In Quotebook, a selection of riders detail how their races played out in round 10 of the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship at Detroit.

450SX

Image: Octopi Media

Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Third:
It was an okay night. Obviously, we want more than third, but it was a decent rebound from last week because I was definitely hurting in Indy. We had some good battles going on tonight. I made one mistake leaving the door open, so we’ll learn from that. We’re still close to the points lead, so we’ll keep pushing on.

Jason Anderson (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Ninth:
My day started out strong with good times in qualifying and I knew my KX450SR was in a good spot to be competitive on this track. I grabbed the holeshot in my heat race and led start to finish, so the goal was to carry that into the main event. I started a little further back in the top 10 and then, while trying to battle my way forward, I got close with Adam in the whoops and just lost it. After I got up from the crash everything was pretty tweaked, so I focused on making the most of it and salvaged what I could for a top 10.

Adam Cianciarulo (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Eighth:
I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m a little frustrated about my fall in the main event, but there are so many positives to focus on from the day that I know we’re making progress. This dirt was tricky to find comfort on, but I had a solid run in qualifying this morning and backed it up with a good ride in the heat race. In the main, I led some laps early and, once I settled in behind Kenny [Roczen], I was able to stay right there with those guys. Unfortunately, that one mistake cost me a few positions, but we’ll focus forward to Seattle and aim to tie it at all together.

Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM) – Second:
It was disappointing for Aaron [Plessinger], he deserved to win tonight, and it was a crazy race. There was a lot of battling, I was just being smart, riding my race and I’m excited. It was a great race to maximize some points and I want to give it up for the Red Bull KTM team. There were fast laps at the beginning, I went down the middle of the whoops during the race and dialed that in, so that helped. I ended up in a good groove, so finishing on the podium was a strong result. I was just clicking my laps and, at the end of the day, it was a great race. We did what we needed to do, for sure, moving forward. Thank you to the fans tonight, too, they were awesome!

Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM) – 13th:
That one hurts, that one hurts a lot. I was riding so good and, man, I didn’t stand up in that rut the whole moto – I sat down and put my foot out… The one time I think it’s alright to stand up, it catches my foot and rips me right off the bike. I couldn’t believe it, flying through the air like that and I just tried to tuck, because it was a hard hit. I tried to get back up – I probably could have finished – but man, that hurts. You know, get back up on the saddle and I’ll get back up there in Seattle. I love it there, so don’t count me out, I’m not done yet. I was riding so good, I’m so proud of my riding and I love these fans. I could hear them the whole way! You know, it happens, we’ll be back with a vengeance. My starts are good, I’m good, my fitness is good… I’ve just gotta stay on the bike next time. Thank you to the fans, I wish I could have won it, but we’ll get them next year!

Justin Barcia (TLD Red Bull GasGas) – Fourth:
It was a pretty good day. In the heat race I worked through the pack and got up to second. I was chasing first but ran out of time. In the main event I got off to about a fourth or fifth-place start. I was charging hard and made a couple of mistakes, then rode a little bit tight after that. I was in fourth getting close to third but ran out of time and the race was over. I’m looking forward to Seattle, as it’ll be my birthday weekend. I’m getting old and having a good time.

Christian Craig (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – Sixth:
It started off pretty good. I was gelling with the track and feeling good in practice but rode tight in the heat and made some mistakes. I found my groove a little bit in the main after a mid-pack start. I came through the pack, clicked off my laps, and took advantage of mistakes. I didn’t ride my best but was consistent and able to work my way up to sixth. I need to work on attacking and being better.

Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) – First:
I think starting towards the back actually helped me lock in, focus on just pushing forward and not worry about the race. After I made all those passes to second, I just tried to click off laps and get as close as I could to first. I definitely needed this after last weekend–especially with how I did it – this was what I needed to get momentum on my side. Hopefully, we can click a couple of these off and push towards the end.

Ken Roczen (Progressive Ecstar Suzuki) – Fifth:
Our weekend in Detroit was pretty solid, being on the board in every qualifier. We had a solid heat race start and a good battle up front. I ended up honestly making a bad choice before the dragon’s back. I didn’t really have that down and another rider snuck by me, and I ended up third in the heat race. But we were feeling decent going into the main event. My start was just so-so, I was sort of buried in the back and it was a tough track to pass on. I was engaging with a few riders in a couple of battles, and I brought it home in fifth. We want more and want to be consistently on the podium; but we’ll take a fifth for this weekend, keep working, and we’ll try again in Seattle.

