Favorites to Win the 450 and 250 West Region Supercross Titles

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We are down two rounds! The Monster Energy Supercross season continues its California swing with a second visit to Anaheim this Saturday and in this edition of Most Likely, we examine some key talking points. Like, will who will win the 450SX and 250SX West Region titles? Is Ken Roczen here to stay? And we make our podium picks for this weekend.

Read on…

Is Cole Davies most likely to win a race this year?

Slaw: If you would have asked me this at the start of the season, I would have locked you up in the mental hospital. Certified crazy question. Yet here we are two rounds later and I’m a believer. The young Kiwi has “it”. Just watch him ride, the kid knows his way around a Supercross track. This is all very new for him and coming at him fast but give him a few more rounds to settle in and he will be a real threat for race wins on any given Saturday.

Wes: I was initially going to say no, thinking he’s a year out, but then I remembered that his teammate, Nate Thrasher, managed to snag two wins in his rookie season. So, I’m actually going to say yes. Cole has the starts dialed and can run up front for a solid amount of time. Does he need more fitness? Honestly, I’m not a fitness expert, so I’m not sure. But he’s definitely going to need that extra gear for the second half of the race to get it done. That said, a Triple Crown could be his ticket to a win. Let’s call it—he could get his first win as soon as next weekend in Glendale. Crazier things have been said in the last couple of days. Unlike Slaw, I answered the actual question.

Who is most likely to win the 450 title?

Slaw: Sticking with my pre-season pick of Jett Lawrence. I like how Jett responded in San Diego after facing, what I would call, his first real test of adversity in his 450 career. Bike troubles or not, Jett is too damn talented to not run up front. Over the course of 15 more rounds, I think consistency will be the key, and in his young 450 career, Jett has just one finish outside the top 10—the 2025 season opener in Anaheim.

Wes: I’m torn. I’m a super fan, so I just want to see good racing. Can we have 15 more rounds like San Diego? Please? Everyone is talking about Lawrence and Tomac right now, so I’m going to go elsewhere: Cooper Webb. He had the mad dog podium stare we featured in MotoSpy 2019. It’s pretty much inevitable based on that look alone.

Who is most likely to win the 250SX West Region title?

Slaw: Sticking with my pre-season pick of Haiden Deegan. Like Jett, the opening two rounds haven’t been what Deegan wanted. But this is a long season and with Jo Shimoda’s status in flux after breaking two fingers in qualifying, Deegan’s job got a lot easier. The real wrench in all this will be Julien Beaumer. Dude is on fire right now. He’s young—just his second pro season—so it will be interesting to see if the consistency is there. If it is, this will be a real dog fight.

Wes: Even though he hasn’t won a race yet, I think Deegan is still the championship favorite. He’ll get his first win this weekend at Anaheim 2, and with that momentum, I think he’ll be hard to beat the rest of the season.

Is Ken Roczen most likely to be in the title chase till the end?

Slaw: It will depend on his health. If Kenny is 100%, there is no doubt in my mind he will. WE (me included) have underestimated Kenny this year. He’s gone 2-4 to begin the year and only trails Eli Tomac by two in the championship. What is this 2016 or something? The old guard is showing they aren’t leaving anytime soon and as fans, this season is shaping up to be an all-time classic.

Wes: Yes, absolutely. Starting the season with a second and fourth place finish shows that he’s got the speed and the strategy. There’s no need to rush it early on. “Kickstart Kenny” is in it for the long haul. I’m calling it now—2022, but this time without a 30-point gap. As a fan, you’ve got to hope for the best.