Here is what the riders had to say and post after the season opener at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California:
450s
Chase Sexton — Winner, 450s: “I kind of knew where I was at coming in here. I knew I had good speed. I feel more like myself in 2023 when I was fast, but I feel like I’m a little more mature now and I can get out front and kind of run my own laps and not make mistakes, so it was a fun race. [I] had Kenny behind me, and also Jason, and it was just a good ride. Honestly, I had so much fun on this track tonight. I can’t give it up to the team enough. They put in so much hard work this off-season to get me comfortable, knowing that I wasn’t comfortable last year; and coming in now we’re back where we need to be. We still have lots to improve; it’s only one race in and there’s 16 left, but we’re off to a good start and first time winning A1 feels pretty good.
Ken Roczen — Finished 2nd, 450s: “My practices have been terrible, and then [in] the last one I was 13th. And It’s not like I’m stoked about it, but I told Larry [Brooks, Team Manager], I said, ‘I’m so not worried about that, you know? Because I know: I just was calm. Like, I had the calmness inside of me. I’ve done this a lot now and it showed. Again, we executed tonight. It was a little bit of mayhem on the start; I locked bars with a bunch of people and then I just rode such a solid race. And I know this sounds stupid, but in the bus earlier, in my head, I said, ‘I really want to get a second tonight. I think that’s perfect because first, you know, I don’t know, not on the first one. But second is like the perfect spot.’ And I made that happen; so, this is probably going to be the only race where I’m hoping for a second. What a night! Awesome night, bike worked great, I had a solid Main Event and I couldn’t be more stoked about the second place.”
Jason Anderson — Finished 3rd, 450s: “The whole Monster Energy Kawasaki team, we’ve been putting in a lot of work. I’m thankful to have them behind me and, yeah, that Main Event was crazy. That first corner, I went in there and I tangled with about everyone. I don’t know how I survived. [The contact] ripped some spokes out and I could just see them, like, ticking on my fork. And I’m so lucky that it [the wheel] survived the Main. Yeah, felt pretty good out there, had a lot of moments, and hoping to clean it up and see if we can stay up here on the podium. So, excited for the season.”
Cooper Webb — Finished 4th, 450s: “Anaheim 1 is always a crazy race. It was an up-and-down day and an up-and-down off-season, but I’m happy. That was a good race. Obviously, being in the top five is important, but I wanted to be on the podium and felt like I was riding good enough to be up front. We need to get our starts a little bit better and be in the mix for next week. It was definitely a good starting point. We’re right in the fight, which is great.”
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Eli Tomac — Finished 5th, 450s: “Talk about a high and a low; I mean, oh my gosh, I just couldn’t believe it, you know?… [I] made the pass for the lead over the triple there. I’m like, ‘Okay, you know, here we go! Let’s put this great 20 minutes in…’ And just like that, it ended. I just tucked my front end there in that 90 degree corner. Good Ol’ Anaheim, gets slick in the evening, and didn’t respect it. So all these years I’ve done it and just, you know, barely made that mistake. I had a good comeback, getting to that fifth. I’m excited [about] the way I rode the rest of the main there, so thank you… I was feeling just like I should, and what I know I can do, the whole day there. So great qualifying and a good quarter lap, but we’re going to come back.”
Justin Barcia — Finished 6th, 450s: “The A1 vibes were off the charts as always, and JB51 is locked in and ready to attack a stacked 2025 season. Next stop: San Diego.”
Justin Cooper — Finished 7th, 450s: “It was a good night. I had two good starts. In the heat race, I was able to lead for a lap and had a good finish there to set me up for a good gate pick in the main. Then I got another really good start but got shuffled back pretty quickly to fourth or fifth. I was in a pretty intense battle out there and kind of lost the flow. I had to be aggressive – attacking while being defensive with the guys behind me – which ended up costing me. So there was a little bit of a slump in the middle, but I was able to finish strong and come away with seventh. It was a good start to the season, and I’m looking to keep it going.”
Justin Hill — Finished 8th, 450s: “Got through A1 healthy with a P8. I got a lot more in the tank, just need to start up front. Big thanks to [Team Tedder Racing, Official ATT, KTM USA, Enzo Racing, and Pro Circuit 78]. We’re excited to keep improving.”
