2023 Oakland Supercross | Kickstart Recap & Gallery

Ricki Gilmore had a busy week between Tampa and Oakland, as he and Eli Tomac hit practice tracks throughout SoCal to work on the setup of the all-new YZ450F. The suspension expert and acer continued to fine-tune the feeling of the shock, evident in his pit stop during our RAW video, and their efforts paid off with solid ride to a fourth Main Event win.

See the shine? Yamaha execs from Japan noticed the D’Cor Visuals graphics on the Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha bikes had a matte finish at the San Diego Supercross, a difference from the rest of the factory machines and something they started the year with, and requested it be changed as soon as possible. New sticker sets were delivered to the team shortly after.

Team Solitaire had a special scheme on their YZ250Fs at the Oakland round: a flame motif made to look like the Heartbeat Hot Sauce Co. Chevy Camaro raced by Ryan Ellis at the Daytona 500. Chris Elliot told us some of the details about the look, which included custom gear from Leatt and painted helmets from Shades of Gray, saying, “The days of showing up to ride into the top 10 and then pack up your boring old bikes and gear to go home are over and if you aren’t lining yourself up with brands that want you to get creative and aren’t afraid to put in the work with you, you are going to get left behind.” For more on the bikes, watch the Leatt Science of Thrill video with mechanic Eric Angelski on our site.

How do some independent teams keep the budgets in the black when driving cross-country? Hauling equipment for other racers. Theodore Pauli and the MADDParts.com/Big Buildings Direct/Kawasaki crew packed their three bikes and usual pit presence into the show hauler, then found room to fit stuff that Joan Cros and Josh Cartwright (past riders, btw) would need for the week in Oakland. Pauli’s operation occupies a nice slice of the paddock every weekend and has featured in the 450 Main Event with riders John Short and Fredrik Noren.

We noticed that Eli Tomac was locked onto Chase Sexton during Friday’s media riding session, as the big number one repeatedly popped up in the back of photos and video of the 23. Coincidence or tactic? We asked Sexton if he noticed it during HWYW, to which he replied with a smile, “I think I learn the tracks really fast and I think that he kind of knows that. He can see what I’m doing, and I don’t mind it. I pick up on different lines and don’t even notice, because I’m just trying to do my thing.”

The Hill brothers tag-teamed their way through the 450 Main Event with a back-and-forth charge through the field that ended with Josh finishing in 13th and Justin in 14th. We talked with the boys quite a bit through the weekend, including detailed-hilarious HWYW chats, and learned about the progress being made with the KTM (they got the same rigidity spars the factory team ran on the previous generation chassis), plans to ride together more (Justin and his family will relocate to North Carolina for a short time), and what they learn from each other during a battle.

Colby Copp knows there’s no replicating gate drops, so the Northern California privateer is going to step up to the 450 Class while the 250 West Coast Region is on hiatus. Copp told us he was all good after a hard crash at the San Diego Supercross brought out the red flag and that his commitment to racing has included the obligatory move to Southern California for training and practice.

Joshua Varize was on the track during Friday’s media session, but we never noticed the AEO Powersports/KTM rider on Saturday and didn’t think about it until later. Turns out Varize was just a few days out of surgery for a broken collarbone, an injury that occurred during the initial West Coast pause, and Friday’s limited laps made it obvious he wasn’t ready to race. He, like many, will make the most of the month-long break between Oakland and Seattle.

No side plate, no problems for Brandon Ray. The California rider didn’t let a missing piece of plastic stop keep him from clicking off laps and throwing whips during Friday’s media session, and he turned the extra track time into a ninth-place result in the 250 LCQ.

East Bay

We’re gutted for Phil Nicoletti, who faces a tedious comeback from the dislocated wrist he suffered during Timed Qualifying. The Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX/Yamaha rider told us that he was sent to a nearby hospital to have the joint reset, only to spend four hours in traction while waiting to be seen, and that the timetable for a full recovery could be three months, which is cutting it close for a summer in the 450 Class.

Justin Starling was committed to racing the Oakland round. The Florida rider took a footpeg to the face at the Tampa round and put up a DNS score, had Dave Kimmey drive his van across the country, flew in for the weekend, and was taken down by a tumbling motorcycle early in the night.

No better way to gauge your starting technique than to take off with 21 of the fastest riders in the sport.

The lack of finish line style we’ve noticed from Colt Nichols lately makes sense: the Team Honda HRC rider is gradually getting over a groin injury, which has limited his time on the bike and the ability to dangle a leg over the side for a nac-nac. Nichols has made improvements, including more laps during the week under the eye of training coach Wil Hahn, and left Oakland with a ninth-place result in the 450 Main Event. Much is being made about Nichols being a “seat filler” for 2023, but as we’ve seen over the years, Honda will continue to help out how they see fit if he produces results.

Chase Sexton’s afternoon speed is remarkable. The Team Honda HRC rider has been at the top of the board in almost every session lately (Jason Anderson bested him one time in Oakland) and was the top qualifier at five of the six rounds run so far (Malcolm Stewart put in the quick time at San Diego). Proof that he learns the track faster than others?

