2025 Birmingham Supercross | Kickstart News and Photo Gallery

Track: Birmingham is essentially the new Atlanta in that Feld hopes to bring crowds in from all across the South like Atlanta used to. But it's also starting to become a bit more familiar with riders as a place where the soil will almost be identical to the clay Supercross tracks they all test on. A lot of riders mentioned they felt comfortable on this soil post-race.

Training Partners: Seth Hammaker stands with SMX Next athlete Tiger Wood who also trains at the Lawrence Brother's Dogpound with Hammaker. Expect to see Wood on Phoenix Racing Honda for the rest of 2025.

Helping Hand: Marvin Musquin remains in a semi-ambassador role with KTM while seemingly being more involved again with Tom Vialle as he's been spotted a lot with Vialle at the first five rounds of East, including again on track walk at Birmingham.

Countdown: Kyle Chisholm is looking ahead to his final stint now as a full time Supercross athlete and said he's been taking it in a little more each week. Even post-race, he discussed his relief with finishing off his last Triple Crown event.

Baby Steps: Austin Forkner is a new dad as he and his wife welcomed a baby boy in the off weekend between Indianapolis and Birmingham. We spoke with Forkner on Friday about it and he mentioned having a different perspective on life now being a dad. Expect the full interview with Forkner coming later this week.

Welcome Back: After tearing his ACL and meniscus in September, Christian Craig's long road back completed at Birmingham as he was back behind the gate now with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing.

Full House: Even with just one rider racing 250SX East now under the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki tent in Seth Hammaker, there were still plenty of bikes over there this weekend. SMX Next racers Landen Gordon (#18), Enzo Temmerman (#21), and Vincent Wey (#27) pit out of the PC rig this weekend but thanks to a Triple Crown, Seth Hammaker also had his race bike and backup bike ready to go at all times. Five bikes under the rig almost looked like things were status quo over at PC.

Full House: Similar to Pro Circuit Kawasaki, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna welcome their SMX Next athlete under the tent this weekend as Landon Gibson pit alongside RJ Hampshire and Malcolm Stewart.

Celebrity: Country music star Bailey Zimmerman was on hand in Birmingham and was hanging out a lot with the riders. He spent time with Aaron Plessinger, Cooper Webb, and Jett Lawrence just to name a few throughout the day.

Faces: Nick Romano was back this weekend in Alabama after missing Indianapolis as he deals with a nagging knee injury. It was good to see he's still his usual smiley self.

Crushing Hit: Max Anstie crashed hard in the first qualifying session of the day when he cased the quad in the long rhythm section and then ejected off the bike over the next jump. The subsequent slam back into the ground unfortunately left Anstie with a fractured fibula which ended his 2025 Supercross season on the spot.

Track Design: Dirt Wurx was concerned having a sand corner before a tunnel would lead to riders pushing the sand berm out into a bad spot where riders would hit the tunnel on entry. To compensate for that, they build a big curbed bank all along the tunnel that extended into the sand to keep riders planted a foot off the tunnel wall on corner exit. It worked as nobody hit the tunnel all day and it even created some cool shots as you see Justin Barcia bouncing the front wheel off it here and powering down onto the start straight.

Dried Out: There was not a cloud in the sky all day long in Birmingham and while it wasn't particularly hot, the track still got baked throughout qualifying. By the second sessions, it was tough to tell if we were in Alabama or Utah.

Convention Center: The pit setup in Birmingham has all the teams and riders setup in the two story convention center across the street from Protective Stadium. The aesthetic and vibe is very similar to that of Seattle and St. Louis.

Big Crossover: Triumph Racing machines have been available in the Call of Duty: Warzone video game for about six months now but Triumph and Call of Duty stepped up the collaboration for Birmingham and next week in Seattle. The race team featured Call of Duty: Warzone graphics on the bike in Birmingham and will also have them in Seattle.

Cuidado, Piso Mojado: There maybe should have been a "caution, wet floor" sign in the berm before the whoops in the first 250 race as the Dirt Wurx track crew soaked the corner to put moisture back into the track. Seth Hammaker admitted he was a little too aggressive on the slick conditions in the first lap of Race 1 as he tucked the front end in P2 and caused a huge pileup. Hammaker charged back to P9 while his entire right side remained marked with the aforementioned wet dirt.

Clear Eyes: Vision was a talking point a bit on Saturday as thanks to when the sun set with the racing starting at 6pm, the first races had the sun beaming into the stadium at an awkward angle. Here Chance Hymas was running clear lens 100% goggles for practice but some riders ran tinted lenses for Race 1 specifically.

