Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
Chase Sexton Dominates Supercross Opener in Anaheim
Jo Shimoda Tops 250SX Western Regional Class
Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
Anaheim, Calif., (January 11, 2025) A sold out Angel Stadium was alive
with the excitement and anticipation of Round 1 of the 17-round Monster
Energy AMA Supercross Championship, part of the SMX World Championship
series. Red Bull KTM Racing’s Chase Sexton took his first opening round
win in convincing fashion. Even with a brief stall near the midpoint,
Sexton never relinquished the lead after taking it less than four
minutes into the 20-minute plus one lap Main Event.
Angel Stadium hosted the Anaheim Opener, the first race of 17-round
Monster Energy AMA Supercross Season. The 34th season opener at the
venue also pays points toward the post-season of the SMX World
Championship™. The enthusiastic crowd was on its feet for thrilling
and unpredictable racing. Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki’s Ken Roczen also battled forward,
reaching second place early and holding the spot to the finish. Monster
Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson managed to avoid first-turn chaos and
found himself in the lead on the first lap. After intense battles with
Sexton and Roczen he finished the race on the podium with third place.
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac crashed on the opening lap
while leading. The defending champion, Team Honda HRC Progressive’s Jett
Lawrence, had two big mistakes in the opening laps and was only able to
climb back to 12th spot. In the 250SX West class, Honda HRC
Progressive’s Joe Shimoda rode a nearly flawless race and led every
lap to take the victory.
First place 450SX Class – Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
“I kind of knew where I was at coming in here. I knew I had good
speed. I feel more like myself in 2023 when I was fast, but I feel like
I’m a little more mature now and I can get out front and kind of run my
own laps and not make mistakes, so it was a fun race. [I] had Kenny
behind me, and also Jason, and it was just a good ride. Honestly, I had
so much fun on this track tonight. I can’t give it up to the team
enough. They put in so much hard work this off-season to get me
comfortable, knowing that I wasn’t comfortable last year; and coming
in now we’re back where we need to be. We still have lots to improve;
it’s only one race in and there’s 16 left, but we’re off to a good start
and first time winning A1 feels pretty good.” – Chase Sexton, after
winning the A1 Main Event following his Heat Race victory.
Second place 450SX Class – Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
“My practices have been terrible, and then [in] the last one I was
13th. And It’s not like I’m stoked about it, but I told Larry [Brooks,
Team Manager], I said, ‘I’m so not worried about that, you know?
Because I know: I just was calm. Like, I had the calmness inside of me.
I’ve done this a lot now and it showed. Again, we executed tonight. It
was a little bit of mayhem on the start; I locked bars with a bunch of
people and then I just rode such a solid race. And I know this sounds
stupid, but in the bus earlier, in my head, I said, ‘I really want to
get a second tonight. I think that’s perfect because first, you know, I
don’t know, not on the first one. But second is like the perfect
spot.’ And I made that happen; so, this is probably going to be the
only race where I’m hoping for a second. What a night! Awesome night,
bike worked great, I had a solid Main Event and I couldn’t be more
stoked about the second place.” – Ken Roczen, on the podium, when
asked about his slow start earlier in the daytime qualifying sessions.
Third place 450SX Class – Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
“The whole Monster Energy Kawasaki team, we’ve been putting in a lot
of work. I’m thankful to have them behind me and, yeah, that Main Event
was crazy. That first corner, I went in there and I tangled with about
everyone. I don’t know how I survived. [The contact] ripped some spokes
out and I could just see them, like, ticking on my fork. And I’m so
lucky that it [the wheel] survived the Main. Yeah, felt pretty good out
there, had a lot of moments, and hoping to clean it up and see if we can
stay up here on the podium. So, excited for the season.” – Jason
Anderson, when asked what it takes to show up with the speed for a
Supercross podium.
Fifth place 450SX Class – Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
“Talk about a high and a low; I mean, oh my gosh, I just couldn’t
believe it, you know?… [I] made the pass for the lead over the triple
there. I’m like, ‘Okay, you know, here we go! Let’s put this great
20 minutes in…’ And just like that, it ended. I just tucked my front
end there in that 90 degree corner. Good Ol’ Anaheim, gets slick in
the evening, and didn’t respect it. So all these years I’ve done it and
just, you know, barely made that mistake. I had a good come back,
getting to that fifth. I’m excited [about] the way I rode the rest of
the main there, so thank you… I was feeling just like I should, and
what I know I can do, the whole day there. So great qualifying and a
good quarter lap, but we’re going to come back. [laughs]” – Eli
Tomac, when asked to describe his emotions after crashing out of the
lead on the first lap.
Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
In 250SX Class racing, Joe Shimoda took the win without being challenged
throughout the 15-minute plus 1 lap Main Event. It was Shimoda’s first
opening round podium finish. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Julien
Beaumer put in a strong performance; Beaumer was the fastest qualifier
and won his heat race. He held close to Shimoda for much of the race but
never got close enough to make a run at the lead. Triumph Racing Factory
Team’s Jordon Smith recovered brilliantly from a tip-over in a
left-hand turn. With just 11 seconds on the race clock he reached third
place and held the spot to the end.
