2025 Anaheim One Supercross | Kickstart News and Photo Gallery

Anaheim One Faces: Jett Lawrence didn't have the day he had hoped for at Anaheim One. The defending Supermotocross Champion never found his groove and an odd collision with a Tuffblock at the start of the main left him in last place at the start. A second crash a few laps later held him to a shocking 12th at the finish. "At least now, the only way to go is up for me," he said. "We need to get back to testing. We still gotta figure out the bike. The whoops caused some troubles for us. We'll come back and we'll be better. No Mr. Nice Guy."

Anaheim One Faces: 250 runner-up Julien Beaumer. What's he listen to, pre-race? "Ready to Cook Up" by Future.

Anaheim One Faces: Haiden Deegan. What's playing in his headphones, pre-race? "Murder On My Mind" by YNW Melly. Deegan went down on the first lap of the 250 main and fought his way back up to fifth at the finish. He had some great things to say about his evening in the OGIO Powersports How Was Your Weekend video, that you can find elsewhere on this website.

Anaheim One Faces: Chase Sexton, Ken Roczen, and Jason Anderson. How many of you - if any - had this 450 podium predicted?

Anaheim One Faces: Malcolm Stewart and Nathan Ramsey, who are having a post-practice qualifying chat.

Anaheim One Faces: Cole Davies finished an impressive eighth in his rookie debut! The New Zealander was one of several riders who advanced through the Supercross Futures program last year, and he was the top finisher among the rookies.

Anaheim One Faces: Third-place finisher Jason Anderson, his wife Kenzie, and daughter Siggy, as well as Jason "Rango" Montoya.

Anaheim One Faces: Roger DeCoster. Between Julien Beaumer's second in the 250s and Chae Sexton's win, he had a lot to be happy about.

Anaheim One Faces: Billy Laninovich, the "old man" of the 250 Supercross class at 41. Lano didn't make the Anaheim One main, but he already holds the record for the oldest 250 main event rider since last year.

Anaheim One Faces: Honda HRC Progressive's Jo Shimoda and his mechanic Ben Griffith, celebrating their 250-class win. "Winning is always memorable," said Jo. "But the feeling of winning Anaheim One is something completely different."

Anaheim One Faces: Satoru and Keiko Terada. Satoru is a lead designer at Troy Lee Designs, and he was on hand for the unveiling of the Ducati Desmo 450 at the Troy Lee pits..

Anaheim One Faces: Terada shows off the Ducati Troy Lee Designs SE5 helmet that he designed.

Anaheim One Faces: Quad Lock Honda's Joey Savatgy, obviously has better days ahead. The veteran earned the Australian Supercross Championship this winter and hopes to carry that momentum into the domestic series.

Anaheim One Faces: Paul Delaurier, former factory mechanic who is now managing the Rockstar Gas Gas rig. His move to "The Fun Team" was a short one, as he has been managing the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rig for many years prior.

Anaheim One Faces: Josh Hansen and his daughter, Kennedy. Hansen may not line up these days, but he is still a valuable member of the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team as the race team test rider.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Crew Chief Oscar Wirdeman cuts an extra groove in the rear Dunlop on Jorge Prado's KX450. We asked if there is hard date to prove that the extra edge is beneficial. "No,. but the riders like it," he said. "Is it mental? Maybe, maybe not."

Anaheim One Faces: Yarrive Konsky, owner of the Quad Lock Honda team, which is fresh off a handful of championships this past off-season.

Anaheim One Faces: Brian and Haiden Deegan. On press day, we asked Haiden about the first time he beat his dad on the track. You can find that conversation in the Yamalube Newsbreak, elsewhere on this website.

Anaheim One Faces: Hunter Yoder, who is in his second season with the Partzilla/PRMX Kawasaki team. Yoder was impressive with a third in his heat race, but a tip over early in the 250 main left him 13th.

Anaheim One Faces: Doctor John Bodnar, who was obviously waching our Yamalube News Break video!

Anaheim One Faces: Second-generation racer Evan Ferry, who signed with the Phoenix Honda team for 2025 after parting ways with the Triumph Racing team part way through the 2024 season and finishing the MX Nationals with the Wildcat Racing privateer effort..

Anaheim One Faces: Levi Kitchen, just before toughing out the 250 free practice session, after which he and the team decided he was too sick to carry on, East Coast, it is!

