This week in Supercross: Anaheim 2
The 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship returns to Anaheim this weekend for round three of the series.
Feature Image courtesy of Feld Motor Sports, Inc
In San Diego Dylan Woodcock kept his cool in the LCQ to grab the final spot in the 250 main event, so will be keen to replicate that feat at A2.
Revo Grindstone Kawasaki’s Dylan Walsh once again went direct to the main event, nailing 11th which puts himself in 9th position in the series. Another good start could see him push up into the top ten.
Dean Wilson suffered from arm pump and finished 14th on his Firepower Honda and sits 14th too in the standings but his eyes are focussed on the top ten in Anaheim!
450 Class Recap: San Diego
GOAT Tipping: Eli Tomac took the checkers in San Diego to start the season with back-to-back victories. He becomes the 13th different rider to open a 450 Supercross season with two victories and the first since Ken Roczen in 2017. Only six times has a rider started the season with three or more victories and none since James Stewart in 2007. In 10/15 seasons a rider won the first two races they also won the title. Tomac only sits two wins behind Ricky Carmichael for third on the all-time win list and he moved beyond Jeremy McGrath in all-time AMA wins with his 90th.
Webb Beats 2nd Rd. Blues: Cooper Webb came into San Diego averaging a 10th place finish in his six-second round starts. He came out with a runner-up finish, easily the best second round finish of his 450SX Class career. He sits 15th all-time in 450SX Class podiums with 47. Perhaps San Diego being called “Round 3” was all the help Webb needed.
Barcia Moving Through Ranks: Justin Barcia’s third-place finish in San Diego moved him up in multiple all-time 450SX Class leaderboards: 135th start moves him into 14th clearing Ryan Dungey and Damon Huffman; 27th podium moves him into 30th tied with David Bailey; 63rd top-five finish moves him into 15th; 103rd top-10 finish is only two away from Ricky Carmichael in 15th.
Notes: Ken Roczen tied Ryan Villopoto at 78 for 10th in all-time top-five finishes and Kyle Lewis in starts for 25th with 118; Josh Cartwright earned a career best 18th place in his third career 450SX Class start; Kyle Chisholm (17th) became only the eighth rider with 15 or more seasons with at least one start in 450SX Class history when he lined up in San Diego; Chisholm also clears Andrew Short for 12th on the all-time starts list with 143; Chase Sexton scored his 20th top-five finish in his first three seasons and has the second best top-five percentage (69%) of all active riders and eighth highest all-time.
450 Class: Anaheim Historical Facts
Tenure: On December 4, 1976 Marty Smith won the first 450SX Class race at Angel Stadium on a Honda. After one stop already in Anaheim for the 2023 Opener, Supercross will be returning to Angel Stadium for an unprecedented 80th time.
A2: The first “A2” was on February 6, 1999 and Ezra Lusk won on a Honda. He won both Anaheim’s that season for the first “Anaheim Sweep”. There have only been five Anaheim sweeps total but only two of the three-race variety (2007 James Stewart & 2008 Chad Reed).
Incredible: An incredible 16/23 (70%) of riders who won “A2” went onto win the title, including the last three appearances with Cooper Webb in 2019 and Eli Tomac in 2020 and 2022. The series will be making its 24th stop for an “A2” in Supercross history this season.
Been there, Done that: 13 of the top 17 in 450SX Class points have won at least one race in Anaheim between the 250SX and 450SX Classes. Chase Sexton, Malcolm Stewart, Adam Cianciarulo, and Aaron Plessinger are the lone exceptions.
250 Class Recap: San Diego
Unstoppable: Jett Lawrence looks to be in prime form after taking his second checkers in as many rounds to start the Western Regional 250 Class Championship. His ninth win ties him with Shane McElrath for 21st on the all-time 250 Class wins list and for only the fifth time in Supercross history both classes have the same winner for the first two rounds.
RJ50: RJ Hampshire made his 50th career 250SX Class start and earned his ninth podium with a runner-up finish in San Diego. He now has 25 top-five finishes giving him a 50% top-five rate. With a six-point gap from the red-plate, RJ is looking to pull an upset victory over Lawrence in the coming rounds.
McA-third: Cameron McAdoo, like Lawrence and Hampshire, repeated his opener performance in his 40th career 250SX Class start. It was his 15th career 250SX Class podium and 17th top-five finish.
Notes: Wilson Todd (17th) made his first 250SX Class Main Event after bad luck ended his night early in the opener, but was still forced to the ground in a first turn pile-up; Hunter Yoder, who is featured in top-rated children’s show Blippi, won his LCQ breaking a previously 0/7 mark in them and then scored a career best 14th; Dylan Walsh tied a career high 11th place finish, the fourth time he has done so in six 250SX Class starts; Enzo Lopes earned a career best fourth-place finish.
250SX Class: Anaheim Historical Facts
History Lesson: The first 250 Class race held in Anaheim was on February 2, 1985 and Mike Healey won the race on a Suzuki. This will be the 73rd time the gate will drop for a 250 Class race in Anaheim.
A2: The first 250 Class “A2” was on February 6, 1999 and Nathan Ramsey won on a Kawasaki. Kawasaki has won almost half of the 250 Class Anaheim 2’s (11/23) but Dylan Ferrandis, Shane McElrath, and Christian Craig have pushed Yamaha and KTM to the top step of A2 in recent seasons.
Incredible: The winner of A2 has gone onto win the Western Regional 250 Class title in 15/23 (65%) seasons including 2020 A2 winner, Ferrandis, and 2022 winner Craig.
Who’s Next?: Every 450 Class champion in the previous 15 seasons won at least one 250 Class race in Anaheim during their 250 Class career. However, 10 of the previous 11 250 Class winners in Anaheim have not gone onto win a single 450 Class race.
Track Map
