San Diego Supercross Preview
Check out a review of round 1 of the 2025 Supercross season at Anaheim 1 and a preview of San Diego this weekend for round 2.
By Billy Rainford
Round 1 of the 2025 SMX World Championship / Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA was full of unexpected miss-steps by many of the top riders. When the dust settled, we had a couple podiums that I will go out on a limb and say will not happen again this racing season.
I will also insert the old cliché that you can’t win the title at round 1 but you can lose it. Making that old adage come true is what a few of the top riders were trying to avoid last Saturday, and fortunately for them they all seem to have done that.
Let’s have a look.
250 West:
#23 Julien Beaumer was fastest qualifier, so we knew he had made improvements heading into his sophomore season. #19 Jordon Smith qualified 5th fastest and was trying to give Triumph their first Supercross podium. #30 Jo Shimoda qualified just ahead of Smith in 4th and has been trying to live up to his billing the past few seasons.
I was at Press Day and was impressed with what I saw from #36 Garrett Marchbanks and he was the one who grabbed the holeshot in the Main. A crash on lap 10 dropped him from 4th to 8th and that’s when he found himself struggling to hold off Canadian #61 Cole Thompson and rookie New Zealand rider #100 Cole Davies. Davies would make the pass while he managed to hold off Thompson for 9th.
Davies was the rider who probably impressed me the most at Round 1. He is the SX Futures champion from last season and came in with some expectations, but the speed and aggressive smoothness he showed at his first Pro SX showed to me that he has the potential to be a future champion. He sort of reminded me of Haiden Deegan. He definitely sounded like him on that Star Racing Yamaha!
I also liked what I saw from rookie #134 Avery Long. After watching him his last couple years an an impressive amateur, we all knew he had the speed, but you never really know until you see them lined up against the best. Avery stacked up very well and finished an solid 12th in the Main.
I was looking forward to watching Smith go at it with Deegan now that they’re on different teams. We saw some fireworks between the two in the past and I don’t think we’ve seen the last of that. However, Deegan was down and at the back of the pack at the start of the Main and had to carve his way through the field to get himself up to 5th at the flag with a last corner pass on #37 Coty Schock.
I always pay attention to crowd reactions during opening ceremonies and Deegan’s reception is right there with those for #3 Eli Tomac and #7 Aaron Plessinger.
Looking ahead to Round 2 this week in San Diego, I think we’re going to see a much different podium. Deegan won’t make the same mistake twice. #93 Michael Mosiman will have a better showing than his 15th and we’ll see Ty Masterpool in for Levi Kitchen starting at Round 2.
All 3 riders who were on the podium are capable of repeating, but I think the cards were stacked in their favour, so it won’t be an easy task for them to reach the stage this week.
As for the Canadians, #61 Cole Thompson was solid as usual. He seemed to find #65 Lux Turner every time he was on the track at A1. He’s easily one of the smoothest riders on the track in either class. He ended up 10th. His average lap speed shows that it’s about where he belonged last week. His average was better than #52 Anthony Bourdon who I was impressed finished 7th.
#943 Noah Viney is now listed as being from Ottawa, Ontario, on the entry list, so that’s cool. We all know he’s an excellent starter but the split lane at A1 was a huge disadvantage to riders on the outside and I don’t expect we’ll see that again. I hope, anyway.
Noah went straight to the Main after finishing 8th in Heat 1. He was up as high as 14th and crossed the line in 18th. It was a good night that should set him up for a solid series.
We spoke to #585 Blake Davies at the end of his day:
We spoke with #551 Guillaume St Cyr to find out how he’s doing:
450:
The 450 class was also filled with surprises as 2 of the top riders found themselves on the ground or off the track (or both) early on.
#3 Eli Tomac was the fastest qualifier so everything felt as it should early on. He then gave the crowd what they wanted early in the 450 Main and was up at the front until he slid out and went down. He dropped back but managed to fight his way up to 5th at the flag after a long battle with #51 Justin Barcia to salvage good points.
#1 Jett Lawrence managed to go inside the tuff blocks heading into turn 1 and was way back. He then crashed in the sand section on lap 3 and dropped back again! Like I said off the top, I don’t think we’ll see the same podiums again. Neither Tomac nor Lawrence will let this sort of thing happen again.
It was interesting to hear Lawrence say how much trouble they were having getting the bike set up for him. It was mentioned to me that his bike’s suspension was actually clunking as it went through the whoops earlier in the day, so it’s good they got it sorted out.
#4 Chase Sexton qualified 3rd fastest and looked comfortable all day and night. His Heat win was one of the easiest I can remember in recent years. He sort of did the same thing in the Main after getting himself to the front early. He led 17 of 20 laps. Also interesting is the Consistency stat they show in the results. Most of these riders are in the upper 98% as far as lap consistency goes. Chase was 98.351.
Looking ahead, while the others may find it tough to return to the box, Chase should be a regular visitor to the podium. He looked fantastic!
#94 Ken Roczen was super-pumped to cross the line in 2nd. Not that we should be all that surprised he landed on the podium, but when you look at the rest of this field, an argument can be made that we could be a little. He’s still one of the hardest working riders on the track.
Look how close #2 Cooper Webb was to #21 Jason Anderson at the flag! Anderson is a former champion but I don’t think most people had him in their picks to be on the podium in 3rd place. When everything goes right, he’s got what it takes.
Webb’s consistency was a staggering 99.267% – his times barely fluctuated! We all talk about his tenacity and 2025 looks like it’ll be more of the same. If Lawrence, Sexton, or Tomac falter or show any weakness, Webb will be there to capitalize, just like always.
I paid a lot of attention to #70 Jorgé Prado throughout the day at A1. I really liked how he was riding. He looks like he’s got SX more figured out this season. Unfortunately, he went backwards in the Main due to what has to be attributed to his lack of experience on SX whoops. Everywhere else, he looked amazing. He slipped back to 14th at the flag and I’m sure he’s in a whoops section somewhere as you read this.
As far as this coming weekend in San Diego is concerned, I think we’ve got the early hiccups out of the way for our top riders. However, this is Supercross and anything is possible. But if I were a gambling man, which I’m not, I’d have Deegan and Lawrence returning to form and finding their way back to the podium.
See you at the races…
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