Kitchen was visibly off his game in the few laps he rode in free practice. By AMA rules, he would not have been able to switch to the Eastern Regional 250 Supercross series if he had taken to the track in timed qualifying. Get well soon, Chef!

Our buddy Justin Rodbell finished 13th in the 450 LCQ. A HVAC technicial during the week, Rodbell has made it work plenty of times in the past...expect to see him in mains sooner than later.

Anaheim One Faces: Grant Harlan, who got to the track extra early on Friday morning for the local news press sessions. Sadly, all of the local media was busy covering the fires that are ravaging Southern California to show up!

Anaheim One Faces: Max Vohland, who will make his debut with the Club MX/Yamaha team at Tampa in a few weeks. Maximus' YZ250F is equipped with a rear hand brake which he says has become a big advantage for him. Stay tuned for more in the next LOTW Vlog.

Anaheim One Faces: Ivan Tedesco and Dave Arnold, two of the men who are most responsible for the excellent Triumph TF motocross bikes.

Anaheim One Faces: Two-time 250 National Champion Jeremy Martin, who is running the Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha VIP experience tours. Stay tuned for a 6D Helmets Midweek Podcast with JMart, soon!

Anaheim One Faces: Ryan Breece, who's been racing for a couple of months now with the Motoconcepts Honda team. Breece was happy to return to the larger Supercross courses after several weeks on the AMA Arenacross circuit.

Anaheim One Faces: MCR Honda rider Ryan Breece and his CRF450R are in the very capable hands of Shawn "Longhorn" Bell, who has worked for riders like James Stewart,

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's RJ Hampshire made the tough decision to forego defending his West Coast championship and race East this season because of complications with the wrist injury he suffered last summer. RJ was on hand at Anaheim and took delivery of these cool custom Gaerne SG22s.

Anaheim One Faces: Gaerne's Marta Gazzola and Andrea Mazzobel teamed up with Instagram-famous artist Michael J. Kicks (far right) to produce RJ Hampshire's custom SG22 boots.

Jo Shimoda's win in the Anaheim One 250 main event marked the third 250 Supercross win for the Japanese rider. In preparation for his second year on the Honda HRC Progressive team, Shimoda made several changes to his program: he moved to Florida to train at the Moto Sandbox facility and is said to have been working with Eric Sorby. It must all be working for him! "I get a lot more quality track time in Florida," he said. "But it is hotter than I would like and there are too many bugs."

Anaheim One Faces: Jo Shimoda, Julien Beaumer, and Jordon Smith: how many of you predicted this 250 podium for A1?

Anaheim One Faces: Just who is Jo Shimoda blasting with his victory bottle of bubbly?

...at his mechanic Ben Griffith, of course! Ben joined the other Honda HRC Progressive mechanics, Cameron Camera and Christien Ducharme, by riding their Harleys to the stadium for press day. "I'm riding to every local one after this!" he joked.

After the race, we heard Jo ask for his race goggles, so that he could throw them to the crowd. Some lucky kid went home with a smile on Saturday night!

Anaheim One Faces:Kai Cunanan topped the KTM Jr, Supercross Challenge, which is now supported by Fly Racing and Factory Effex for 2025.

Anaheim One Faces:After the race, though, we suspect young Kai may have had some regrets about his podium speech...

...he should have kissed the trophy girl!

Anaheim One Faces: Well, this isn't technically a face, but it was good to have Michael Mosiman back at the races. A broken neck, among other injuries, forced him to miss the entire 2024 season, but he maintained his ride with Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha and finished 15th in his return to action.

Anaheim One Faces: With Levi Kitchen's withdrawal due to illness, Garrett Marchbanks was the lone Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki racer at Anaheim One. Marchbanks has been looking fighting fit thanks to his trainer John Wessling of Troll Training, and plenty fast after practicing all off season with Jason Anderson. We have to wonder if Pro Circuit reserve rider Drew Adams will be called up to contest the rest of the Western Regional 250 Championship in place of Kitchen.

Marchbanks has a special butt patch on his Fox Racing pants at Anaheim One.

Anaheim One Bikes: The addition of Progressive Insurance to the Red Riders squad has changed the team's official name to Honda HRC Progressive.

