Slaw Dog
What a wild night in Anaheim. Jett Lawrence won in his 450SX debut, becoming the first rider in history to accomplish the feat. Jason Anderson is so back. Cooper Webb was amazing but had a gnarly crash. Ken Roczen got screwed in the main event. The defending champion Chase Sexton rode awesome in his KTM debut. Eli Tomac had a quiet 9th in his return. Hunter Lawrence didn’t make the 450 main in his debut and so much more. And that’s only the 450 Class.
The 250s were highlighted by an RJ Hampshire win. A breakout performance from rookie Julien Beaumer and more.
Like, I said, the 2024 Monster Energy Supercross opener at Anaheim 1 delivered. You’ve probably already stopped reading this, so here is some information after the event, including podium quotes, press conference, highlights and results.
Podium Quotes 450
Jett Lawrence
“It’s an unreal thing to kinda grasp. Really because you just think with how many years this sport’s been around you’d have thought someone has done it before. But it’s cool that it took that many years for someone to do it. I’m definitely grateful and I’m happy to do it for Honda and Red Bull. They’ve been behind me for a very long time now so it’s good to give back in that type of way and get up in the history books for them. ” – Jett Lawrence, when asked about the significance of being the first rider to win his first 450SX race.
Jason Anderson
“I definitely didn’t want him [Cooper Webb] to pass me [for second]. So I think we kind of slowed our pace down trying to have that battle for a second and let Jett get that little three-second gap… But at the same time I [made a few] mistakes and stuff like that, and Cooper was able to get on me and be able to get close enough to make that pass. But I think me, Coop, and Jett, for a good 15 minutes of that moto were pretty even. It was tough to make time.” – Jason Anderson, describing his battle with Cooper Webb for second place before Webb crashed.
Chase Sexton
“I come out here to win and be up front, so not only Jett, but everybody else, I gotta go out there and race as hard as I can and try and win. But I’m happy to be on the podium. It wasn’t, like I said, my best riding, but it’s a long season; and like last year shows, you gotta be there for every race. I feel like my consistency is better this year, I just gotta get a little bit more speed. I had really good speed last year and now we gotta get that back and we’ll be in a good spot.” – Chase Sexton when asked about the importance of preventing Jett from getting momentum early in the season.
Podium Quotes 250
RJ Hampshire
“I know how fast it can change and how up and down it is… Stay level headed and take next weekend the same as we took this weekend. Stay in the fight, give myself a chance. If the win’s there, awesome, if not, take what the night gives me. …[I’m just trying to] enjoy this. Especially enjoy an Anaheim 1 victory, which was massive.” – RJ Hampshire downplaying the importance of one win to establish himself early in the season as the front runner.
Jordon Smith
“RJ had a pretty big lead by the time I got into second. There’s wasn’t a whole lot of seperator on the track tonight. It was tough to get that long rhythm but I mainly wasn’t focused on going for the win I was just focused on putting my laps in, just trying to stay focused in the whoops. They were not hard tonight but they got tricky in the Main Event. They were pretty tore-up.” – Jordon Smith.
Levi Kitchen
“I think I got more in me for sure, but tonight was still positive… To get it back together after that heat race incident, and early on I panicked pretty bad in that main. These guys [Hampshire and Smith] were riding really good, too. They blew by me, so I had to regroup, which was a positive for me also. But like RJ said there are ups and downs and it’s a long season, so to get out of here healthy with a podium, I can’t complain.” – Levi Kitchen, when asked if he has more under the hood for future races.
Highlights
450SX Results
1 Jett Lawrence
2 Jason Anderson
3 Chase Sexton
4 Aaron Plessinger
5 Dylan Ferrandis
6 Cooper Webb
7 Justin Barcia
8 Justin Cooper
9 Eli Tomac
10 Ken Roczen
11 Malcolm Stewart
12 Adam Cianciarulo
13 Jorge Prado
14 Justin Hill
15 Derek Drake
16 Dean Wilson
17 Shane McElrath
18 Kyle Chisholm
19 Cade Clason
20 Christian Craig
21 Fredrik Noren
22 Vince Friese
250SX West Region Results
1 RJ Hampshire
2 Jordon Smith
3 Levi Kitchen
4 Jo Shimoda
5 Max Vohland
6 Julien Beaumer
7 Garrett Marchbanks
8 Mitchell Oldenburg
9 Ryder DiFrancesco
10 Carson Mumford
11 Anthony Bourdon
12 Cole Thompson
13 Hunter Yoder
14 Robbie Wageman
15 Josh Varies
16 TJ Albright
17 Lance Kobusch
18 Talon Hawkins
19 Julien Benek
20 Lux Turner
21 Nate Thrasher
22 Phil Nicoletti
Press Conference
Main image: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
