the main event but I’m happy to get out of Round 1 safe and healthy. The track was really challenging for sure.”
So that’s a wrap on the opening round in Anaheim. It was a great night of racing and it produced all of the action and entertainment that we could ask for. Tomac was great, Lawrence was great, and riders like Webb, Stewart, Roczen, Barcia, and Sexton all showed the speed needed to win races. One rider who surprisingly struggled all day was Jason Anderson. He looked a little lost almost every time he took to the track and in the main event he just couldn’t get it going. Anderson spent a lot of time on the ground in Anaheim, and that was the night’s biggest surprise. I’m not sure if you read my predictions late last week, but sadly I was not even close. I had Sexton and McAdoo to win the main events which I guess weren’t too far off, but the rest were completely wrong. Anyway, let’s hope the rain holds off this week in Oakland as no one wants a mudder for Round 2.
I hope everyone has great week and in closing, I want to wish Tyler Gibbs good luck as he’s heading over to Germany to race the Dortmund SX. This race is three nights this weekend and is notorious for being one of the world’s toughest SX events. This is also Tyler’s first time travelling to Europe so good luck and have fun! Finally, I made my way to the Motorcycle Show in Toronto on Friday and while there wasn’t a lot of motocross there, it was still fun to walk around a show and see so many people excited about motorcycles again. It’s been a while since I’ve been to a motorcycle show. Have a good week and thank you for reading! If you have any comments, please email me at chris@mxpmag.com.