Anaheim One Bikes: Jett Lawrence's bike was adorned with a red background as he was the defending champion at the series opener. At San Diego next weekend, the red plate goes to points leader Chase Sexton, and Lawrence's number-one plate will return to the purple and yellow SMX Championship colors.

Anaheim One Bikes: Lawrence's mechanic Christien DuCharme pointed out a new data acquisition harness on the number-one machine. One port is for engine data, one is for the front suspension apparatus that shows up occasionally during practice, and the third is an open port for additional equipment.

Anaheim One Bikes: A new GET switch could also be found on the handlebars of the Honda HRC Progressive bikes. The switch controls the start assistance ignition programming, which is adjustable for varying track conditions.

Anaheim One Bikes: RJ Hampshire's FC 250 sat ready to go in the Anaheim One pits. Official word that Hampshire would not make the West Coast opener wasn't released until the last minute; perhaps the bike was ready and waiting, "just in case." Looking forward to seeing the number 24 on the line in Tampa!

Anaheim One Bikes: Looks like Progressive Insurance is planning a monopoly in the factory pits! Malcolm Stewart's seat bump remains the pointiest and most aggressive in the pits.

Anaheim One Bikes: We love the grey/blue color scheme of the Club MX Yamahas.

Anaheim One Bikes: We were surprised to see Ken Roczen's Suzuki RM-Z450 equipped with a kickstarter after the team put out a teaser on Instagram that it was testing an electric starter assembly. "We still don't have enough durability testing on the starter system to race with it," said Team Manager Larry Brooks. "We'd like to have a solid 40 hours on it. When we do, Kyle Chisholm will be the first to race with it." Brooks did mention that in addition to adding four pounds to the bike, the electric starter does change the power curve of the engine.

Anaheim One Bikes: The biggest change on all of the HEP Suzukis is the Kayaba suspension components, tuned by REP Racing.

Anaheim One Bikes: With Troy Lee's departure to field the future Ducati team, the new Gas Gas factory colors are now blood red and black with Rockstar Energy branding. We like the clean new look!

Anaheim One Bikes: This is Billy Laninovich's SLR Honda CRF250R. Lano was recruited to help train the team's rookie, Parker Ross, but also offered a chance to continue pursuing his second racing career on the squad as well. "I wasn't sure I wanted to keep trying to race at 41," said Laninovich. "But how could I pass on the opportunity to race such a great bike with a great team?"

Anaheim One Bikes: Julien Beaumer's new-for-2025 number, 23, looks quite familiar on an orange KTM. "We had to make it look different at least," he joked, about his unique number font. "I don't want anyone to just assume I am Sexton!" Look closely and you wil see a Rest in Peace Dave Feeny sticker on the fork legs of all the team bikes. Feeney was a long-time crew member of the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team, most notably as Zach Osborne's championship-winning mechanic. Feeny lost a battle with cancer the day after Christmas. Godspeed, Dave!

Anaheim One Bikes: We noticed some custom stickers on the billet aluminum gas tank caps on the factory Red Bull KTMs. We were told that the riders' names were engraved on the tops of each cap, but a miscalculation with the threads caused the named to be positioned upside down when the cap was screwed on tight. The stickers were made to cover the engraving. This is Aaron Plessingers.

Anaheim One Bikes: Chase Sexton's has his traditiona; "shaka" hand.

Anaheim One Bikes: We half expected a personal watercraft cartoon on the top of Julien Beaumer's, but no such luck.

Anaheim One Bikes: From afar, how many trick parts can you spot on Haiden Deegan's Star Racing Yamaha YZ250F? KYB kit forks, Xtrig clamps, a billet GYTR ignition cover, an unobtainable FMF Racing exhaust, CRM Compositi carbon fiber tank, and a custom front number plate are things that jump out to us.

Anaheim One Bikes: The Star Yamahas all had some very cool vented front numberplates, which were hand built by Corie Barbee at Anchor Tape. We asked if the vented plates really helped cool the bike down and were told that because the Yamaha airbox is mounted up top, the benefit is more so for the intake system. Very cool! Anchor Tape grip tape, by the way, is used by most factory teams and is unbeatable for extra grip.

Anaheim One Bikes: We spotted this extra-fat header pipe on the Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha YZ250Fs. The larger pipe is in fact a resonance chamber like the Megabombs found on other FMF systems for other motorcycles, but it is configured differently for Yamahas because of the wraparound header mandated by the reversed cylinder. "We call it the MAGA Bomb," said FMF's Little D, with a smile.

