A1 baby! This Week In Supercross 2023 – Anaheim Round 1 – Full info, Preview, Track map…

The 2023 SuperMotocross World Championship series and Monster Energy Supercross season begins this Saturday, January 7 from Angel Stadium of Anaheim in California live at 10 p.m. ET on Peacock and USA Network. The 50th season of Supercross racing kicks off with four consecutive weeks of Supercross races taking place in California, with stops in Oakland and San Diego, as well.

Feature courtesy of SupercrossLive

Reigning Supercross champion Eli Tomac looks to defend his title against two-time Supercross champion Cooper Webb, 2018 Supercross champion Jason Anderson, Ken Roczen, Chase Sexton, Malcolm Stewart, and Justin Barcia in the star-studded 450SX Class. Barcia has won three out of the last four 450SX Class season opening races. The Western Regional 250SX Class features defending Eastern Regional 250SX Class champion Jett Lawrence, Austin Forkner, Cameron McAdoo, and RJ Hampshire.

How to watch it in the UK

For it’s inaugural season, SuperMotocross Video Pass (supermotocross.tv) will offer fans live and on-demand access to all 31 rounds of the SuperMotocorss Season including 17 Rounds from the AMA Monster Energy Supercross, 11 ProMotocross Events, plus the newly developed SuperMotocross World Championship Playoff Rounds & the SuperMotocross World Champion Finals.

Fan favorite, Race Day Live & Qualifying coverage will also be available from all 31 rounds will be exclusively available on SuperMotocross Video Pass.

SuperMotocross Video Pass season subscribers can enjoy 10 months of live event content plus get over 800 plus hours of archived Supercross & ProMotocross races.

SuperMotocross Video Pass is exclusive to subscribers that live outside of the United States.

Price for the Full Season Pass is $159.99 (USD) but from now until Dec. 25th (Midnight, PT), we’re offering an Early Bird discount of $30 USD when you use the code ‘SMX23EARLY’ during sign up. Hurry take action before time runs out!

Also note, previous season subscribers to the Supercross Video Pass will not auto-renew this year and will need to sign up for the new SuperMotocross Video Pass.

Included in your 2023 SuperMotocross Video Pass subscription:
– Live and on-demand access to stream the entire 17 round schedule of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, all 11 AMA Pro Motocross Championship events, plus the SuperMotocross World Championship Playoffs and Final
– 31 rounds of the fan favorite ‘Race Day Live’ pre-show, giving fans insider access to everything happening from every 2023 race location
250 and 450 class race highlights from all 31 rounds
– A rich, extensive 12-year archive of previous Supercross seasons dating back to 2010 and 2022’s Archived season of ProMotocross with more to be added soon!

Entry Lists

The Entry Lists can be found here >> https://www.dirthub.co.uk/2023-ama-supercross-championships-anaheim-1-entry-lists/

450 Class Storylines – Anaheim 1

Eli Tomac: Currently tied for fourth with Chad Reed on all-time Premier Class win list with 44, Tomac is four wins behind Ricky Carmichael for third and six behind James Stewart for second. He sits only one win behind Jeremy McGrath for third in all-time AMA wins (450SX, 450MX, 250MX, & 500MX). He is fifth in all-time combined titles (all SX/MX in 250/450/500 classes) with eight and only one behind Ryan Dungey for fourth. Starts: 11th all-time with 147; Podiums: 5th all-time with 84; Top-Fives: 6th all-time with 107.

Jason Anderson: Anderson nabbed a career record seven victories last season and fell only nine points short of Tomac in the Championship standings. He had previously failed to win a race in 2019-2021 before his seven-race outburst. He is now 18th all-time with 14 Premier Class victories and is two behind Jean-Michel Bayle who sits in 17th. A full season would move Anderson into 15th all-time in Premier Class starts as he currently sits in 24th with 119.

Chase Sexton: The 2021 rookie was impressive in his sophomore season by winning in San Diego and adding eight podiums. In two seasons, Sexton is already tied for 168th all-time in Premier Class Starts with 27 and 41st in podiums with 11. He was the 32nd different rider to win a Premier Class race on a Honda and will race with rookie Colt Nichols this year after being in Roczen’s shadow at Honda for previous seasons.

