Yamaha’s Eli Tomac snatched a second consecutive win of the 2023 AMA Supercross season in front of a sold-out crowd inside the brand new Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California. KTM’s Cooper Webb also replicated his first round finish and took second place after failing to reel in the champ. And Justin Barcia held off pressure right until the flag to take the final podium spot.
It was HRC’s Colt Nichols who took the 450 Main Event Holeshot but Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo quickly took the lead for the opening laps of the 20-minute plus one lap race. Webb and Tomac battled each other as they closed on the leader. Webb took over the front spot two and a half minutes into the race. Then Tomac also got around Cianciarulo and made the pass on Webb for the lead. Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson pushed forward into third place as a battle brewed between Barcia and Suzuki’s Ken Roczen for fourth.
Just past the halfway point Anderson crashed in a turn, turning the battle between Barcia and Roczen into a podium position fight, with Chase Sexton right behind. Sexton only made it to the main after having to win the Last Chance Qualifier when he crashed in his heat and his bike’s tank was destroyed. But then he fell in a clash with Barcia.
In the final laps Webb pulled close to Tomac’s when the champ mistimed a rhythm section due to backmarker traffic, knocking the Yamaha rider’s lead down to just 1.4 seconds. Tomac held on for the win to make it two from two.
It was a poor main for Malcom Stewart who won his heat then crashed in the final, going over the bars which left his plastic badly damaged. He took 14th while Briton Dean Wilson finished 15th.
In 250s class racing, HRC’s Jett Lawrence also repeated his opening round win with a flawless ride. He was fastest in qualifying, won his heat race and dominated the final.
Lawrence took the holeshot ahead of Yamaha’s Enzo Lopes, Honda’s Mitchell Oldenburg, Kawasaki’s Cameron McAdoo and Husqvarna’s RJ Hampshire, who was not on top form after banging his head in a crash on Wednesday.
Contact in the tight opening lap pushed Hampshire back but he quickly worked his way back to sixth and started picking off the riders ahead of him. Lopes and Yamaha’s Phil Nicoletti scrapped over second while McAdoo and Hampshire slowly pushed forward. Five minutes into the 15-minute plus one lap race, McAdoo put his Kawasaki into second and matched lap times with Lawrence, just two seconds ahead. Two minutes later Hampshire reached third. From there Lawrence pulled out some breathing room. Then Hampshire cut under McAdoo to match his first round performance and earn second place points. McAdoo said he had arm pump.
Dylan Walsh easily made it through to the main on his Revo Kawasaki, which the team are trying new suspension on. He got a decent start but finished 11th, taking ninth in the series standings. Dylan Woodock was having problems in qualifying when his first his ECU developed problems, then he crashed in the whoops. He didn’t have a great heat race but took fourth in the LCQ to make it to the main, where he finished 10th for three points.
450SX Class Results
1. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha
2. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM
3. Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., GASGAS
4. Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki
5. Chase Sexton, Clermont, Fla., Honda
6. Dylan Ferrandis, Tallahassee, Fla., Yamaha
7. Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.Mex., Kawasaki
8. Adam Cianciarulo, New Smyrna Beach, Fla., Kawasaki
9. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM
10. Joey Savatgy, Clermont, Fla., Kawasaki
450SX Class Championship Standings
1. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha (52)
2. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM (46
3. Chase Sexton, Clermont, Fla., Honda (39)
4. Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki (37)
5. Dylan Ferrandis, Tallahassee, Fla., Yamaha (36)
6. Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., GASGAS (33)
7. Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.Mex., Kawasaki (32)
8. Adam Cianciarulo, New Smyrna Beach, Fla., Kawasaki (29)
9. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM (29)
10. Colt Nichols, Murrieta, Calif., Honda (28)
Western Regional 250SX Class Results
1. Jett Lawrence, Zephyrhills, Fla., Honda
2. RJ Hampshire, Minneola, Fla., Husqvarna
3. Cameron McAdoo, Sioux City, Iowa, Kawasaki
4. Enzo Lopes, Chesterfield, S.C., Yamaha
5. Pierce Brown, Sandy, Utah, GASGAS
6. Stilez Robertson, Bakersfield, Calif., Yamaha
7. Mitchell Oldenburg, Godley, Tex., Honda
8. Phillip Nicoletti, Bethel, N.Y., Yamaha
9. Derek Kelley, Riverside, Calif., KTM
10. Cole Thompson, Brigden, Ont., Yamaha
Western Regional 250SX Class Championship Standings
1. Jett Lawrence, Zephyrhills, Fla., Honda (52)
2. RJ Hampshire, Minneola, Fla., Husqvarna (46)
3. Cameron McAdoo, Sioux City, Iowa, Kawasaki (42)
4. Enzo Lopes, Chesterfield, S.C., Yamaha (36)
5. Mitchell Oldenburg, Godley, Tex., Honda (35)
6. Stilez Robertson, Bakersfield, Calif., Yamaha (31)
7. Phillip Nicoletti, Bethel, N.Y., Yamaha (30)
8. Derek Kelley, Riverside, Calif., KTM (27)
9. Dylan Walsh, Wildomar, Calif., Kawasaki (24)
10. Cole Thompson, Brigden, Ont., Yamaha (23)