Anaheim One Bikes: You'll notice that Haiden Deegan's number 38s were yellow with a purple background, which indicates that he is the SMX World Champion. Should he earn the Western Regional 250 points lead down the road, his plate will be red with a yellow 38.

We spotted something cool in the lid of Brent Duffe's toolbox: Michael Antonovich's new Course Heading business card.

Anaheim One Bikes: We asked Joey Savatgy's Quad Lock Honda mechanic Nathan Alexander what his favorite part on the bike is and were surprised when he said the custom ARC brake and clutch levers. The front brake lever is a shorty, designed for index finger use.

Anaheim One Bikes: Troy Lee and Ducati USA unveiled the 2025 Desmo 450 on press day Friday. While this machine looks like a prototype, it was announced that the production bikes will start showing up at Ducati dealerships in July!

Anaheim One Bikes: One of the cool parts on the bike was the hand-welded aluminum gas tank. We assume that a plastic version will come on the production machines.

Anaheim One Bikes: The billet aluminum hubs are anodized "Lamborghini green." Of course, the bike is equipped with Brembo brakes, front and rear.

Anaheim One Bikes: Akropovic exhaust routes the spent gas out of the cylinder.

Anaheim One Bikes: We wonder if the production machines will be equipped with titanium Akropovic exhaust systems? The body work was hand-painted by the crew at TLD.

Anaheim One Bikes: Justin Cooper's bike awaits show time.

Anaheim One Bikes: Eli Tomac's bike awaits showtime.

Anaheim One Bikes: Cooper Webb's bike awaits showtime.

Anaheim One Bikes: Cooper Webb is the only 450 racer on the Star team who prefers the GYTR Hydraulic Clutch conversion kit. Webb feels its biggest benefit is clutch feel off the starting line.

Anaheim One Bikes: This Husqvarna Mountain Cross eMTB featured a special paint job to mirror the graphic design on the race team motorcycles. Husky has two different styles of pedal-assist mountain bikes: the Mountain Cross trail bike with 150mm of suspension travel and mixed wheel sizes, and the Hard Cross, which is an enduro bike with 170mm of suspension travel with mixed wheel sizes.

Anaheim One Bikes: Gas Gas, meanwhile, has a dozen or so different pedal-assist mountain bikes in its catalog and this one is the MXC, a trail bike that boasts an excellent SRAM motor that has a coast-shift feature that allows you to change gears while coasting, without pedaling. It is amazing! If you're wondering why KTM doesn't have their mountain bikes on display at the races, its because KTM bicycles is a completely separate company and not in the Peirer Mobility fold.

Ryder DiFrancisco's day may have started rough in practice...

...but he ended the night a super solid fourth in the 250 main event. Ryder D actually held control of third for some of the race and only surrendered the spot to Jordon Smith after some hard-fought laps. DiFrancisco is visibly stronger in 2025 and we expect him to have some breakthrough rides this year.

Gavin Towers was impressive in his debut with the Phoenix Honda team. The rookie pro won the 250 LCQ and ran well in the main event until a crash knocked him back to 19th at the checkers. One of several graduates of the Supercross Futures program, look for Towers to break into the top 10 sooner than later.

As mentioned earlier, New Zealander Cole Davies was the most successful Supercross Futures graduate at Anaheim One, carding an impressive eighth in his first pro Supercross race.

Davies actually battled with teammate Haiden Deegan in their heat race and finished a solid second behind Danger Boy. In this photo, he momentarily reclaimed the lead from Deegan after losing it in the previous rhythm section.

SLR Honda's Parker Ross is another SX Futures graduate that looked great on Saturday night. Ross started poorly in the main event but ripped though the field and ran inside the top 10, but a collision with another rider knocked him back to an eventual 17th at the finish. Expect to see more from Ross this weekend in San Diego.

Like the rest of the MCR Honda team, Noah Viney came to Anaheim One warmed up thanks to the previous weeks' WSX and AMA Arenacross races. Viney transferred directly to the main from his heat race and carded 18th in his first pro Supercross race.

Reven Gordon is another SX Futures graduate, but his day inside Angel Stadium didn't go as planned, We saw Gordon hit the deck multiple times throughout the day and in the 250 LCQ, he was 14th, We've seen him absolutely ripping at our local SoCal tracks under the guidance of Troll Training's Wil Hahn, and believe he can become a main event staple.