Jett Lawrence — Finished 12th, 450s: “So, that wasn’t ideal. I feel like I got a really good jump and the Tuff Blox kind of came in. The start straight was kind of lined up awkward. At least now, the only way to go is up for me. We’ll go back and do some testing. We still have to figure out the bike; it’s still making some trouble for us in the whoops and stuff like that. We tried skimming and skimming was sketchy. We tried jumping and I was sketchy just jumping, so I have to go back, work hard and we’ll come back and we’ll be better. … No more Mr. Nice Guy.”
Shane McElrath — Finished 13th, 450s: “A1 in the books. Tons of positives to takeaway! So grateful for this opportunity with [QuadLock Honda]. See you in SD.”
Jorge Prado — Finished 14th, 450s: “A1 in the books! So many positives to take out of the night. P2 in my heat race and managed to get the holeshot and lead a lap in the main. 🙂 Let’s keep working hard. Thanks team.”
Vince Friese — Finished 15th, 450s: “Fun weekend.”
Mitchell Oldenburg — Finished 16th, 450s: “First one in the books with the new team! P-16 on the night. Excited to keep building every weekend!”
Freddie Noren — Finished 18th, 450s: “A1 is in the books. The team is hungry for more!”
Joey Savatgy — Finished 21st, 450s: “Well that was fun. Tough day. Qualified 13th, didn’t feel terrible but never felt great. Went down in the main making a pass and my bike got stuck with another bike for a lap. So that’s all she wrote, back at in SD.”
Benny Bloss — Finished 22nd, 450s: “First one out of the way. Got cleaned out a couple laps into the main and unfortunately had to pull off due to some damages to the bike. Overall happy with the day, stoked with the bike and team. 16 to go.”
Rich Simmons, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team Manager: “The weekend went well overall. Eli was strong all day and unfortunately went down while leading the race, but put in a strong ride to come back to fifth. Webb got better as the day went on, just missing the podium, but he showed his late-race speed and grit in the main. Justin put himself in a great position with good starts and learned a lot about racing up front. It was a great team effort, and we’re looking forward to San Diego.”
Shimoda cashes in on first-career Anaheim 1 win
Jo Shimoda jokes that he was “sleeping” at the gate but “never looked back” to get his first-career Supercross Anaheim I win in the 250 class.
250s
Pierce Brown — Winner, 250s: “This is the start I was looking for every single year. And I think I was honestly sleeping on the gate [in previous seasons]. But we came out with a good start and just put in some consistent laps, you know, and never looked back. All this happened because of my team behind it. I’d just like to thank everyone at Honda, my trainer, mechanic and everybody… Thank you so much. Thank you, I love you guys.”
Julien Beaumer — Finished 2nd, 250s: “I think obviously I was fast in the off-season, but I haven’t translated that to a race yet. So, I had to show myself that tonight, and I think I did that. I believe I can be in the hunt for this championship and win these races. So, I’m going to get back to work this week and be ready for next weekend.”
Jordon Smith — Finished 3rd, 250s: “I’m really happy with my riding tonight. I caught a [Tuff Blox] in that lefthander over there with my clutch and tipped over. I was feeling really good in the Main. I’ve just got to give it up to the whole Triumph Racing team… Going from the Star Yamaha team that I was on last year then moving over to the Triumph team, there’s so many question marks, right? But I have full belief in everyone over there. We put in the work this off-season. It was every day we had a better part, or a better this, or a better suspension setting. I mean, we couldn’t do it without all the guys that are there… It’s just a full team effort and it’s awesome to give them their first Supercross podium. Hopefully we can put it on top of the box here soon.”
Ryder DiFrancesco — Finished 4th, 250s: “P4 to start the season. Stoked on the progression.”
Haiden Deegan — Finished 5th, 250s: “Not really happy to get interviewed for fifth, but better than last year. We’ll take the positive. Obviously not a great start. It happens, [I] went down, [then] fought my heart out and made my way back up to fifth and that’s all I could do. But congrats to the boys, obviously the light should be shined on them and all we can do is come out swinging at the next race.” And later, via a press release: “It was a solid first round and a lot better than last year. We got a top-five and are not sitting 16th. I’m not super happy that we biffed it on the start, but that’s racing. It happens. All we can do is go back to work and come back swinging next week.”
