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2022 Anaheim Two Supercross | Race Report

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CHECK OUT OUR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE 2022 ANAHEIM TWO SUPERCROSS

Round four of the Monster Energy Supercross Championship Series returned to Angel’s Stadium in Anaheim, California, for the second of three Anaheim Supercross rounds. After last week’s Monster Jam monster truck event, the soil at this week’s event proved to be drier, harder, and slicker than the track surface at the season opener three weeks ago. Still, the challenging track yielded some spectacular racing action in both classes, and we had our fourth 450-class winner of the season!


Hunter Lawrence
250 Main Event Finish | 3rd

Anaheim 2 was relatively uneventful for Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence, as he proved to be consistently fast, but was never blazingly quick. Fifth in timed qualifying aboard his Cameron Camera-tuned Honda CRF250R, Lawrence transferred directly to the 250 main with a quiet ride to third in the second 250 heat, crossing the finish line behind teammates Christian Craig and Nate Thrasher, who led the early laps of the main after snaring a strong holeshot. 

In the main event, Lawrence gated outside the top five and methodically worked his way forward. Once into fourth, the elder Lawrence brother found himself a couple of seconds behind holeshot artist Vince Friese of the Smartop/Motoconcepts/Honda team. As the laps wound down, Lawrence closed to the rear fender of the privateer’s Honda, but he seemed tentative to make a move on the notoriously tough-to-pass veteran rider. Lawrence closed to Friese’s rear fender on the penultimate lap and when Friese crashed spectacularly in the whoops, was able to safely bounce past and on to the final spot on the podium. Lawrence has finished on the podium at every round, and sits third in the championship standings.

“It just wasn’t my night,” said Lawrence. “I didn’t get the best start and I had to come from behind a bit. All good though, we live to fight another day.”

Michael Mosiman
250 Main Event Finish | 2nd

Gas Gas/Troy Lee Designs rider Michael Mosiman showed up full of confidence following the first win of his young career last weekend at San Diego’s Petco Park, and the Californian was just a tick off series points leader Christian Craig in qualifying, 104.281 to Craig’s 101.242. Mosiman carried that momentum into the first 250 heat race as he turned in a commanding win over Vince Friese, Jalek Swoll, and Jo Shimoda.

In the main event, Mosiman gated third behind fast starters Friese and Craig, but he made moves quickly and worked past Craig on the opening lap, and past Friese and into the lead on lap three. Once in front, Mosiman put his head down and turned in some perfect laps aboard his Dave Burgess-tuned MC 250F and pulled out a couple second lead. Once Craig found his way past Friese, however, he steadily chipped away at Mosiman’s lead. Mosiman surrendered the lead at the halfway point of the race, but he never gave up and made a couple of attempts to retake the lead, then kept the Yamaha rider honest all the way to the finish.

“It was difficult, but I practice riding with pressure from behind with my teammate Justin Barcia,” said Mosiman. “It was such a good race. Clean racing and I think I learned a thing or two behind Christian. I look forward to challenging him through the rest of the series.”

Christian Craig
250 Main Event Finish | 1st

It was nearly a perfect day for Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Christian Craig. The veteran turned in the fastest qualifying lap, then earned a solid win in his heat race after chasing down teammate Nate Thrasher. In the main event, Craig started second and was bumped back to third for several laps behind Mosiman and Friese. Craig took his time getting past Friese and found himself with a near-three-second deficit to Mosiman once into the runner-up position. Steady, fast laps saw Craig chip away at Mosiman’s lead, and he took over the lead around the halfway point of the 250 main and was never headed en route to his third win of the season.

“That was so much fun, the battle with Michael!” said Craig. “It felt like we battled it out for so long and I could hear the crowd going nuts. After my crazy crash yesterday at press day, it feels good to bounce back and win this way.”


Chase Sexton
450 Main Event Finish | 3rd

Full of confidence from his first career 450 Supercross win last weekend, Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton kept the ball rolling by topping the field in timed qualifying and earning pole position in the night’s second heat race. Sexton looked flawless in his heat race as he jumped into the lead and flat-out disappeared, crossing the finish line with a six-second lead over his teammate Ken Roczen.

A poor start in the main event saw Sexton complete lap one in seventh, in spite of making several passes on the opening circuit, and the Illinois rider methodically made his way through the field and towards the front of the pack with solid, well-planned passes. Sexton took over fifth on the sixth lap and with that, his race was pretty well set as he was well ahead of fourth-placed Dylan Ferrandis, but a solid two-seconds arrear of runner-up Jason Anderson.

“I feel like a whole different rider this year,” said Sexton. “I felt sketchy in the whoops – I think all of us did – but the two guys in front of me were going really fast. I’m just glad to get out of here safely with a solid finish.”

Jason Anderson
450 Main Event Finish | 2nd

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson seemed to get better and better as the day wore on. Fifth in times qualifying aboard his Jason Montoya-tuned Kawasaki KX450, Anderson struggled to find his rhythm in the second 450 heat as he crossed the finish line in sixth. 

In the main, Anderson started fourth and displaced Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM rider Shane McElrath, then Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Malcolm Stewart before moving into second behind leader Ken Roczen. On the fifth lap, Anderson closed to the rear wheel of the German and dove to the inside line in the sandy section that preceded the finish line jump, but the lines intersected and the duo came together in spectacular fashion. While Roczen went down, Anderson saved a near-crash and went on to lead three laps before nearly riding off the track following a tricky triple up onto an elevated corner. Anderson stalled out to regain his balance just long enough for Tomac to sneak past him, and with that, the podium positions were settled. Anderson trailed Tomac by nearly five seconds at the finish.

“I had been making some mistakes out on the track all day long and it was a bummer to come together with Ken Roczen that way,” said Anderson. “It was a bummer, I really enjoy clean racing and that’s not the way I like things to happen.”

Eli Tomac
450 Main Event Finish | 1st

Series points leader Eli Tomac looked solid all day at Anaheim Two. The Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider qualified second behind Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton, 103.208 to 103.046. In the first 450 heat race, Tomac gated second behind Red Bull KTM’s Aaron Plessinger and stalked the popular rider for several laps before making his way past and racing off with a three-second lead at the checkered flag.

In the main event, Tomac gated inside the top five and made some quick moves on his competition. The Colorado racer found himself in second behind Jason Anderson as the field settled in, and he matched the Kawasaki’s every move as he stalked the leader. On laps eight, a mistake by Anderson that saw him come to a near stop to avoid flying off the track allowed Tomac to swoop past and into the lead, and with that, the Yamaha rider was never again challenged. At the finish line, Tomac enjoyed a four-second lead and he looked plenty excited to earn his first Yamaha-mounted win.

“This feels so good,” said Tomac, who ended a seven-race winless streak. “We have been working hard and making forward progress every week. This feels so awesome and it’s been a long time coming.”

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Donn Maeda

Donn Maeda is a 30-year veteran in moto-journalism, having worked at Cycle News and Dirt Rider before launching MXracer Magazine and TransWorld Motocross Magazine. Maeda is the Editor-In-Chief at Swapmoto Live and you can catch him on a dirt bike or in the saddle of a mountain bike on most days.

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