Just because it was sunny doesn’t mean the track was smooth. Oakland’s soft dirt developed its usual ruts and bumps, like this pick a line and leap section between the landing of the finish and the first of the four small singles, and riders told us the steep transitions to jumps made things even more challenging.

How direct is the line of communication between riders and Dirt Wurx? Very.

Dean Wilson made his Southwest flight from Florida to Oakland, but his shock didn’t. The airline pulled it out of the rider’s checked luggage, a common thing considering the gun cases many use/the compressed gas, yet didn’t make him aware of the issue. The Fire Power Honda rider didn’t know until he was on the other side of the country, which led to a frantic search and some social media posts. The crisis was somewhat averted, as Honda loaned them a spare shock for the weekend and the missing shock was given back to Wilson at the airport on Sunday.

Buy merch.

Carbon fiber covers that go over the hydraulic clutch are a must-have factory part. Anyone remember how and why these came to be? A rock hitting the master cylinder on Eli Tomac’s bike during a Glen Helen National.

Ken Roczen’s ongoing bike changes were a hot topic at Oakland, as he moved away from Factory Connection and had Matt Andruk set up the Showa suspension on the Progressive/ECSTAR/Suzuki RM-Z450. Andruk runs Active Ride Suspension shop in Florida and has worked with Kyle Chisholm for years, including through the 11’s recent move to the RMArmy. We’re not surprised to see stock clamps on Roczen’s 94, as it was a part that he turned to during the RCH days, but the decision to run stock hubs on the wheels reveals their looking for a very particular feel from the yellow bike.

Oakland’s Best Pit Presence award goes to Josh Greco.

Matt Moss has joined the BARX Suzuki team for the remainder of the 250 West Coast Region, a fill-in deal that started in Oakland. A Friday talk with Moss revealed plenty, including an update on his crash at the Dortmund SX in Germany (first time he’d ever been knocked out), his recent riding-training routine (running a heavy equipment loader), and his upcoming travel schedule (returned to Australia immediately after Oakland and will come back just before Seattle, a routine he’ll repeat a few times). A jammed thumb-wrist caused Moss to pull out of the 250 Main Event after just one lap, but his pace in practice and the Heat Race caught plenty of people’s attention.

The back and forth for the top spot between Jett Lawrence and Cameron McAdoo was a good way to get warmed up for the night. McAdoo did all that he could to keep the lead in 250 Heat Race Two, including a good start and a strong push in the early minutes, but Lawrence closed the gap with consistent laps and willingness to huck some of the bigger jump combos in the rhythm lanes.

In the tunnel.

Three ways to hit whoops: Skim the tops, like Ken Roczen.

Hammer as hard as possible but some sort of rhythm, like Jason Anderson.

Wheel-tap, like Justin Barcia.

The battles for first (Roczen & Anderson) and sixth (Cooper & Hill) in 450 Heat Race One.

33 & 34. For those of you putting together silly season signing charts, Pierce Brown is back for another stint at TLD, but Maximus Vohland is riding for a re-up at KTM (or somewhere else within the Austrian company’s portfolio of teams).

There were four Suzuki RM-Z250s in the Oakland Main Event (Robbie Wageman/Dilan Schwartz/Derek Drake/Matt Moss). BARX and HEP Motorsports are making sure the OEM still has a presence at the races and there were just as many yellow bikes as there were red Hondas and blue Yamahas, which are the most powerful/popular picks in the small-bore class.

We caught the last of Pierce Brown’s pass on Cameron McAdoo. It wasn’t perfect, per se, but there was no contact between the TLD/GASGAS rider and the PC Kawasaki rider…

And that made the take-down a few minutes later even more eye-opening. McAdoo told us that he didn’t think there was an issue with his tactical move, he was just going forward, but Brown saw things differently and said that he’ll find the 48 when they meet again in a few weeks.

The Alpinestars Mobile Medical team had a post-race injury to tend to, but it wasn’t a racer. Team Honda HRC mechanic Christien Ducharme had his shoulder knocked out of place by Jett Lawrence as he rode by celebrating the 250 Main Event win…

That should help with the pain.

Anyone notice the time piece of Jett’s wrist during the podium?

45-15-51

How many more times can we get these three together at the front? Oakland was special, with the title contenders going toe-to-toe during an epic Heat Race which came down to a two for one pass by Tomac, followed by an even better Main Event that started with them together at the front and finished with them all on the podium. Just seven points split them in the championship standings going into round seven.

What a 0.881 second margin of victory looks like. Eli Tomac’s 48th career Main Event win will go down as a big one, both for the way he did it (capitalized on a Sexton mistake, held off Webb) and the weeks that it followed (A2 crash, Houston domination, distant fifth at Tampa). Also, we're hearing another year racing Supercross becomes more likely for Tomac with every good weekend.

Battle scars

Up next is Arlington, which is the second Triple Crown of the season, a rectangular track layout at a domed stadium, and the true start of the East Coast swing.