It was great to see our friend Stylez Robertson back in action after he missed all of 2024 due to injuries. One of the new members on the Triumph Racing squad, Robertson was slated to race the Eastern series, but was called in to replace Jalek Swoll, who suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon only a few days prior to A1.

Speaking of Achilles tendon injuries, we are gutted for Evan Ferry. The second-generation racer found a new home at Phoenix Honda and was looking smooth and fast, but his tendon ruptured when landing off a jump on the last lap of his heat race.

No estimate on when Ferry will be healthy enough to return yet, but we wish him the best and look forward to his return.

Jett Reynolds looked much more impressive than his results showed. Reynolds's bike was mangled in a a first turn crash at the start of the 250 main and he was unable to continue. He will bounce back.

New Zealander Dylan Walsh looked good during practice and the Host Kawasaki racer ended the qualifying sessions ranked 26th. Walsh is one of the international racers who trains at the Grindstone compound each winter and we were looking forward to seeing him race after he was knocked out with internal injuries last season.

Sadly, Walsh's Kawasaki let go with only a couple of laps left in the first 250 heat. Looking forward to seeing him bounce back in San Diego.

Privateer Scotty Wennerstrom moved down to the 250 class for 2025, hoping to capitalize on the SMX purse money in the small-bore division, but the Texan's evening in Anaheim didn't go as planned and he failed to make the main event.

We were intrigued by the "I own me" logo on the front of Wennerstrom's bike and stopped to learn more. Wennerstrom's title sponsor, Galaxy Cloaking, provides a service for digital content creators that protects them from having their content being stolen and/or reused and redistributed without compensation. Go to galaxycloaking.com or stay tuned to the next Bell Helmets Life on Two Wheels vlog for more information. Interesting stuff, for sure!

MCR Honda's Vince Friese and the rest of the team have been contesting the AMA Arenacross Series in the weeks leading up to Anaheim One, and he leads the championship point standings. The team will contest several rounds of the West Coast Supercross, but its main objective is to win the AX title in 2025.

Monster Energy Kawasaki's Jason Anderson looked fantastic as he led the main briefly, then finished a solid third at the season opener. With one year on the new KX450 under his belt, the team hopes that a healthy and happy El Hombre can find the pace that saw him win fire off seven Supercross wins in 2022. ON another note, check out the vented airbox cover on Jason's bike. The new KX450 is notoriously choked up and benefits from more airflow. The vents in the cover are cut with a water jet machine in house at Kawasaki...trick!

We commend Jason Anderson for having the self control to simply hand his champagne bottle over to his mechanic Rango instead of blasting him with the spray.

Malcolm Stewart had a nasty crash in his heat race while exiting the sand section. The tricky rhythm caught many racers off guard and Mookie swapped and high-sided violently. He was so shaken that he was unable to remount.

We were shocked and pleased to see Malcolm walk down the tunnel to line up for the 450 LCQ. "Everything hurts," he said, while motioning to his core. Malc raced through the field - including this authoritative pass on Ryan Breece - to finish second behind a long-gone Freddie Noren and transfer to the main.

In the main event, Stewart suffered a poor start due to gate choice and soldiered to a 10th place finish. "I felt good all day but in the heat race in the sand I got whipped and went flying! I hit the ground pretty hard and was beat up, but I got checked out and they gave me the green light. I felt like if I could salvage a top 10 in the main that would be a win, and that's what I did so I think that's a really high note."

During the afternoon timed qualifying sessions, boxes were laid out next to the second baseline whoops that forced riders to weave through them at a slow rate of speed. Why? To keep riders who skipped the whoops from inadvertently logging a fast lap time.

Kickstart Kenny is embracing his nickname. Wonder what it'll change to if the team finally decided to incorporate the electric starter its been testing.

Eli Tomac told us in the Yamalube Newsbreak feature you can find elsewhere on our website, that he is down eight pounds compared to this time in 2024. An eight-pound reduction is calculated to be a one horsepower gain. Tomac looked fast and feisty all day long in Anaheim, throwing whips and scrubbing jumps like never before. Had he not pushed the front end and crashed on the opening lap of the main, Tomac fans everywhere are certain the results column would look different.