Anthony Bourdon — Finished 7th, 250s: “A1 was solid with P7! Excited for next Saturday in San Diego.”
Cole Davies — Finished 8th, 250s: “My pro debut at Anaheim 1 was a positive day. I learned a lot of race craft and felt good on the bike. I ended up sixth in qualifying and got second in the heat, but I went down on the first lap of the main and came from last to eighth. It’s time to build off that and get ready for San Diego!”
Cole Thompson — Finished 10th, 250s: “Good to be back at the races with the crew, thank you to my mechanic [Joe Butas]& [Team Solitaire] for a great weekend! Awesome people, all working together for the same goals.”
Lux Turner — Finished 11th, 250s: “A1; P11. It was a good way to start the first round of the season. We will get to work this week and continue building. Thank you to the whole [AEO Powersports KTM Racing] for all the hard work and dedication. You guys are awesome! Also big shout out to [Landon Ajster] for having my bike dialed. Super grateful I was able to see my family this weekend.”
Avery Long — Finished 12th, 250s: “A1 in the books. P12 in my debut, pretty stoked on that! Ready to do it again this weekend in SD. Thank you to everyone [AEO Powersports KTM Racing] to make it a fun first weekend at the races!”
Hunter Yoder — Finished 13th, 250s: “Even though the end result wasn’t what I wanted I had an awesome night. P3 in the heat race and two top 3 starts. Tipped over first lap of the main unfortunately. Just the start. Ready to keep it rolling.”
Hunter Yoder — Finished 14th, 250s: “Round 1 is in the books! Happy to end the night with P14 after struggling in the day program. Looking forward to building the rest of the season! Onto San Diego.”
Michael Mosiman — Finished 15th, 250s: “It was quite a day. I think in the main event, we were all bouncing off of each other, and I got the wrong end of the stick. The start was tight. It kind of just spits you out and puts everyone together, and then you have everyone trying to jump and get to the front. It was carnage, but we got through it. I think I have good speed and have a lot to offer, it’s just a matter of putting it all together. I haven’t raced in a while, so it’s going to take a little bit of time, but I’m just excited to build from here.”
Max Miller — Finished 16th, 250s: “Rough start to the Main Event but all in all a good night of racing! Finished 7th in the heat race and worked my way to 16th in the Main Event after going down in the second turn. Hungry for more this weekend in San Diego. Stoked on the team I’ve put together and excited to keep improving!”
Parker Ross — Finished 17th, 250s: “I was on TV!!! So cool being able to race Supercross!! Had some unfortunate luck in the main with getting destroyed by another rider but we learned a lot and ended up P17. Definitely going to protect the inside a little more next time. Very grateful for this opportunity! Onto San Diego!”
Noah Viney — Finished 18th, 250s: “A1 250 West 2025. P1 in C qualifying. P22 in overall qualifying. P8 in Heat 1. P18 in the Main Event: Happy with my pace, with a good start I can do better.”
Gavin Towers — Finished 19th, 250s: “First Supercross done! I had a blast yesterday. Wish the main could’ve been a little bit better without my crash. Live and learn, we will build off this for next weekend.”
Jason Hendler, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team Manager: “Even though the results don’t show it on paper, it was a great first round for the team. All three guys qualified well, giving us some good gate picks. Haiden [Deegan] was fast all day and won his heat race. Unfortunately, he crashed after the start of the main and had to come from way back, but he kept fighting and finished fifth. So it was not what we were hoping for, but a good result and some good points. We’re really proud of Cole [Davies]. He got the holeshot and finished second behind Haiden in the heat race, which was great. Unfortunately, it was just a crazy main event. Cole and Michael also crashed after the start and had to come from the back. Cole finished eighth in his first pro race and showed the speed to run up front, and it was a good first race back for Michael [Mosiman], just some bad luck. We’ll get back to work this week and come back stronger in San Diego.
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