2024 Vancouver WSX | Kickstart

The opening round of the 2024 WSX World Supercross Championship brought racing back to Vancouver for the first time in nearly two decades and fans were pumped! Sure, the crowd wasn't on par with American levels, but it's a start. Separate WSX and SX2 autograph signing sessions were held in the afternoon before practice.

Getting to interact with your favorite rider wasn't too tough for fans, and you could tell how excited some were to meet some of. their heroes.

Defending WSX Champion Ken Roczen stayedlong after the autpgraph session was over, making sure to meet every fan that wanted to say hellooo...

...he even signed a baby or two!

Enzo Lopes is a sight for sore eyes. The popular Brazilian landed a dream ride with Star Racing Yamaha last year, but after having a Botox injection in his forearms to help combat arm pump, he found himself unable to move one of his hands. It took all season to work through, but he's back on the track and back in action for WSX with Rick Ware Racing.

There was much talk on YouTube after we posted our RAW Press Day video, saying that WSX had brought back real whoops without a nine-count limit. Well, we walked them and there were nine, plus a 10th helper whoop at the start.

The track surface inside BC Place was soft and rocky. The glacial wash was obtained from a construction site down the road. Though it was sifted, plenty of rocks were left behind. The track rutted up in the corners and on the jump faces, challenging riders every inch of the way.

Cardboard boxes beneath the covers? Eli Tomac commented that although cardboard boxes explode when I rider hits them, "they are actually safer because it's not a 50/50 chance that you wad your brains out like a Tuffblock."

We're not sure who got changed in here...

...maybe it was the event DJ.

With only seven teams contesting the WSX Championship, a large pit area is not needed. Instead, teams were pitted inside various rooms inside of the stadium tunnels. This is the Pipes Motorsports pit area.

The Firepower Honda team was pitted across from MCR Honda, which should have been interesting in between races after Savatgy and Friese got together.

Joes Savatgy told us that he loves the 2025 Honda CRF450R and was happy with the way he rode after only getting three days on the bike before Vancouver. He also told us that he did not get along with the 2024 bike he originally rode when signing with the team, and that the '25 bike is a massive improvement.

Our buddy Nathan Alexander is handling the tuning duties for Savatgy on the Firepower Honda team. Narco Nate elected to stay on the squad even though his old rider Max Anstie invited him to join him at Star Racing Yamaha.

Dean Wilson had an off-night in Vancouver. Though he was happy to be in familiar territory in Canada, he couldn't catch a break and found himself on the ground or mired with poor starts. Deano raced a 2024 bike.

Looks like the Guts Racing wing seat has followed him to Firepower Honda!

Wilson's pre-race nutrition...

Four months ago, our friend Tyler Mickelson was hit by a rider at Hangtown and suffered two broken legs. Four months later, he is wrenching for Shane McElrath at Firepower Honda and the duo enjoyed their first win together!

Vince Friese is the only rider on the MCR Honda team fielding a new 2025 CRF as Team Manager Tony Alessi reports that parts for the all-new machine are still too scarce. He and Vince did report that as a starting point and as a race bike, the 2025 is much better in all areas of performance.

MCR Honda's Cullin Park got only a few laps of practice on media day as his engine let go at the end of the whoops. No matter, the engine was taken out of this spare bike so that he could race on Saturday.

WSX commentators Kristen Beat and Jeff Emig made their rounds before the racing started to get the backstories and insight on every race in the paddock. MCR Honda's Ryan Breece had some interesting tales to tell...

Arai helmets seem to be making a comeback in Supercross, and the Japanese brand is rumored to have an all-new motocross helmet in the works. The MCR Honda and Rick Ware Racing teams were both sporting Arais.

Ryan Breece originally joined the MCR Honda team for WSX only, but has since convinced the team that the AMA Arenacross series that he raced this year is a better way to go. The addition of a high-level team such as MCR should make the racing interesting!

Vince Friese is super particular about the feel of his front brake, and has his mechanic slip this pressure arm when the bike is not in use so that there is perfect hydraulic pressure at the lever.

The Rick Ware Racing Team flies the Arby's flag and having a massive non-endemic brand involved in racing is amazing. Graphics and gear required lots of planning and approval rounds by the folks at Arby's, and a red and white bike and gear was the result. Mitchell Oldenburg's Kawasaki KX450 was nearly unrecognizable...

...save for the green airbox!

The CDR Racing - supported by Star Racing - pits.

Eli Tomac's Yamaha YZ450F was the same as his AMA Supercross machine, save for some different mapping to accommodate the different fuel mandated by the FIM.

We spotted out pal Steve Matthes talking mountain bike life with MTB racing legend Greg Herbold, who is a neighbor and close friend of the Tomacs. H-Ball was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 1996.

The opening ceremonies inside the BC Place Stadium were certainly spectacular and entertaining. Each team was introduced and rode slow laps around the track in close formation. Sadly, the roof of the BC Place was closed and the entire stadium was filled with smoke throughout the race.