Ken Roczen: Roczen will join H.E.P Suzuki in 2023, his first time back on the yellow bike since 2016 when he won the 450 Pro Motocross title. He won the Anaheim opener last season but struggled after that and missed the last eight races of the season. He now has 20 Premier Class wins which is good for 10th all-time. He will move into the top-25 in all-time starts with just two more. Podiums: 11th all-time with 57; Top-Fives: 12th all-time with 76. Roczen sits in 12th in all-time AMA wins with 42.

450 Class: Anaheim Facts

Tenure: On December 4, 1976, Marty Smith won the first ever 450SX Class race in Angel Stadium on a Honda. Supercross has returned to Angel Stadium 78 times since which is the most by 30 over Daytona International Speedway. For the 24th season, Angel Stadium will host multiple rounds on the Supercross schedule with two.

Openers: Angel Stadium is set to host its 32nd season opener in 50 seasons of Supercross racing. Ken Roczen has won four Anaheim openers, Justin Barcia has two under his belt, and Marvin Musquin and Jason Anderson each have one. These are the only active riders with Anaheim opener victories. Roczen’s four are the most Anaheim opener victories by one over Chad Reed and James Stewart’s three a-piece. Eli Tomac has never won an opener and along with Ricky Carmichael, Ryan Dungey, and Cooper Webb are riders with multiple titles and no opener victories.

Slow Start: The eventual series champion has not fared well in 450SX Class season openers with only winning 17/49 (35%). The number drops in Anaheim Openers to 6/31 (19%). Eventual champs have averaged seventh in the season opener in the past four seasons. Ryan Villopoto is the last rider to win the opener and the title (2012 Anaheim, Kawasaki). Defending champions have only won 11 season openers and none since 2012 Villopoto.

Race of Champions: The 2016 Anaheim opener broke a Premier Class record with 15 former 250SX Champions in the Main Event. No other race has come close to this number until this Anaheim opener where we could also see 15 former 250SX champs on the same gate. This could also be just the second time in Supercross history that two multi-time champions in their prime will face off for a full season (Tomac and Webb). 2011 was the other time this happened with Stewart and Reed, but Villopoto ended up winning the title.

250 Class Storylines: Anaheim 1

Jett Lawrence: Jett Lawrence is one of the fastest riders in the history of 250SX Class racing and has a chance to make some serious dents in the record books in 2023. Not only could he win back-to-back titles in the 250SX Class he can move up into the top-five or better in all-time 250SX Class wins. His seven wins are good for 26th all-time but only five more wins would move him into fourth. A season sweep would see him break James Stewart’s record for most all-time 250SX Class wins with 17. Nine wins would tie him with James.

Austin Forkner: Austin Forkner has been a title-favorite for six seasons but has wrecked out of races and been injured for a good portion of some seasons. He has 12 250SX Class wins which is good for fourth all-time and only four behind James Stewart for the all-time record. Many thought he would break this record last season but was injured early in the season. He did bounce back for a win in Foxborough and ninth in the point-standings even with missing four of the nine races.

Pierce Brown: Brown matured greatly in his third season of 250SX Class racing. He finished third in the point standings and earned three of his four career podium finishes, two being the last two races of the season. He now has the four podiums, nine top-fives, and 16 top-10’s across 20 career starts.

RJ Hampshire: Hampshire is coming off a banner year after winning his first ever 250SX Class race in St. Louis and finishing second in the Eastern Regional point standings. RJ now has a win, seven podiums, 23 top-fives, and 39 top-10 finishes across 48 starts and eight seasons.

250 Class: Anaheim Facts

History Lesson: The first 250SX Class race held in Anaheim was on February 2, 1985 and Mike Healey won the race on a Suzuki. This will be the 72nd time the gate will drop for a 250SX Class race in Anaheim.

Opener: Anaheim has hosted 27/38 250SX Class season openers, but only nine times has the winner won the 250SX Class Western Regional Championship (33%).

Swept: Christian Craig joined Ernesto Fonseca, Ivan Tedesco, Josh Hansen, Cooper Webb, and Villopoto as the only riders to sweep Anaheim in the 250SX Class when he went 3/3 in 2022. Villopoto is the only rider to sweep Anaheim in both classes.

Stepping Stone: Every Premier Class champion in the previous 14 seasons won at least one 250SX Class race in Anaheim during their 250SX Class career. However, none of the previous seven 250SX Class winners in Anaheim have gone onto win a single Premier Class race.

Yamaha Animated Track Map – Anaheim 1

Watch the event preview