First place 250SX Class – Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
“This is the start I was looking for every single year. And I think I
was honestly sleeping on the gate [in previous seasons]. [Laughs] But we
came out with a good start and just put in some consistent laps, you
know, and never looked back. All this happened because of my team behind
it. I’d just like to thank everyone at Honda, my trainer, mechanic and
everybody… Thank you so much. Thank you, I love you guys.” – Jo
Shimoda, when asked on the podium how it feels to start the season with
a strong performance.
Second place 250SX Class, Western Regional 250SX Class Champion – Photo
Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
“I think obviously I was fast in the off-season, but I haven’t
translated that to a race yet. So, I had to show myself that tonight,
and I think I did that. I believe I can be in the hunt for this
championship and win these races. So, I’m going to get back to work
this week and be ready for next weekend.” – Julien Beaumer, when
asked about his impressive speed preparing for 2025 and what his first
Supercross podium finish tells him.
Third place 250SX Class – Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
Third place 250SX Class – Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
“I’m really happy with my riding tonight. I caught a [Tuff Blox] in
that lefthander over there with my clutch and tipped over. I was feeling
really good in the Main. I’ve just got to give it up to the whole
Triumph Racing team… Going from the Star Yamaha team that I was on
last year then moving over to the Triumph team, there’s so many
question marks, right? But I have full belief in everyone over there. We
put in the work this off-season. It was every day we had a better part,
or a better this, or a better suspension setting. I mean, we couldn’t
do it without all the guys that are there… It’s just a full team
effort and it’s awesome to give them their first Supercross podium.
Hopefully we can put it on top of the box here soon.” – Jordon Smith
earning Triumph their first podium result in Supercross.
Fifth place 250SX Class – Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
“Not really happy to get interviewed for fifth, but better than last
year. We’ll take the positive. Obviously not a great start. It
happens, [I] went down, [then] fought my heart out and made my way back
up to fifth and that’s all I could do. But congrats to the boys,
obviously the light should be shined on them and all we can do is come
out swinging at the next race.” – Haiden Deegan, when asked about
his impressive charge to fifth place.
The Anaheim broadcast began with a heartfelt message from play-by-play
commentator Leigh Diffey, “And as we come on the air, the people of
the Los Angeles area are still dealing with the extreme wildfires that
ravaged the region this week… And our thoughts are with all who have
been affected. And tonight, here in Anaheim, not too far down the road,
hopefully the sport of SuperMotocross can serve as a source of light
entertainment for those seeking it, and perhaps needing it.” A second
message during the event encouraged fans to support the Red Cross’
disaster relief efforts by going to redcross.org [4], by calling
800-RED-CROSS, or by texting REDCROSS to 90999.
Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
The 2025 Anaheim Opener pays points toward both the 17-round Monster
Energy AMA Supercoss season as well as toward the SMX World
Championship. The SMX League™ starts its third year in an exciting
race format that combines both the Monster Energy Supercross season, the
AMA Pro Motocross season, two SMX Playoff rounds and the SMX World
Championship Final.
Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
Every round of the 2025 Monster Energy Supercross season is available
live and on-demand on Peacock. Select races will also be broadcast or
streamed, live or encore, on NBC, CNBC, USA Network, and NBC Sports
digital platforms. CNBC will air an encore presentation of each round on
the Monday following the race at 1:00p.m. ET. Spanish-language coverage
is available live for every round on Telemundo Deportes’ Facebook and
YouTube channels. International coverage is available through the SMX
Video Pass (supermotocross.tv [5]) with live coverage of each round
giving viewers the option of English, Spanish and French language
broadcast teams. Live audio coverage can be heard for each race on NBC
Sports Audio on SiriusXM Channel 85. Race Day Live pre-event and daytime
qualifying coverage is also available live for each round on Peacock.
This allows fans to see each Monster Energy Supercross round from nearly
anywhere on the globe.
Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California hosts Round 2 of the 2025
season. The racing starts at 8:30p.m. ET. Tickets are available now for
the San Diego Supercross as well as every race of the 17-round Monster
Energy Supercross season. For more information, race results, video
highlights, or to purchase tickets please go to SupercrossLIVE.com [6].
Tickets for the SMX World Championship Playoffs in Concord, NC and St.
Louis, MO, plus the Final in Las Vegas, NV will go on pre-sale, Tuesday,
January 28, followed by public on-sale Tuesday, February 4. Friday
FanFest, Saturday FanFest and camping options for each SMX event will be
announced later in the season.
Click 450SX Class podium image below for full results
[7]
450SX Class podium (riders left to right) Ken Roczen, Chase Sexton, and
Jason Anderson. Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
Click 250SX Class podium image below for full results
[8]
250SX Class podium (riders left to right) Julien Beaumer, Jo Shimoda,
and Jordon Smith. Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
450SX Class Highlights
[2]
250SX Class Highlights
[3]
Post Race Press Conference
[9]
* Facebook: facebook.com/supercrosslive [10]
* X: twitter.com/supercrosslive [11]
* Instagram: instagram.com/supercrosslive [12]
* YouTube: youtube.com/supercrosslive [13]
* TikTok: tiktok.com/supercrossliveofficial [14]
* Official Merch: SupercrossSuperstore.com [15]