Vince Friese holeshot the first eight-lap WSX moto and rode a wide bike for a couple of laps to keep Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac behind him. Friese ultimately ended the event ranked fifth overall. "I suffered through the whole night," he said. "Sometimes, you just don't feel comfortable out there and I couldn't get into my groove."

Defending SX2 World Champion Max Anstie rode Vancouver as the event's wild card, as he will not contest the entire four-round series. "I had to come and run the number-one plate at least once," he told us. "I'm so stoked that the Star Yamaha guys allowed me to do this." Anstie was fastest qualifier, won the Superpole, and won the first eight-lap SX2 race, but crashes held him to second overall in the final standings.

Frenchman Cedric Soubeyras crashed during practice and ended his WSX campaign early with a rumored broken hip.

Enzo Lopes improved each time he took to the track and ended the event fourth overall. "I'm not sure how I didn't get on the podium," he said. "But there must be some points that Anstie got for Superpole or something. It's confusing!" Lopes reported that his arm/hand issue was only troublesome in the whoops, and that he is pleased with how he felt in his first race in months.

Max Antie found himself chasing Shane McElrath multiple times thoughout the program. Anstie was clearly the quickest SX2 rider on the track, but mistakes and crashes kept him from earning the win.

You can never discount the starting ability of Vince Friese, but we need to interview the riders behind him what they are thinking as they try to find their way past. We saw Ken Roczen looking out of sorts a few times as he tried to find his way past the MCR rider...

...and we wonder what Kenny thought as Friese clipped the landing of the finish line, inches in front of him!

No matter, Roczen and Tomac found their way into the first two spots and finished the first eight-lap WSX race in close formation.

Eli Tomac was a holeshot machine in Vancouver. In fact, he's been a speedy starter the past few weeks with holeshots at the SMX finals and at Motocross of Nations. "I've just been locked in," he told us. "It's executing everything perfectly!" Tomac's great start in the second moto was a stark contrast to Roczen's poor start, which caused him to get caught up in some lap-one carnage.

Roczen's chances for the GP win went up in smoke in the second eight-lap moto as he suffered a terrible start and lost touch with Tomac from the get-go. Just as he had worked into second and into contention for the overall GP win, the Suzuki rider hit some rocks on the inside of the left turn leading into a rhythm section and went down.

Though Roczen remounted quickly, it took a few kicks to bring his bike to life and the damage was done.

Tomac looked to have the holeshot in the 12-lap third race, but Friese snuck in and stole the lead at the last second. There was no holding back Tomac, however, as he darted into the lead, wheelied the whoops for the first few laps, and won by over 20 seconds.

Max Anstie's night came unraveled in the 12-lap third race as he lost traction entering a rhythm section on the first lap and went over the bars spectacularly. He remounted and made up tons of ground, but fell a second time late in the race.

With wins in the second and third SX2 races, plus a first-in-class seventh in the Superfinal, Firepower Honda's Shane McElrath earned the overall Canadian Grand Prix win and sits in the driver's seat in the championship chase, especially since Anstie will not contend any of the remaining rounds.

Tomac ripped the start in the 12-lap third moto and established quite a lead over Roczen, who took over second early on.

Roczen and Tomac were definitely the star power of the Canadian Grand Prix, and. they definitely delivered for the crowd.

It was good to see our friend Cade Clason on hand in Vancouver as a WSX wild card racer...the last time we saw Clason was also in Canada, albeit two hours further north at Whistler Bike Park a few months ago!

The mash up of 250 and 450 riders was interesting to see for the first time in the Vancouver Superfinal. McElrath and Anstie dueled for SX2 supremacy until Anstie took an off-track excursion late in the race, leaving McElrath alone in seventh.

Two things about this photo of Eli Tomac's bike after the final race of the night... 1. He finished the final laps of the Superfinal with a flat rear tire. 2. Tomac is known for his love of the Dunlop MX14 scoop tire, but in Vancouver he ran the new off-road AT82 tire, which is dual-directional. We tested the tire when it was launched in February and felt that it worked nearly as well as the MX14 in a straight line, with more trustworthy cornering abilities when leaned over.

Here's a look at the track at the night's end. The dirt did dry up a bit in between Friday's practice sessions and Saturday race day. Track workers did groom these sections at the halfway point of the program.

Colt Nichols finished fourth overall in the WSX class and he and his trainer Wil Hahn were pleased with the result. Nichols looked strong throughout the program, and we should be seeing him on the podium in the remaining races.

Shane McElrath, Max Anstie, and Cole Thompson made it an international sweep of the top three positions: and America, a Brit, and a Canadian.

Blast your teammate day.

With first and third in the SX2 class with McElrath and Thompson, plus third in the WSX division with Savatgy; the Firepower Honda team captured the Team Trophy in Canada. Team owner Yarrive Konsky and Team Manager Martin Davalos were like proud parents.

Man, that champagne stings the eyes! See you in Perth!