The first round of the Monster Energy Supercross Championship at Anaheim 1 is traditionally one of the most unpredictable, chaotic races of the year, and the 2025 instalment was certainly no exception. MotoOnline answers some of the primary questions that our team had from an intense night of competition in this edition of Q&A.

Image: Octopi Media.

Q: What will this win do for Chase Sexton’s confidence so early in the championship?

A: Red Bull KTM’s Chase Sexton is one of those people who lives the highs and lows of racing. Having such a strong start to this year’s championship – comfortably winning his heat by more than seven seconds, then leading almost every lap of the main – will give him genuine momentum. It’s obvious that he’s much more comfortable with the KTM 450 SX-F in his second year already, and he looked like a different rider than the one who lined up at A1 in 2024. It wasn’t a perfect night, as he stalled early in the main and gave Ken Roczen a hope of victory, but the way he was able to quickly rebound and build an advantage again showed he’s nearing the same kind of form that saw him win the 2023 title. He said afterward there are still areas he can improve on, but to start the year in the strongest way possible will do wonders for his confidence for the rest of the season.

Q: Will there be concern in the Lawrence camp after Hunter and Jett finished 11th and 12th, respectively?

A: Two-time SMX champion and defending 450SX champion Jett Lawrence had been widely tipped to be the man to beat at Anaheim 1, while elder brother Hunter was expected to do much better than the P11 result he achieved. The results the Honda HRC Progressive duo recorded – including Jett’s worst 450SX result of his career – were certainly well below the expectations they’d placed on themselves. Jett tangled with Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson off the start and caught a tuff block in the first turn, then on his fight back from dead-last he again went down in the sand section. Hunter actually started pretty well inside the lead riders, but he also struggled to recover positions after a crash during the main. Afterwards they explained they were still adapting to their new-model 2025 model CRF450Rs and their settings are far from ideal. It was certainly a disapointing start to the championship, but it’s still very early days, so they’ll continue to test and refine their set-up, and the Australian brothers should improve as they come to terms with the new bikes. At the same time, Jo Shimoda – also on an all-new CRF250R – enjoyed a solid night by hole-shotting and claiming the 250SX win. He looked very comfortable on the bike as he stormed to his best-ever result at the opener.

Q: How impressive was Eli Tomac’s ride from last to fifth?

A: Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s dual 450SX champion called it – he wasn’t going to be content to just circulate and soak up the atmosphere in his final Supercross campaign, he’s here to win. From the outset the Colorado-based legend looked racy and set the fastest qualifying time early in the day over Jett Lawrence and Sexton. In the main event he quickly dispatched of holeshot winner Jorge Prado, but went down shortly afterward when he was caught out by the slick conditions. After getting run over by Sexton, Tomac remounted at the back of the field and put on a hard charge, working his way all the way back to P5 before time ran out. It was an impressive performance as he set the fastest lap of the race – even as he worked his way through traffic – and minimized any real points damage. The fifth-place finish is Tomac’s fourth-equal best A1 result in 11 years of racing 450SX.

Image: Octopi Media.

Q: A1 featured a split start. How much of a factor did that have on the night’s results?

A: It was significant and the design has copped some criticism since Saturday. Not only was the gate split in half, but the start straight appeared unusually short, which meant it was near impossible to harness a good start if you didn’t qualify strongly. On top of that, the inside gates pinched in hard, causing a larger bottleneck than usual as the riders began braking for the first turn. The biggest casualty of the night’s start and first turn was Jett Lawrence, who got hung up on the tuff blocks on the inside and didn’t get going again until he was at the rear of the pack. The first two turns also affected Haiden Deegan’s night, when he found himself mid-pack through the first turn, then clipped the rear wheel of Ryder DiFrancesco (Rockstar Energy GasGas) through the short rhythm section leading into turn two.

Q: What are the implications of Levi Kitchen’s last-minute withdrawal from the 250SX West series?

A: One of Saturday’s biggest stories was the 11th-hour decision for 250SX title contender Levi Kitchen to withdraw from A1. The Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider missed Friday’s media day with sickness, then after riding free practice, decided that he didn’t have enough in the tank to compete. Because he didn’t ride qualifying he was eligible to make the late decision to switch to the eastern region that starts next month in Tampa. Yesterday, the official Kawasaki team announced that Ty Masterpool will now jump to 250SX West for the remainder of the series, rather than placing four racers in the East and only Garrett Marchbanks representing on the west coast. Suddenly the 250SX East is looking stacked, with Kitchen taking on the two 250SX champions RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) and Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM) for honors, among a bunch of other talent.

Image: Octopi Media.

Q: Could Julien Beaumer be the title contender that he’s claiming to be?

A: After a solid rookie season in 2024, Julien Beaumer lived up to the pre-season hype by making a real statement at Angel Stadium. In qualifying JuJu one-upped championship favorite Deegan by logging the fastest lap, then got the better of Jordon Smith (Triumph Factory Racing) to claim his second heat win of his short pro career. A good start to the main event set him up for a strong result, as he stayed calm and composed on his way to a career-best P2 result. It was a mixed night for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Deegan though, since he dominated his heat race, but after going down on the first lap, was forced to scramble his way through the pack to a hard-fought P5 result. Deegan’s still the short odds to claim this year’s western regional crown, but Beaumer and Shimoda proved that it won’t be handed to him on a platter.

Q: Who else impressed at Anaheim 1?

A: In the 450SX class, the two podium placers behind Chase Sexton – Ken Roczen and Jason Anderson will be happy with their strong start to the season. Roczen (Progressive Insurance Ecstar Suzuki) often starts the championship well, but his heat win and consistent lap-times showed that people overlook him at their own peril. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb was solid in P4, and two-time MXGP champion Jorge Prado (Monster Energy Kawasaki) showed his fast-starting abilities by hole-shotting the main, until a crash in the whoops while running in eighth put him down the running order. Honorable mentions to Justin Hill (Team Tedder Racing) for his impressive P8 in a stacked field, and to Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) who somehow bounced back from a huge crash while running third in his heat to finish 10th in the main. In 250SX, Jordon Smith helped Triumph secure its first-ever Supercross podium, DiFrancesco put in a career-best ride to finish P4, and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing newcomer Cole Davies made a convincing professional debut after he finished P2 in his heat, then worked his way through the pack from a tough opening lap to finish P8 in the main.

Q: Who had disappointing performances?

A: For every rider who surprised and impressed, there’s another rider who didn’t. In 450SX the obvious disappointments were for Hunter and Jett Lawrence, who really didn’t threaten for wins all day. Red Bull KTM’s Aaron Plessinger had a very quiet day, admitting he was ‘sluggish’ on his way to qualifying 14th, then finishing P9 in the main. Joey Savatgy (Quad Lock Honda) had a frustrating night when he crashed with Benny Bloss (Liqui Moly Beta Racing Team) and spent a long time trying to untangle their machines, while Phoenix Honda’s Dylan Ferrandis – after two incidents in his heat race, then a crash with Ryan Breece in the LCQ – failed to qualify for the main event, as did Colt Nichols (Twisted Tea Suzuki). In 250SX, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing will be expecting Michael Mosiman to improve greatly on his P15 result this week, while Stilez Robertson (Triumph Factory Racing) was credited 20th after running as high as 13th. Onto San Diego!