For the two-stroke fans: Georgia's Jared Lesher continues to field a Yamaha YZ250 in the 450 class. This year, his 'smoker is traditional YZ blue and he complements the throwback look with Mendid MX gear, designed to pay homage to the Jeremy McGrath '93-'95 era Sinisalo gear. Cool!

Dylan Ferrandis had a season opener he'd rather forget. A crash in the heat race sent him to the 450 LCQ, and in that race he tried an outside pass on Arenacross rider Ryan Breece and you can guess how that ended up. We were stoked on Ferrandis' custom-painted Bell Moto 10 Spherical helmet, which could be wilder than ever now that he doesn't have a personal Monster Energy deal any longer. Many individual athletes like Ferrandis and Jo Shimoda were let go in favor of the brand's larger presence in MMA fighting.

Club MX Yamaha's Coty Schock is officially one of the dudes in the 250 class. His journey to the upper echelon of professional racing has not been without hiccups, but his sixth in the A1 main event is only the start. Shock is riding fast!

Some mid-day spice from Danger Boy.

We were fired up on Justin Cooper's O'Neal kit at Anaheim One, and even more excited when we learned that it is an upcoming colorway in the 2025 Prodigy line, not a custom kit just for Cooper. What do you think? Do real men wear pink?

Fresh off his SX2 World Championship, Quad Lock Honda's Shane McElrath returned to the 450 class at Anaheim and came home 12th in the main event.

Justin Cooper signed with HJC Helmets for 2025 and beyond and this is a look at his custom-painted RPHA 01X, the brand's new high-end entry into the motocross and off-road market.

Justin Barcia's custom-painted Troy Lee Deisgns SE5 was a thing of beauty.

Cooper Webb's custom-painted FLY Racing Formula S Carbon helmet. Fly's latest helmet technology tracks impacts and can even notify pre-set emergency contacts if the impact is great enough.

Jason Anderson's Airoh Aviator 3 and Jorge Prado's Fox V3 RS helmets. Previously unavailable or very difficult to obtain in the United States, Airoh is set to make a big stateside push very soon. Stay tuned.

Jo Shimoda's Fox Racing V3 RS. Shimoda and Ken Roczen both raced in the newest Fox Raclimited edition collection, dubbed "Elevated Future." While Roczen's helmet featured his normal Red Bull paint scheme, Shimoda was allowed to showcase the Elevate Future design. What do you think?

The back of Shimoda's helmet sported a Drink Weird logo and we were told that it was a race-day addition. Drink Weird is an organic tea and yerba matte beverage taht relies on natural caffeine for its "energy" properties.

Julien Beaumer's costom Red Bull Arai VX-Pro4 helmet. Made in Japan by hand, the Arai helmet is enjoying a resurgence in the pro SX pits with riders like Beaumer Beta riders Benny Bloss and Mitchell Oldenburg, and the MCR Honda riders Vince Friese, Ryan Breece, and Noah Viney.

Ken Roczen's Rex V3 RS.

Justin Cooper and Eli Tomac's Aplinestars Tech 10 boots. Cooper's Diva Pink boots are from the normal offerings at Astars and matched his new O'Neal Prodigy gear perfectly, while Tomac's boots were part of the limited edition Dirt Studios collaboration. Act fast if you want a set of these!

The Partzilla team was outfitted in these custom kits with an unmistakable Anaheim theme. We looked up Callus Moto and it produces a wide selection of motocross and MTB gear, and also offers custom kits. Check them out at callusmoto.com

Ryan Breece and Colt Nichols got together in their heat race and Breece was left battered a bleeding. Take a close look at his right leg above his boot! "I don't wanna look until after the night is done," he said. "I hope that is a pool of sweat I feel inside my boot!" The Idaho native finished third in the LCQ and 19th in the main." After the 450 main, Breece had a couple stitches done at the Alpinestars Mobile Medical Unit.

Breece and Nichols "made up" before the LCQ.

Our pal Hunter Yoder was fired up after his third-place showing in his 250 heat race behind Haiden Deegan and Cole Davies. "I know it was only the heat race but anyone that says they wouldn't be excited about that at Anaheim One is lying to ya!" said Yoder in the latest episode of Inside SML, which you can find elsewhere on our website. In the main, Yoder finished 13th after tipping over on the first lap. Onward and upward!

