Motocross
AMA Supercross Round 2 report: Sexton conquerors the mud in San Francisco
Defending 450SX AMA Supercross champion grabs first win with Red Bull KTM.
While AMA Supercross has been synonymous with the Bay Area since 1990, when the series first visited San Jose, Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, had only been part of the series schedule twice prior to Saturday night. Despite abundant precipitation, both during the week and nearly all day on race day, round 2 of the championship forged ahead with an abbreviated daytime qualifying, shortened main events, and instigated track changes.
The return visit to San Francisco for the first time since 2010 was destined to be a mudder from the start. Rain throughout the week and during Saturday made for treacherous conditions and forced qualification to be shortened to just one session, with Red Bull KTM’s Aaron Plessinger, a notorious good mud rider, topping the charts in 450SX. As conditions worsened, the main events were also shortened and the track was tamed down to allow for a safe and rideable night show.
Chase Sexton at AMA Supercross Series Round 2 in San Francisco, CA
© Garth Milan / Red Bull Content Pool
Despite the victory, and becoming the new 450SX points leader in the process, Sexton acknowledged that the conditions were an outlier, and aren’t necessarily an indicator of how the season will unfold.
“I didn't think we'd get here this fast, to be honest,” said Sexton. “I thought I was gonna really have to be patient and just try to work into a good position with the bike and I knew it was gonna take a lot of time. We were testing some big, big changes the week of Anaheim.
Chase Sexton at AMA Supercross Series Round 2 in San Francisco, CA
© Garth Milan / Red Bull Content Pool
“I think from here on out… I expect myself to battle with Jett [Lawrence] and whoever's up there,” he continued. “Honestly, it could be a different podium every weekend. There's so many good guys that you can't really single out one person.”
Late mistakes would cost Tomac a chance at the win, but he was able to hold off a strong charge from Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki’s Ken Roczen, who came back from a bad start to his first podium of the young season.
“For a while I had no idea where I was at, I just wanted to go and kind of tried to have fun with it,” said Roczen. “And I also wanted to save the bike and kind of rode a certain way where I just wasn't slipping the clutch the whole time and, and I was actually really happy and that's a big thanks to the team and my mechanic.”
Ken Roczen at AMA Supercross Series Round 2 in San Francisco, CA
© Garth Milan / Red Bull Content Pool
The only thing that’s seemingly been able to stop Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence in his young 450 career is the mud. The Anaheim 1 winner struggled all day and crashed twice in the main event en route to a ninth place finish, just ahead of his brother, Hunter, in tenth. He now sits second in points, seven behind Sexton, and three ahead of Tomac and Plessinger, who are tied for third.
“Second round is done, and I am very happy about everything,” said Prado. “I feel like I got used to the format already after last weekend, which is a big adjustment for me, especially learning a new track in eight or nine laps. But hey, good start in the heat and some good opening laps, stayed consistent, and got my first ever heat race win! I was super happy about that because I’m not a big mud specialist, then in the main event the gate dropped very quickly, and I got a bad start. I slowly made my way through the field and only wanted to stay on the bike, that was my goal, so with seventh place, I am very happy.”
Jorge Prado at AMA Supercross Series Round 02 in San Francisco, CA
© Garth Milan / Red Bull Content Pool
If you were to get a start in San Francisco, you were bound to win. In the 250SX main event, Star Racing Yamaha’s Jordon Smith grabbed the holeshot and never looked back as chaos developed behind. Title contenders RJ Hampshire and Jo Shimoda both had problems, as did early podium runners Carson Mumford and Anthony Bourdon.
Smith never relinquished his early lead and rode away with the round 2 win over Levi Kitchen and Garrett Marchbanks, who passed his ClubMX Yamaha teammate Phil Nicoletti on the final lap.
“It's been a long time coming,” said Smith. "After my win in 2018, I felt like I was on the right path to win a championship and just kind of keep going up upward in my career. And things changed and in 2019, 2020, and 2021 I raced a total of like 10 races in those three years and had like no time for practice or anything. And there were times that I didn't know if I was gonna keep racing or not. And so to be back here to get a win in these conditions was unbelievable.”
With his win, Smith now holds a five point lead over Kitchen in the 250SX West Region title chase, as round 3 of the championship visits San Diego on Saturday, January 20.
01
450SX Results
- Chase Sexton
- Eli Tomac
- Ken Roczen
- Shane McElrath
- Aaron Plessinger
- Dylan Ferrandis
- Jorge Prado
- Adam Cianciarulo
- Jett Lawrence
- Hunter Lawrence
02
250SX West Region Results
- Jordon Smith
- Levi Kitchen
- Garrett Marchbanks
- Phil Nicoletti
- Carson Mumford
- Anthony Bourdon
- Josh Varize
- Hunter Yoder
- RJ Hampshire
- Mitchell Oldenburg
03
450SX Point Standings
- Chase Sexton 45
- Jett Lawrence 38
- Eli Tomac 35
- Aaron Plessinger 35
- Dylan Ferrandis 33
- Jason Anderson 32
- Ken Roczen 32
- Cooper Webb 27
- Jorge Prado 24
- Adam Cianciarulo 24
04
250SX West Region Point Standings
- Jordon Smith 47
- Levi Kitchen 42
- RJ Hampshire 38
- Garrett Marchbanks 35
- Carson Mumford 29
- Anthony Bourdon 27
- Julien Beaver 27
- Mitchell Oldenburg 26
- Hunter Yoder 23
- Josh Varize 22