Veterans dominated the front of the field while the defending champion struggled in the season opener at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, in a race that could have a major ripple effect on future races.
Chase Sexton survived a Lap 1 incident with Eli Tomac and took the lead on Lap 5 on his way to his first season-opening win. Tomac was leading when he forgot to “respect the track” and tucked his front wheel. When he hit the ground, Sexton ran into him but kept his bike upright. The incident cost him two positions before Sexton regained his form and charged to the front, passing holeshot winner Jorge Prado on Lap 3 and Ken Roczen two laps later.
Click here for a full recap of Anaheim 1
Roczen is off to a much better start in 2025 than in 2024. Last year, he barely cracked the top 10 and was more than one minute off the pace of the 2024 winner, Jett Lawrence. After the 2025 race, Roczen said he preferred finishing second since great starts in the past have not produced championships.
Jason Anderson also avoided an early catastrophe when he bounced off riders in two separate incidents on the opening lap. The impact in one of these was severe enough to break a couple of the spokes on his front wheel. It was difficult not to look down and see what the extent of the damage was at the height of his jumps, and the fear he might blow out his tire may have cost a few seconds. Anderson finished second in last year’s season opener.
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Cooper Webb got a slow start and completed his first lap in seventh. Webb is a rider who typically improves as the race progresses and steadily worked his way to the front. Webb settled into a comfortable position one second behind Anderson and began his season with a solid top-five finish.
Tomac put on a show. After winning his heat, he came out of the gates hot and passed Prado on the first lap. Tomac’s crash in a rhythm section is likely the only thing that kept him from dominating the race, as he was forced to slice through the field from as low as 21st. He climbed to 15tjh on Lap 3, was up to 10th by Lap 7, and the top five on Lap 10. His progress stalled there, but he was luckier than another former champion.
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Jett Lawrence crashed on the opening lap and fell to the back of the pack. Everyone expected him to slice his way through the field just like Tomac, but Lawrence could not make much headway. He failed to crack the top 15 until Lap 7 and could not advance much further, ultimately finishing 12th.
Prado was excited to make the 2025 season opener because he will compete full-time in SuperMotocross this year. After getting the holeshot, he fell back to fourth at the end of the first lap, but took advantage of the mayhem and led Lap 2. From there, he fell back as more experienced Supercross riders made their way around, but he settled into seventh until he crashed on Lap 14. Prado ended the day in 14th.
Here are the 450 Motocross results and points standings after Round 1 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California:
Results
Click here for the official 450 results from Anaheim 1.
Main Event
Results
Fastest Sector Times
Individual Lap Times
Detailed Lap Times
Heats
Heat 1 Results
Heat 2 Results
450 Supercross Rider Points
250 West Rider Points
Here is the finishing order of Round 1 in Anaheim:
1. Chase Sexton. KTM
2. Ken Roczen, Suzuki
3. Jason Anderson, Kawasaki
4. Cooper Webb, Yamaha
5. Eli Tomac, Yamaha
6. Justin Barcia, GasGas
7. Justin Cooper, Yamaha
8. Justin Hill, KTM
9. Aaron Plessinger, KTM
10. Malcolm Stewart, Husqvarna
11. Hunter Lawrence, Honda
12. Jett Lawrence, Honda
13. Shane McElrath, Honda
14. Jorge Prado, Kawasaki *
15. Vince Friese, Honda
16. Mitchell Oldenburg, Beta
17. Mitchell Harrison, Kawasaki
18. Freddie Noren, Kawasaki
19. Ryan Breece, Honda
20. Kyle Chisholm, Suzuki
21. Joey Savatgy, Honda
22. Benny Bloss, Beta
* Holeshot
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