Round three of the Monster Energy Supercross season brought another exciting night of racing. Chase Sexton finally found himself on top for the first time this season, and more importantly, delivered Monster Energy Kawasaki their first win since 2022. In the 250 class, Haiden Deegan backed up his San Diego win with another strong performance. In the premier class, we’re starting to see the cream rise to the top, while the inconsistency in the 250s is making this Deegan’s title to lose.
Chase Sexton finally put it together when it counted, winning the main event. He took the lead early from Jason Anderson and controlled the pace from the front. The main event itself was mistake-free, but Sexton still showed some mental errors earlier in the day. A crash in the whoops during qualifying and another in the sand during his heat race tell me those mistakes are still lingering. While his performance in the main is what matters most, I’d like to see more consistency throughout the entire program before putting all my chips on Sexton.
Hunter Lawrence backed up his San Diego performance with another second-place finish in Anaheim, and what stood out most to me was his composure. He didn’t let a tough battle with two veterans of the class rattle him. Lawrence was able to counter an early attack from Tomac and made quick work of Anderson to move into second. While he wasn’t quite able to close the gap to Sexton, I fully believe we’ll see Hunter Lawrence on the top step very soon.
Eli Tomac took what looked like an off day and turned it into a podium night. The night started strong with a heat race win, but in his interview afterward, you could sense something was off. He mentioned the track conditions, which, even from the couch, did look tougher than the first two rounds. Given the deeper ruts, could it be that his KTM still isn’t quite dialed in for those conditions? In the main event, Tomac tried to strike early but couldn’t make anything stick. Lawrence was able to counter his attack, and Tomac had to force the issue to get around Anderson. Despite how it looked at times, a third-place finish on an off night is solid, and Tomac continues to show he’s still the top championship threat in the class.
As for the rest of the field, Anderson got a great start and led early, later admitting post-race that he didn’t have the pace to run up front for the full 20 minutes. Cooper Webb showed flashes of what he does best, but a late-race crash dropped him back to fifth and dug the championship hole a bit deeper. A first-turn crash put Ken Roczen out of the picture early, but he fought his way back to eighth. I’m interested to see how he responds next week. A strong bounce-back could show he’s ready to fully step back into the title contender role. After a top-five last week, Joey Savatgy backed it up with a sixth-place finish. He’s been solid so far and could be a podium guy as the season progresses.
In the 250 class, Haiden Deegan once again stood out as the rider to beat. He got a good start, was patient behind Mosiman, and once he made the pass, quickly built a gap. For the rest of the title contenders, it was a rough night. The first turn claimed both Chance Hymas and Levi Kitchen, with each exiting due to what appeared to be arm injuries. A mid-pack start and a tip-over kept Max Anstie out of the conversation, though he was able to recover to sixth. Michael Mosiman has really impressed me this season. He seems to have found a new level of consistency, finishing second on the night and sitting second in the points. At this stage, Deegan is firmly in control, and with a shorter West Coast schedule, the other contenders need to make a big step, or risk being left behind.
All in all, Anaheim 2 delivered great racing from start to finish. While we’re only three rounds in, some separation is starting to form at the top. Looking ahead to Houston, I’d like to see Webb correct course with a podium finish, Sexton put together a mistake-free day from start to finish, and someone step up to challenge Deegan in the 250 class. While the title is not won in January, it certainly sets the tone for the year, and this year is off to a great start.