We were excited to see our friend Kai Aiello line up for his first-ever Supercross last weekend. An accomplished off-road racer, Aiello finished 15th in the LCQ and checked a line off of his bucket list. Rad!

Another look at Shimoda's LE Fox Racing kit. Jo-san didn't have the greatest qualifying sessions of heat race, but he took control of the lead on lap one when it counted in the main event and ran away largely uncontested for the win.

Garrett Marchbanks was credited with the holeshot in the 250 main event but crashes held him to ninth. On paper, Marchbanks' results are hardly representative of how fast he's going.

The Western Regional 250 SX class is stacked, but with Levi Kitchen joining the fun in the East, so is that coast!

Jordon Smith had a great debut on the Triumph TX 250F. Third in the main event, Smith looked comfortable on the "British" machine. Who will be the first rider to earn a Supercross win for the marque?

Julien Beaumer's Anaheim One was 2/3 perfect. With the fastest qualifying time and a win in his heat race, his day could have only been bettered by one postiion in the main event. JuJu gave lots of credit to his trainer Davi Millsaps, for his newfound fitness and on-track grit.

New York's TJ Albright earned the last ticket to the 250 main with a fourth in the LCQ, and he parlayed that into 14th in the main aboard his Gizmo Mods/Rock River Yamaha. We're planning to catch up with Albright for a Dunlop Privateer Power Profile this weekend in San Diego.

Jordon Smith and Julien Beaumer had a battle royale in their 250 heat race. We have the feeling that these two will be together quite a bit this series.

Frenchman Ludovic Macler was the sole Suzuki rider in the 250 class at Anaheim One, and his 20th in the LCQ meant there were no members of the RM Army in the main.

The start straight inside Angels Stadium had a couple of jumps from two rhythm lanes that crossed the start, smack-dab in between the left and right sides of the start straight. In fact, the inside two starting gates on each side of the box were removed. The design left almost no chance for anyone on the outside lane to enjoy a great start, but more so, it resulted in several crashes only a few feet into each race.

As per usual, Ken Roczen rode a fantastic race at the series kickoff. "I was thinking the other day that I've win Anaheim One before, but I've never been second," he said in the How Was Your Weekend feature you can find elsewhere on our website. "So second is kind of cool! I'm happy with the way the day went and also with the result and the way me and my bike felt."

It was cool to see Benny Bloss and Grant Harlan battling on the track, as the duo has been training and practicing together all winter long at the private Beta facility in Paso Robles, California.

This is the second season in a row that Freddie Noren has caused up to do a double take! Fast Fred was giving big-time Chad Reed vibes with 22 last year, and though the number has circulated since Josh Grant retired, 33 on a KX reminds us of JG.

Justin Hill looked great on his Team Tedder KTM 450 SX-F. Last year, the younger Hill brother opted to race an older machine and now regrets it. "I absolutely love the new chassis and I wish I had raced it last year!" he said. Hill is the first rider in AMA Supercross who we've seen race in Leatt, head to toe!

After Jett Lawrence collided with the Tuffblock at the start, he was on a mission to make up ground. Unfortunately, another fall caused him to lose all the ground he had made up. This particular pass he pulled on Bloss was so fast and impressive, we wish that we had it on video.

Mitchell Oldenburg was pleased with his debut performance on the Liqui Moly Beta RX450. "P16 on the night but the first one is out of the way and a good building block," he said. When we asked him if the bike felt different in race conditions than it has while testing, he said, "No! It felt exactly as I had hoped it would. I am excited about that!"

Two-time MXGP World Champion Jorge Prado was known for his starting ability overseas, and his technique has obviously come with him to the United States. Prado holeshot every race he was in on Saturday.

One of the shockers at A1 was Colt Nichols not qualifying for the main event. "I didn't execute like i should have," he said. "I didn't qualify the way I should have and that resulted in a bad gate pick in the main, which led to a crash in the middle of the pack. Not much to sit and complain about; I just need to do better. This is unacceptable."

The sand section at Angels Stadium provided some exciting moments and plenty of great photo ops. Aaron Plessinger had an off night at A1, and we doubt that he or anyone in his camp was satisfied with ninth. Cowboy Up!

Kyle Chisholm announced that this would be his final full-time season of racing at the highest levels. It's been a 20-year professional career for Chiz!

