Follow the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship with direct updates from tonight’s round of the season at RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland through Racefeed.

Image: Octopi Media.

250SX qualifying one:
Championship leader Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) was again the fastest rider as the 250SX West regional class returned to the track, turning a 1:07.465s lap time to lead the first timed qualifying session in Oakland. The young Australian’s time was enough to overcome Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha rider Enzo Lopes by a considerable 1.137s. Cameron McAdoo’s fastest lap aboard his Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki was quick enough for third, 1.326s off Lawrence’s best. TLD Red Bull GasGas earned representation near the top of the timesheet with Pierce Brown’s 1:08.859 lap, while Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s RJ Hampshire was fifth behind Brown. Anaheim 2 Triple Crown winner Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) was sixth. Also representing the Star Racing-operated factory Yamaha team, Stilez Robertson landed seventh, ahead of BarX Suzuki’s Derek Drake, Red Bull KTM’s Maximus Vohland, and AEO Powersports rider Derek Kelley.

450SX qualifying one:
Chase Sexton led the premier class as track action got underway at RingCentral Coliseum, earning the top spot aboard his Team Honda HRC-prepared Honda CRF450R by 0.857s over Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Jason Anderson. Christian Craig (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) was third at 1.564s off Sexton’s chart-topping 1:06.631s. Anderson’s Kawasaki stablemate Adam Cianciarulo claimed the fourth position ahead of Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s championship favorite Eli Tomac, who only came within 1.814s of Sexton. Colt Nichols (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing), Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM), Ken Roczen (Progressive Insurance Ecstar Suzuki), Justin Barcia (TLD Red Bull GasGas), and Dean Wilson (Fire Power Honda) comprised the remainder of the top 10 to begin the day.

250SX qualifying two:
The conclusion to qualifying for the 250SX class in Oakland saw McAdoo chasing Lawrence on the racetrack and live timing. Lawrence ultimately came out ahead, with his 1:06.470s best lap putting him 0.741s clear of his competitors. McAdoo’s best revolution of the RingCentral Coliseum track was only good enough for third, with Hampshire slotting in between the two in the second position. Kitchen was fourth, improving from sixth in the first timed qualifying session. Brown and Kelley were next in sixth and seventh, ahead of Mitchell Oldenburg (Smartop MotoConcepts Racing Honda), Cole Thompson (Team Solitaire Heartbeat Hot Sauce Yamaha), Robbie Wageman (BarX Suzuki), and Vohland in the top 10. Notably, ClubMX rider Lopes was only 11th, while his teammate Phil Nicoletti did not participate in this second session after a crash earlier in the day and, as a result, failed to qualify for the night show.

450SX qualifying two:
With the only lap within the 1:05s range heading into the night show, Sexton ensured another Honda sweep of qualifying and extended his streak of topping sessions to eight. Anderson was 0.439s back in second, with Tomac coming within 0.822s of Sexton to land third on the timesheet. Cianciarulo backed up his first-session speed with the fourth-fastest lap in Q2, narrowly edging last week’s winner Webb for fourth. Craig, Nichols, Barcia, Benny Bloss, and Wilson completed the top 10. Roczen was 13th despite initially leading the field after the practice start, and Rick Ware Racing privateer Joey Savatgy was only quick enough for 15th after a crash in the first timed session.

250SX heat one:
Vohland broke away to an early lead after the night’s first gate drop, closely followed by Hampshire. The two briefly exchanged the lead multiple times midway through the race, with Hampshire coming out on top by a margin of 9.279s at the checkered flag. BarX Suzuki debutant Moss placed an impressive third, with Kitchen, Mitchell Harrison (AJE Motorsport), Derek Drake (BarX Suzuki), Thompson (Team Solitaire Heartbeat Hot Sauce Yamaha), and Austin Politelli (AJE Motorsports) claiming the remaining transfer positions.

