Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence became the first athlete to win his first 450SX Class Main Event with a decisive victory at the opening round of the 17-round 2024 Monster Energy Supercross season.
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson earned second place in front of a packed Angel Stadium. Red Bull KTM’s Chase Sexton earned the final podium spot in the first race of the year that marks the 50th anniversary season of AMA Supercross. Each Supercross race also pays points toward the 31-round SuperMotocross World Championship. In the Western Regional 250SX Class, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire earned the first win of that 10-round championship.
“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.
“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.
“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.
In the opening round of the Western Regional 250SX Class RJ Hampshire racked up first place points and the early-season lead. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Jordon Smith battled up to a second place. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen brought home the third place spot for his new team for 2024.
“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.
“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.
“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.
Round two takes the action to Oracle Park in San Francisco on January 13th. The racing starts earlier this year and the Opening Ceremonies kick-off round two at 8:00 p.m. EST. Every round of the 17-round Monster Energy Supercross season also serves as the first 17 rounds of the 31-round SuperMotocross World Championship. After its launch in 2023, the SuperMotocross League combines the excitement of the 17-round Monster Energy AMA Supercross season, the 11-round AMA Pro Motocross season, two Playoff Rounds, and one Final to crown an overall winner in both the 450SMX and 250SMX Classes.