Cowboy Holeshot: Aaron Plessinger grabbed the holeshot in two of the three races on the night and said post-race that the first holeshot was maybe the best start of his career. AP seems to be in a really good place again with the bike and his confidence off the gate is proof in the pudding.

Glowing: The first races of the Triple Crown were ran as the sun was setting creating some unique shadow points. Jason Anderson here launches over the tunnel jump with the sunlight still beaming behind him.

Partners in Crime: Aaron Plessinger and Malcolm Stewart have both recently sung the praises of how well they are feeling week after week testing at Aldon Baker's Factory in Florida. Stewart and Plessinger finished P2 and P3, respectively, in Alabama helping Austria complete a podium sweep in 450SX.

Fighting Through: Ken Roczen admitted he crashed in the off weekend while testing and suffered an AC separation that he simply planned to push through in the final eight races of Supercross. Roczen took some pain killer before the race in Birmingham and rode to a respectable P5 overall on the night.

Trying It Out: Feld is trying out a prototype triangle Tuff Block to use at the races. They were sparse on providing information, but the obvious benefit is less space where a rider might clip the Tuff Block as they skirt along the edge of the racetrack.

Close Escape: Carson Mumford crashed in the first turn of Race 3 for the 250s and was seen barely able to put any pressure on his leg as he limped off. The worry was that we perhaps saw another torn Achilles or similar ankle injury, but Mumford and the team confirmed it was just a severe sprain so far as X-rays came back negative.

Crowd: The lower bowl of the stadium was jam packed by the night show, but the upper deck was sparse at best. Feld is really hoping this race pulls the Atlanta market and New Orleans market with Atlanta and Houston (which was pulling New Orleans market) now off the schedule. Speaking to some fans, they still wish the race was in Atlanta but accept that this is a good alternative.

Pileup: Seth Hammaker's crash out of P2 in the second race of the 250s caused a huge traffic jam which spoiled good starts for a lot of riders.

Flustered: RJ Hampshire was in line for the overall win heading into Race 3 but was caught up in the first turn crash that took Carson Mumford and Max Vohland to the ground as well. Hampshire was annoyed post-race at a missed opportunity to claim another victory as he works on inching back into a battle for the red plate.

Sand Blasted: We are 10 rounds into Supercross in 2025 and every single race has had a sand section. Between limiting whoop length and not having dragon backs, it seems sand has also become a staple of the racetrack.

Bounce Back: Dylan Ferrandis crashed in the bowl corner before the whoops in Race 2 and hurt his left arm bad enough that he needed a track worker to pick his bike up for him. He then rolled off the track and did not finish. Suddenly, he was back for Race 3 no problem though and picked up a 10th place finish which shows he simply just was banged up in his crash and not hurt worse.

Halved: Cooper Webb's points lead was cut in half in Birmingham thanks to his first time missing the podium since Anaheim 2. Webb won the final race of the night but crashed in the first race and carried a P7 result with him the rest of the way, which hurt his chances at landing on the box.

Steady: Austin Forkner was 10th overall in Birmingham and went 11-8-9 to get there. It hasn't been the speed we've seen before from Forkner now that he's on the Triumph, but it genuinely feels like every week gets a little better.

Random: It's not often you see a header pipe just bouncing down the track in Supercross but here's an example! Nick Romano had his come off in the second race resulting in a DNF.

Finding Home: Max Vohland got P6 in Birmingham and if you take the 250 West riders away in Indy, he's gone 5-5-6 now in the last three races. Since the team figured out his clutch issues from the first two rounds, Vohland has tested a lot and actually felt much better blitzing the whoops this week.

Back on Form: Aside from some odd DNF's in the first three races, Aaron Plessinger's 2025 campaign wasn't exactly going swimmingly until Daytona where he landed on the podium. Birmingham then made it two podiums in three weeks and AP led a decent bit of Race 1 and Race 2 this weekend. Could he get his second career win this year?

Beta Building: Benny Bloss ended up P10 overall and said post-race that the team had a big engine update coming into this weekend that has really helped him feel more comfortable overall. He's also really happy that the bike feels good in hard pack and soft conditions.

Starting Point: Christian Craig told us on Friday he really had no idea where he should slot in coming off injury and he would ride to P12 overall going 11-15-13. Now he has a base of where he's at in this class as he looks to put it in the top 10 next week at Seattle.

Needed Rebound: Chase Sexton by his own account had an abysmal few weeks following his botched victory in Arlington at Round 7. He hadn't won since Glendale and actually hadn't even won a race (Triple Crown moto or main event) since Anaheim 1. Well, going 1-1-2 at Birmingham was a huge weight off his shoulders and this championship fight could be heating up quickly again.

