Image: Octopi Media.

Anaheim 1 podium finisher Jason Anderson has detailed the contact with Jett Lawrence out of the gates that left him to manage front wheel damage throughout the 450SX main event. In the end, he was able to make a statement with a P3 result.

Anderson is on a contract year with Monster Energy Kawasaki and is motivated to continue challenging toward the front of the pack, quickly establishing himself as one of the form riders of 2025.

The pair – Anderson and defending premier class title-holder Lawrence – came together upon the start of the final at A1, which ultimately resulted in snapped spokes in the front wheel of Anderson’s KX450SR and left Lawrence caught up on the tuff blocks to commence the new season.

“When I came out of the gate I kind of got squirrely and tangled bars and ripped some spokes out,” recalled the 2018 champion. “I don’t know, it was nothing crazy, but whenever you see them hitting your fork in the air it kind of makes you nervous.

“Like, you don’t want your front wheel to blow out when you’re riding. Then I started making mistakes left and right because I was just thinking about my front wheel.

“Luckily, I was able to get into a groove and when I got passed by Kenny [Roczen] I just tried to latch onto him and bring it in. I had a little bit of pressure from Cooper [Webb] at the end, but I’m just thankful my front wheel held together, because I could’ve been on the ground pretty hard because of that.”

Anderson completed the first series of turns in fifth and then almost immediately shuffled his way to second behind teammate Jorge Prado, before taking the lead on the opening lap. He was tracked down by eventual winner Chase Sexton (Red Bull KTM) and Roczen, but withstood late pressure from Webb to hold onto third on the podium.