2023 Salt Lake City Supercross | Race Report & Results

2023 SALT LAKE CITY SUPERCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE

The final race of the Monster Energy Supercross Championship, the 2023 Salt Lake City Supercross, answered all of the important questions of the five months, as Jett Lawrence, RJ Hampshire, and Levi Kitchen made it a West Coast podium in the 250 East-West Showdown while Chase Sexton capped of a run to the 450 Class title with a sixth Main Event win.

250 East Heat

As the first race of the night left the gate, Haiden Deegan was off to the early lead with Hunter Lawrence in tail. Talon Hawkins trailed in third place, but Jo Shimoda sat just behind. Jo Shimoda passed Talon through the whoops on the second lap, just before Jordon Smith went for the pass and made a mistake. Jordon would have to wait another lap before passing Hawkins for fourth place. While running in fifth place, Talon Hawkins got ran high in a corner and went down, dropping him back to 14th place. 

Up front, Haiden Deegan continued to lead Hunter Lawrence and now held a 3-second cushion. Meanwhile, Max Anstie battled his way into a transfer position and then bettered it by passing into seventh. Cullin Park secured the final transfer position, just behind Michael Hicks. Haiden Deegan crossed the checkered flag and collected the heat race win. 

250 West Heat

The second heat of the night was off, as Levi Kitchen led the field out of the first corner. Rj Hampshire trailed in second place, while a rider was down was down in the first corner after sliding out. Carson Mumford sat just behind Hampshire in third place, but had Jett Lawrence knocking on the door. 

Levi Kitchen laid down some fast, first laps and pulled away from the rest of the field. Meanwhile, Enzo Lopes was up to fifth place after passing Mitchell Oldenburg. With just a few minutes left on the clock, Jett Lawrence was on Mumford’s rear wheel and pressuring for third place. Jett pulled alongside Mumford in the whoops and blitzed into the podium position. A few sections later, Carson dove inside and took third back from Jett, but the champion finalized the pass just a corner later. 

On the final lap, Dilan Schwartz passed Vohland for the final transfer position. Levi Kitchen crossed the checkered flag to claim the heat race victory ahead of Rj Hampshire. 

250 LCQ

The 250 last chance qualifier was underway as Tom Vialle snagged the early lead ahead of Jace Owen. Jace then made the pass on Vialle after a better run through the whoops. Maximus Vohland sat in fourth place, just behind Coty Schock. Mitchell Harrison flew by Vohland in the whoops, taking the final transfer position. Maximus then made another set of mistakes, dropping him back to sixth place. 

Coty Schock made the pass on Tom Vialle just before the triple and took over second place. Jace Owen took the victory in the 250 LCQ, while Maximus Vohland crossed the finish lane in sixth and missed the main event. 

250 Main Event

The final 250SX main event of the season is off and Rj Hampshire is off to the early lead with Jett Lawrence in tail. Haiden Deegan came around the first turn in last place. Derek Kelly went down hard at the beginning of the first lap, remounting in dead last. Hunter Lawrence, Jermey Martin, and Enzo Lopes went down at the end of the whoops. Jeremy Martin was trapped over the berm with his bike on the landing of the supercross triple. Tom Vialle then went down, dropping him from sixth to 15th. 

Hunter Lawrence remounted in 13th place from his first lap incident. Meanwhile, Rj Hampshire continued to lead with Jett Lawrence trailing. Levi Kitchen sat in third place, just ahead of Jo Shimoda. Jett Lawrence looked inside of Rj after the whoops a few times, but Hampshire blocked the line. Though, Jett finally dove inside of Hampshire after the whoops and took over the race lead. 

After being last off the start, Haiden Deegan ran in seventh place with 7-minutes on the clock. Though, Hunter Lawrence reeled in Haiden and was pressuring for position. Hunter took Deegan wide after the whoops and made the pass for seventh place. Laps later, Hunter Lawrence caught Max Anstie, who was pressuring Jordon Smith for position. On the final lap, Hunter passed Anstie for sixth place. Jett Lawrence took the main event win in Salt Lake City and stamped his 250 career on top. 

450 Heat One

The first 450 race of the night was off, as Dean Wilson rounded the first corner in the lead. Ken Roczen trailed in second place, while Anthony Rodriguez and others were down in the first corner. Ken Roczen made the pass for the lead in the third corner, shuffling Dean back to second. Kyle Chisholm trailed in third place, but had Tristan Lane knocking on the door. 

Back in the pack, Shane McElrath battled his way into a transfer position before ultimately passing Moranz for sixth place. Josh Hill was challenging Lane for fourth place, as he showed him a wheel before the whoops. A few laps later, Josh repeated the move and made the pass stick. Ken Roczen crossed the checkered flag and claimed the heat race win ahead of Dean Wilson. 

450 Heat Two

The final heat race of the evening and the year was off, as Aaron Plessinger led the field out of the first corner. Adam Cianciarulo trailed in second place with Chase Sexton behind. Grant Harlan ran in fourth place after a great start on the slick track. Chase Sexton blitzed past Cianciarulo on the second lap and claimed second place. 

Aaron Plessinger continued to lead, but Chase Sexton was reeling him in ever so slightly. Sexton pulled alongside Plessinger in the whoops and cut inside in the following corner, but Aaron blocked the line to hold onto the lead. With two laps to go, Aaron Plessinger over cooked it into the corner after the whoops and went over the berm. That gave Chase Sexton the lead and ultimately the heat win. Aaron Plessinger passed into the final transfer position on the final lap. 

450 LCQ

The 450 last chance qualifier was off, as Joan Cros rounded the first corner in the lead. Chase Marquier trailed in second place after a few passes in the first few sections. Colby Copp then passed into second place during the opening lap. Jared Lesher followed and then made the pass for second place on Copp in the whoops. 

Jared Lesher then went after Cros and the race lead. Meanwhile, Hunter Schlosser passed Copp for third place. Colby Copp then jumped off track after casing a rhythm, ending his night. Our very own Alex Ray went down with two laps to go, ending his night. On the final lap, Hunter Schlosser passed Lesher for second place. Joan Cros took the LCQ win and moved on to the main event. 

450 Main Event

The final 450 main event was underway and Chase Sexton was off to the early lead with Adam Cianciarulo in tail. Kyle Chisholm trailed in third place. Ken Roczen appeared to hurt his knee in the third corner, as he rolled around the track in pain before pulling off. Justin Starling sat in fourth place, but was shuffled back as both Aaron Plessinger and Justin Hill made passes. 

Aaron Plessinger closed in on Chisholm and made the pass for third place before the whoops. Justin Hill then passed Chisholm a lap later in the same corner, shuffled Kyle back to fifth. Justin Hill was reeling in Plessinger and challenging for third place. Kyle Chisholm went down while running inside the top-10, dropping him to 21st. 

Aaron Plessinger responded to the pressure from Justin Hill and upped his pace, which allowed him to challenge Cianciarulo for second place. Aaron dove inside before the triple and passed Adam for second. Justin Hill was now challenging Cianciarulo for third place. Justin looked inside just as a lapped rider got in Cianciarulo’s way, allowed Justin Hill to make the pass for third place. 

Chase Sexton enjoyed his final lap and crossed the checkered flag to claim the win in Salt Lake City and the 2023 450SX Supercross championship. Aaron Plessinger finished in second place, just ahead of Justin Hill.