Logan Karnow didn't have the showing at Anaheim One that he was hoping for. The popular privateer missed all of last season with injuries and is looking forward to finding his way back into the 450 main events. The social media platform Only Fans continues to be a huge supporter of Karnow's effort. Look for a Dunlop Privateer Power profile on our website soon.

Chase Sexton credited much of his comfort on the bike to some last-minute suspension changes made the Monday before Anaheim One. Suspension components and settings have been a big talking point about Sexton's setup ever since he joined the Red Bull KTM squad and it's great to hear that he's found something he's truly comfortable on.

We really like the Alpinestars X Dirt Studios collaboration kits that were worn by Hunter Lawrence, Eli Tomac, and Jason Anderson. Dirt Studios patterned the kits after some awesome AXO Sport gear from the 90s...

The attention to detail even trickled down to the rider names and numbers. If you're old enough to remember the AXO Sport gear the kits were patterned after, you'll surely recognize the name and number font, too!

Our German buddy Dominique Thury is back this season on a privateer Yamaha YZ250F. Things didn't go his way at Anaheim as he finished sixth in the LCQ, but he has been a regular main event fixture in the past.

No matter, though. Some would say Thury has been winning for a while now! (That's his long-time girlfriend Jaycee Hamlin.)

Neither of the Lawrence brothers finished where we, or anyone else, expected. Hunter was 11th, just ahead of Jett in 12th, but he did have an absolutely amazing three-way battle with Justin Barcia and Eli Tomac that brought the crowd to its feet.

Stiff bristled brushes are a part of most mechanic's trackside accessory kits, as they are used to clear the metal start grates of dirt. When they get completely packed with roost, a dirty grate can be more slippery than dirt alone.

Starting blocks have become the norm for many racers with the advent of the metal starting grates. Even riders who are tall enough to touch the ground seem to use them for added leverage when the gate drops. While some riders use off-the-shelf adjustable blocks...

...others chose a height and stick with it.

Pro Circuit, meanwhile, makes these custom stands for its riders. Titanium? Maybe...we'll ask.

These were the most unique that we saw. Jordon Smith's start platforms look more like a sprinter's starting blocks than any height compensation devices!

Interestingly enough, the outside half of the starting gate had only one rider using blocks.

"That was good advertising, wasn't it?" joked Haiden Deegan when we asked if the team had strategically placed a Quad Lock sticker on the helmet, beneath the visor. Deegan said that the lack of a visor after he crashed was not as big an issue as having hair in his face, inside his goggles. "I must have hit my helmet in a way that forced my hair down," he said.

Look to the inside of the corner and you can see the moment that Jett Lawrence's main event hopes came to an end. Remarkably, he didn't fall, but he was tangled up long enough for the entire field to scoot away.

Eli Tomac was first to strike, overtaking holeshot artist Jorge Prado in the second corner, but his lead lasted only one rhythm section more as he pushed the front end and went down to the disappointment of the crowd. Tomac remounted instantly, even though he was run over by Chase Sexton, who had nowhere to go.

Neck burn for Sexton. Can he make it two in a row this weekend?

This is the second season in a row that Freddie Noren has caused up to do a double take! Fast Fred was giving big-time Chad Reed vibes with 22 last year, and though the number has circulated since Josh Grant retired, 33 on a KX reminds us of JG.

This was Roczen's pass for second on Jason Anderson. It is remarkable that Anderson maintained the pace that he did, as his front wheel had several broken spokes from his contact with other riders in turn one. When we asked if he could feel his wheel wobbling around, Anderson replied, "YES! And it was sketchy!"

Take a close look at Jason Anderson's front wheel and you'll see some broken spokes. In the past, we thought that mechanics safety wired the cross section of spokes to help keep them tight...in this instance, the preventative measure kept the from spokes from doing more damage, like finding their way into the front brake caliper.

An engine stall in the latter half of the 450 main may have been Chase Sexton's only mistake. Though it allowed Ken Roczen to close in momentarily, Sexton maintained his composure, a got back into the same rhythm that allowed him to reestablish a comfortable lead by the checkered flag.

Cooper Webb was pleased with his fourth-place showing at Anaheim. The two-time Supercross champion always excels once the series heads East, where he really shines. A few weeks ago in the pre-season press conference, Webb said, "I am a hard guy to beat in a 17-race series." We're looking forward to the series leaving California for more reasons than one!

See you in San Diego!