Final TC: Kyle Chisholm said post-race that he was relieved to finally complete the final Triple Crown race of his career as he begins the countdown to the closing of his professional career in Supercross at the end of the season.

Down Three: Jason Anderson ended up on the ground in all three races of the Triple Crown. One with Chase Sexton helping him there, one with minor contact with Cooper Webb, and lastly a crash in the rhythm section off the start in the final race. All things considered, a P7 overall isn't that bad from coming from behind each race.

One Mistake: Landen Gordon won the first two SMX Next races of 2025 and was fast all day in Birmingham. But he just barely touched his teammate Enzo Temmerman in the main event on the opening lap and jumped into the catch fence and Tuff Blocks atop the tunnel jump causing him to crash awkwardly. He still got up and finished 16th.

SMX Next: Ryder Malinoski was a half lap away from winning the SMX Next main event when he got sideways in the rhythm before the whoops and went over the berm into the net. He had the win in his pocket and left with a P5 result. Understandably, he was disappointed, but it was still one of the best rides of his amateur career thus far.

SMX Next: Vincent Wey made his SMX Next debut in Birmingham after a shoulder injury kept him out of Daytona. The second generation talent would end up P8 despite having a huge crash in qualifying during the day.

Still There: While RJ Hampshire was disappointed not to win after going 1-2 to start the night, Seth Hammaker could have made a case the night should have been his as he slid out by himself in P2 in the first main and had to come from dead last to P9. He then swept the rest of the Triple Crown and is starting to look like he might be the outright fastest guy in the series right now. Unfortunately, he still sits 13 points back in the championship and needs to keep winning to get back into it.

Team Green Again: The Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green program is now 3-for-3 in SMX Next this year as Enzo Temmerman took advantage of a last lap mistake from Ryder Malinoski to win in Birmingham.

Underrated: Hardy Munoz has been a revelation this year as the usually loose and crash overloaded Chilean has stabilized into a real threat. He was solid all night in Birmingham en route to a P9 overall result.

Nine in 10: Nate Thrasher became the ninth different winner in 10 races of 250SX action this year at Birmingham. After breaking his finger testing before Detroit, it looked like his title hopes were completely dashed. But he soldiered through some rounds, now has a win and sits 21 points back. It's a lofty thought, but not impossible he could still get in this fight down the stretch.

What He Does: Tom Vialle was on the box again in Birmingham with a P3 result and extended his points lead out to 10 points with Max Anstie going out of the series. He still hasn't won a race, but the way things are going, he might not need to to still win this championship.

Coming Around: Daxton Bennick still hasn't been on the box since his P2 in Tampa, but coming off a big concussion testing the next week meant it was unlikely he'd get back to this form at all. He was fifth overall in Birmingham and had a very strong ride in the final race of the night.

Comfort Found: After a P8 finish in Birmingham, Shane McElrath told us he has the bike in a very comfortable window now where they are no longer making massive changes to make him comfortable. While he hopes to continue to get better results, he says he's just happy to feel more like himself lately.

Podium Hangover?: Justin Cooper broke through for his first podium of the season at Indianapolis two weeks ago, but coming off the off weekend, he seemed a bit stale in the three races at Birmingham. He qualified very well during the day again, but never finished inside of the top five during the night show and settled for P6.

Watch Out: Justin Barcia went flying into the nets during the first race while he was battling for a top five spot. As Barcia frantically ran back to the bike, he picked it up on the throttle side and missed the clutch lever as he picked it up, which sent the bike spinning wide open in a circle away from him. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, including Barcia who bounced back up and collected good finishes in Race 2 and Race 3 to earn a P9 result in the end.

Guess Who's Back: Chase Sexton looked every bit as good as he had showed early in 2025 at Birmingham as he went 1-1-2 to pick up his third win of 2025. Perhaps even more noticeable is that he seemed to have the speed to run Cooper Webb down in the final race, but in learning form his mistake in Arlington, he backed it down, took his second place finish, and easily won the overall.

Happy Boss: Roger De Coster gives a handshake to Malcolm Stewart who not only collected his second podium finish of the season, but also helped Austrian branded motorcycles sweep the 450SX podium between himself, Chase Sexton, and Aaron Plessinger.

Sweet Victory: Sexton, Plessinger, and Stewart celebrate with the customary champagne shower post-race as KTM and Husqvarna has all five of their machines on the podium in Birmingham across the 250SX and 450SX classes.

Debrief: Teammates Chase Sexton and Aaron Plessinger chat post-race after completing a KTM-Husqvarna sweep in 450SX.