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

450SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – First:
It was a great rebound for us from last weekend in Tampa. This track was very technical in general. The dirt gets really soft, and the ruts get really tough. We basically had that challenge the whole day, but overall I felt really good on the motorcycle. I felt like we made some improvements basically everywhere compared to the weekend before. This was important for us to keep the red plate. We’ve just got to keep it rolling.

Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 10th:
It was a rough day for me. It started off on the wrong foot, but we continued to push on throughout the day. The track was one of the toughest I’ve ever seen, but it was good experience and another top 10 finish.

Jason Anderson (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Fifth:
We were in the battle for the podium again tonight, but a small tip-over forced me back a few positions. I think we were in a good place to have a strong result, but I’m happy with the recovery after the mistake. I need to clean up those little errors if I’m going to contend with the guys at the front end of the pack. Overall, we are definitely close and just need to link it all together here soon.

Adam Cianciarulo (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – 15th:
The track was technical and demanding so it was great to have my best qualifying pace thus far in the season with the fourth fastest lap. I feel I carried that pace into the heat race and even into the early stages of the main. While the track was tough for everyone, my KX450SR was working well and we were in a good spot until that crash set me back in the pack. We’ll focus on the lessons to be learned and move forward to next weekend.

Christian Craig (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – Seventh:
In the heat race, I was a little tight and rode a little tentative, but I fixed those mistakes in the main. I got off to a better start and was in the mix, finally. I had good battles with some of the guys and was seventh for most of the main. It’s something to build on, and I’ve got some positive to take away and on to Arlington next week.

Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM) – Second:
After last weekend, I just had the belief back and it was important to have that momentum, so tonight’s second-place result was good. At the beginning of the main event, I felt like I lacked the pace and couldn’t catch the two guys out front, but I stuck to my laps and began feeling really good at the end when I found some great lines and the track came to me late in the race. A mistake from the leader on the last lap meant we got close to another win, but I pushed hard tonight and I’m proud of that.

Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM) – Fourth:
The day started a little rough as I wasn’t gelling with the track, but we made some changes for the heat race and I finished fourth. The team came together and made another adjustment I really wanted to make, and I got a really good start in the main event. I kept it steady and made a few passes, but then caught up to a few lapped riders and rode a fairly quiet rest of the race. I’ve been pretty consistent with a fourth, a third and a fourth over the past three weekends, and I’m happy with that, so we look forward to the next one!

Justin Barcia (TLD Red Bull GasGas) – Sixth:
I had a pretty good qualifying race, and it was a good battle for the top three. Unfortunately, in the main event, I didn’t get off to the best start but had some really good battles and only got up to sixth. So, it’s back to work on riding, working on getting up front fast, and I’m looking forward to Texas. I like it there and we’ve had good luck there. It’s usually a good track, good dirt, and the fans are always exciting, so I’m looking forward to getting it on the box.

Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) – Third:
My riding and everything has been really good. The first 10 minutes of the main event, I was in my comfort zone – I wasn’t overriding, I was hitting my marks. After I went down, I got a little more timid and was basically in survival mode—got out of my flow, and it was tough trying to get back into it. I still have an opportunity next week to come out and fix the mistakes that I made.

Colt Nichols (Team Honda HRC) – Ninth:
Tonight was a little bit better for me than I’ve had the past few weekends, I felt like I was actually in the race and battling some good guys. I needed to give myself a chance and get some better track position early on. Overall, a lot of steps in the right direction all day. We get to try again next weekend.

Ken Roczen (Progressive Ecstar Suzuki) – Fifth:
Not the weekend we were wanting, but we will work on improving this week to have a successful Dallas.

Kyle Chisholm (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – 18th:
The dirt breaks down a lot in Oakland, which always makes it tougher, and having my knee bugging me adds even more on top of that,” said Chisholm. “I was honestly a little scared to put my leg down and aggravate my knee problem. But I got in the main, got through the race healthy, so I’m okay with the result. I’ll get my knee feeling better and then be ready for next weekend.

Shane McElrath (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – 16th:
We had a strong race day all around. Today was really the first time I felt like I showed up to race. In the main I got a decent start and tried to settle in and ride around all those fast guys and learn the pace. Every single day seems to be getting better so I’m just excited about the team and the progress we’re making.

250SX

Image: Octopi Media

Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Fourth:
It was a decent day for me. My starts were poor, but we managed to leave here healthy and with a fourth-place finish. We’ll keep working and come back stronger for my home race in Washington.

Cameron McAdoo (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Third:
To come away from this weekend with a podium finish is definitely a big turnaround from the injuries I sustained at Anaheim 2 and I’m proud of the whole support team I have that helped make that possible. That said, I still want to fight for this championship and that means I need to start finishing on the top step. There are a few weeks now for me to get back to 100 percent and I’ll be ready to challenge for the win in Seattle.

RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – Second:
The day started off decent. I qualified second again, won my heat race, and I executed my start perfectly in the main event, I led a few laps but made a mistake and lost the front wheel in a corner. Then I just battled and did all I could to survive the last few laps because I was hurting pretty bad there at the end. But I’m stoked for the whole team, and glad I could make it happen this weekend and somehow could pull something off by putting my Rockstar Husqvarna back on the box. I’m looking forward to a few weeks off and I’ll be ready in Seattle.

Max Vohland (Red Bull KTM) – Seventh:
I started the night with a holeshot in my heat race, led some laps and had a good battle before finishing a solid second. In the main event I got off to a top-five start, but I just struggled in the whoops and I couldn’t get comfortable or settle into a rhythm, so I dropped a couple of positions. I have four weeks to work on some weaknesses and try to improve before Seattle.

Pierce Brown (TLD Red Bull GasGas) – Fifth:
Oakland was another tough night. I feel like the riding was there, I just didn’t put it all together. I had a decent start in the main and was waiting for a spot to make a pass. I made a pass for third, and then McAdoo got me back and put me on the ground. I got back up in fifth, passed back into fourth, and on the last lap fell again and ended up in fifth. It’s not the night we needed and I’m pretty upset about it, but on to Seattle. We have a long break before that, so we’re just going to reset and get back to work.

Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) – First:
It was nice to have this race to break up the flow of having almost a second off-season. The first few laps I spent seeing where the lines were at, feeling the other guys out. Once I got into the lead, I just tried to keep my lap times consistent and limit mistakes. I got into my rhythm, where I could just keep clicking off laps and keep the same flow.

Dilan Schwartz (Progressive Ecstar Suzuki) – 18th:
It was a much better race day. I felt better all day, rode better, and we made good improvements on the bike. I feel like I’m starting to finally ride like myself. I was up towards the front in the heat race, made a small mistake, but still made it in. In the main I rode well for a few laps and then just got tight. Still, I was able to improve on my finish from last time and we’re just going to continue to improve each weekend.

Matt Moss (BarX Suzuki) – DNF:
Qualifying went really well with sixth overall, then I got third in the heat after being tenth in the first corner. I felt really good on the RM-Z250 and went into the main event with high hopes. I got a good start but jarred my thumb on the first lap so I couldn’t hold on. I had to pull off, but I’m really looking forward to the next round and should be ready to go!

Derek Drake (BarX Suzuki) – 14th:
Practice was going well with being inside the top 10 the first two. I qualified straight into the main. The main event was a struggle with only a couple days on the bike.

Brandon Scharer (BarX Suzuki) – DNQ:
Oakland was definitely a tough round for me, the track was technical with both the layout and the race conditions. The team worked hard to help me improve each session. It would be easy to let myself get mentally defeated after this weekend, but all it has done is made me more than ready to come back swinging for Seattle.