In Quotebook, a selection of riders detail how their races played out in round 16 of the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship at Denver.

450SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Adam Cianciarulo (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Third:
I can’t even begin to describe how incredible this podium finish feels. The team and I have been working tirelessly to get here and to finally be standing on the podium again, after so much hard work, is just surreal. The journey to get here has been full of ups and downs but none of it would be possible without the amazing support from my team and everyone around me. This is a major accomplishment for us, but we still have bigger goals in mind and we’re going to keep working until I’m back to being as competitive as I know I can be.

Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) –First:
I think some of my crashes earlier in the season were caused by being negative and not having confidence in myself to win these races. In the middle of the season, I was definitely questioning whether I could lead and win an entire main event. I had some time to reset after Seattle and just clear my head. We got a little bit of testing done and I felt super solid on the bike. You have to try and stay positive when things like that are happening, and I knew I could dig myself out of it. It’s never over until it’s over. Obviously, we have another round, so we’ll just have to go there and do the best we can.

Colt Nichols (Team Honda HRC) – DNF:
Denver was going pretty good until it wasn’t. I made really good progress all day. I’ve been feeling more like myself on the bike the past two weeks. I just got tangled with another rider going for third place; it was a weird racing incident. I felt like I had a good shot of getting on the podium tonight, but I’ve just got to keep pushing. I’m a little banged up but excited to go racing next weekend.

Ken Roczen (Progressive Ecstar Suzuki) – Second:
Denver, what a day! I couldn’t have been any happier with how my bike was running. The suspension, everything, all the work has really paid off, and we had a crazy main event. Unfortunately, I went down in the first turn, and in the second turn, I got caught up as well. I just had to come through the field. I ended up in second, even gaining on the leader at one point. I think in terms of my riding this is probably the best I’ve ridden in a long time. I’m very thankful for today. I’m super stoked about the team and how we’ve handled everything. It’s a little bit surreal because it’s been a long time since I’ve had a supercross season like this one, where I’m actually getting better towards the end of the season. I’m genuinely enjoying it and trying to take the momentum into every single weekend. Yeah, I’m stoked with everything.

Shane McElrath (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – Fifth: 
We came to race tonight. We had a really strong week this week, kind of going back to the basics. I’ve been fighting some change a little bit, and this week I trusted in the team, and it was really great. I felt like I raced hard and did my job, and that’s something I’ve been looking to achieve for three years since I went to the 450 class. All day today I felt I was getting better, I never changed suspension or anything all day. I’m really happy with feeling great on the bike, happy with racing hard, and it felt really good to get out and lead for a bit in the main.

Kyle Chisolm (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – Eighth: 
The bike felt really great all day. Everybody struggles here with the altitude. The bikes are down on power for everybody, but the team did a great job getting the bike’s power pretty close to normal. We changed gearing and some other engine changes to make the bike as good as possible, and I was really happy with the changes. The suspension was working great, so great job for the team getting the bike really competitive; it was a great bike for us here today. I ripped a holeshot in the heat race, which was impressive. I led for a little bit until Kenny, my teammate, passed me right at the end of lap one. I ended up fourth in the heat, and it was awesome to be out front for a little bit. I didn’t get the start I needed in the main event, but I worked my way up. I struggled a little bit with my breathing, like I typically do here with the altitude, but just rode a very steady race, and ended up eighth, which was good, and that much closer to the top five. Overall for the team, to have three riders in the top ten was awesome. It shows how well the team did in giving us what we needed here this weekend. So overall I’m happy and looking to finish strong in Salt Lake next week.

250SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Second: 
It was a good night. I got a pretty good start and got around (Max) Vohland early. I had a little bit of a lead, but RJ [Hampshire] was closing in. He was pretty close, and then I kind of forced him into a little bit of a mistake. I had a good gap, but I got into some lappers and didn’t ride the greatest, and he closed it back in. Overall, I’m pretty stoked on the day. It was good racing, and we raced each other pretty clean, so it was fun. We keep learning. So second place and another podium, we’ll take it and move on to Salt Lake for the shootout.

Carson Mumford (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Eighth: 
I had a good start to the evening, leading laps in my heat and running near the front during the main event. Unfortunately, little mistakes throughout the race allowed others to get by me and hindered my ability to make up any positions towards the end. The team and I will focus on riding clean laps, mistake-free during this week of practice, and come out for the final round next weekend ready to battle for a top-five finish.

RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – First:
It was an awesome day. I’m super-stoked for the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Team, and to knock one of these wins off before the season is over was huge. We’ve built a lot of momentum; man; I don’t take these for granted. I know how much work goes into this from the team side and myself, this motorcycle, and all our supporters. It’s just really nice to give them a win… a little payback for all they do for us. I wasn’t that fast in qualifying and didn’t win my heat race. But I just had that feeling today that I would get it done. I had that big mistake about midway through the main event, but I really put a charge on there at the end and at least gave myself an opportunity to have a shot at the win. Sure enough, we pulled it off.

Max Vohland (Red Bull KTM) – Sixth:
I got off to a great start in the main and went into the early lead, but I made some mistakes on lap three and then went down. After that, I just pushed as hard as I could to get back to sixth position, where I rounded out the race. Not what we wanted this weekend and I was really expecting a lot more of myself – I am really looking forward to making amends in the final race of Supercross season next weekend. I really want to finish out on the Salt Lake podium.

Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) – Third:
The heat race didn’t go as planned. One guy went left, I went left, and I just had nowhere to go. I was happy to at least qualify though. In the main event, the ruts after the gate were wrecked, and there were only a few good ones left. I found a decent one but just spun getting on the dirt, and there went my start! I knew I only needed 10th or better, so I could take my time and not push it. Once I got into third and saw where the other guys were, there wasn’t much traction left in the dirt, and I didn’t want to push it. We didn’t quite equal Hunter [Lawrence] when he won his championship, but we’re still happy to walk away with the number one plate.

Dilan Schwartz (Progressive Ecstar Suzuki) – 11th:
It was a good night for me, my best result of the season so far. I’m super happy with that. My riding has improved, and I’ve gained a lot of confidence. I made it through every round so far, and that was a big goal at the beginning of the season; I’m super happy with that, super happy with the night, and looking forward to next weekend.

Robbie Wageman (BarX Suzuki) – 10th:
Overall it was a great day. The track was awesome all day and night, even with the super slick conditions. It was pretty tricky in the main, but we ended up P10 on the night! I’m looking forward to the last round in Salt Lake City.

Derek Drake (BarX Suzuki) – 12th:
Denver was good. It was a solid night. I just need better starts to run up front with those guys! The bike and track were good, so I’m looking forward to next weekend.