Shane McElrath (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – 17th:
I struggled with the track all day. We made some positive changes throughout the day, which were necessary for the rest of the season. My starts were a lot better today, I just need to be better earlier on in the day. I’m ready to get back to work and I’ll be better in Seattle.

Kyle Chisolm (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – 22nd:
In the LCQ I ripped a good start, got to second, then they red-flagged the race, I nailed another good start and I was able to win the LCQ. I say, ‘If you’re going to be in the LCQ, you might as well win it.’ In the main, my start wasn’t that good, but I made a few passes on the first lap. On the second lap, I was making a strong run through the whoops, I passed about three guys, but I just couldn’t slow down for the turn and washed the front end out. It wasn’t bad, but I broke my clutch lever off. I felt like we could have had a top ten tonight, but we’ll try again next week.

250SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Hunter Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) – First:
I’ve had two healthy years of compounding work to get to where I am now. There were days where a night like tonight felt a lifetime away. I’m glad now that I don’t have to step out of my comfort zone too often, and now I know the right opportunity to do it. I’m really happy with the bike and myself at the moment, and glad to see all that hard work paying off.

Jordon Smith (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – DNQ:
That was definitely not how we wanted the night to go. I’m sorry to my whole team and sponsors. Everyone works too hard for stuff like this to happen. We’re just going to put this behind us and get back to work. At the end of the day, I’m leaving here healthy, and I’ve been in a lot worse positions. I’m going to go home with my wife and baby and hit the reset button, and go ride again on Monday. We will be back.

Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Third:
Today was pretty good. It’s the best I’ve ever qualified, and we’re making improvements by having these races every weekend. My heat race was good, and I ended up finishing second. The main event was good as well. I got a great start and had to pass Jeremy [Martin] for third. Once I made the pass, I just kept charging, trying to catch Nate [Thrasher] a little bit, but those guys were running really well up front. I’m excited to get back up on the podium.

Nate Thrasher (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Second:
It was a good main event. I got a solid start, but just wish I could’ve been a little better there in that area. Once we got around J Mart [Jeremy Martin], the gap was already pretty big. I got it down to three or four seconds, but that was all we could do. We started hitting the lappers, so I just kind of settled into a pace and then had to pick it up at the end a little bit. It was a good race. We’re just going to keep striving for more.

Chris Blose (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Fifth:
It’s been great to see the progress as we’ve lined up each weekend. The whole team has worked so hard to get me comfortable. Going from only having a week on the bike before Houston to fighting for a top-five feels really good. We’ll keep working hard during the break so we don’t lose any momentum before returning in Atlanta.

Talon Hawkins (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – 15th:
It started out all right, and I felt good on the bike. But I was really struggling in the whoops, I need to get my form a little bit better, a little bit more precise to where it’s the same going through every time. I had a spill on the first lap of the main event. I was in seventh after a decent start from the outside and unfortunately ended up going down. I picked it back up and went from dead last and caught up to 15th. I’m happy with how I rode, how I was riding when I was up, but not happy with the crashes. So, I can’t wait to get back to the Baker’s Factory and get back to the grind.

Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM) – Sixth:
Unfortunately, I had a crash in practice and that was disappointing, but I actually had a good heat race in P3. I felt better in the night and had an okay start in the main, around fifth or sixth, then finished really close to fifth in the end of the race. We were consistent, a little bit off in speed, but we will work hard over the next four weeks until the next round and try to improve my speed. The goal is to get closer to the top guys in front, so we will look forward to Atlanta.

Marshall Weltin (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – 21st:
Detroit’s my home race so I had good feelings coming into this round. I got a sixth in the heat, I was pretty pumped about that, it was my best heat race finish of the year. In the main, I had a really good start and then there was just mad carnage on the first lap. I almost landed right on another rider, and then another situation in the whoops shuffled me back. I think I was in fourteenth and I could see ninth not too far ahead of me. I was sending it and I really thought I was going to have a good race, but took myself out of it. I had a really big get off and by the time I got going again, I was a couple of laps down. It’s a bummer deal. I really wanted more out of this, but we’re going to rebound and be better after the 250SX East break.