250SX heat two:
Similar to the first 250 heat race, a pair of factory riders in McAdoo and Lawrence briefly dueled for the win before one ultimately gained an advantage and captured the win. Lawrence was first to the checkers on the final lap by 2.525s over the Kawasaki championship hopeful. Brown, Lopes, and Wageman reached the top five, with Oldenburg, Hunter Yoder (Partzilla PRMX Racing), Anthony Rodriguez (Smartop MotoConcepts Racing Honda), and Dilan Schwartz (Progressive Insurance Ecstar Suzuki) punching the final tickets directly to the main event.

450SX heat one:
Roczen led the first 450 laps of the night ahead of two riders wrapped in recent controversy: Anderson and Barcia. The trio remained close but not close enough for any passing. Roczen won by just under 1s while Barcia was third, less than half a second back. Cianciarulo and Craig held fourth and fifth throughout the race and finished ahead of Cooper, who was sixth. Justin and Josh Hill of Team Tedder Monster Energy Mountain Motorsports split Wilson in seventh, eighth, and ninth as they transferred straight to the main. Kyle Chisholm of the Twisted Tea Suzuki Progressive Insurance team was the first to miss out and will head to the LCQ.

450SX heat two:
The Red Bull KTM duo of Webb and Aaron Plessinger were first out of the first turn in the night’s final heat race, with fastest qualifier Sexton in tow. With Plessinger settled into fourth, a rapid sequence through two corners saw Sexton pass Webb for the lead, then Tomac suddenly darted past Sexton to take control himself. Webb kept Sexton in his sights while Tomac broke away at the front. Savatgy placed fifth on his privateer Kawasaki KX450SR ahead of Nichols, Bloss, Shane McElrath (Twisted Tea Suzuki Progressive Insurance), and Joshua Cartwright. Grant Harlan, Tristan Lane, and Logan Karnow were notable additions to the LCQ lineup.

250SX LCQ:
While Dylan Walsh put 4s between his Kawasaki and the rest of the field, Julien Benek rode to a safe second-place finish in front of a battle for the final two transfer spots just behind. Maxwell Sanford passed Hunter Schlosser and Devin Harriman before ultimately taking third on his Honda CRF250R. After a hard-fought final lap, Schlosser beat Harriman, with the two nearly making contact in the last turn. While riding in transfer positions, teammates Max Miller and Kaeden Amerine had hard falls and failed to qualify for the main.

450SX LCQ:
Strong starter Kevin Moranz claimed the holeshot but faced immediate pressure from Cade Clason, who moved into the lead and went on to win by 3.558s. Chisholm also got by Moranz while Freddie Noren settled into fourth, where he would finish, earning the final gate for the premier class main event. Tristan Lane came within 1.204s of the final transfer position but joined Harlan, Karnow, and others in not qualifying.

250SX main event:
Hampshire led initially, with the other championship frontrunners, McAdoo and Lawrence, chasing behind. Hampshire tipped over with 10 minutes to go, gifting control of the race to Lawrence, who never relinquished it and went on to win by 16s. GasGas rider Brown stalked this group along with Yamaha’s Kitchen. After executing a block pass on McAdoo, Brown fell on the other end of one from McAdoo. In the race’s closing moments, he finished fifth despite another fall in front of the mechanic’s area. McAdoo captured the final podium spot a further 6s back from Hampshire. Kitchen’s storm forward resulted in a fourth-place finish ahead of Brown, while Lopes, Vohland, Oldenburg, Thompson, and Harrison completed the top 10.

450SX main event:
A fall while leading for Sexton to go promoted Tomac to the lead and enabled the reigning Supercross and motocross champion to finish first and tie Ricky Carmichael with 48 career victories. Sexton fell victim to a late-race push by Webb and finished third in a race he came within six minutes of winning, with Webb charging behind Tomac on a mistake-ridden final lap but coming up 0.881s short. Plessinger came home a quiet fourth ahead of Anderson and Barcia. Craig, Savatgy, Nichols, and Cooper filled the rest of the top 10, with Roczen 6s further back in 11th.