2023 Atlanta Supercross | Kickstart Recap & Gallery

We’ll start the weekend with the latest Ride to Survive graphics made by SKDA for privateer Tristan Lane, with its inspiration from the famed Williams race team and the Martini & Rossi logo retooled for title sponsor American Recycling Center. All nine of the looks that Lane has run this year, including the Ferrari, John Player Special, McLaren, and Mercedes AMG kits, are available for all bikes through the SKDA store and can be customized with your logos.

Richard Sterling, small-bore specialist. The Red Bull KTM mechanic has been assigned to work with Tom Vialle during the two-time MX2 champ’s debut season in the US, but during the West Coast run, he helped out new Orange Brigade recruit Julien Beaumer at the Glendale round of SX Futures.

The many sizes of motocross riders.

Here’s a tip from a factory mechanic: apply a small stripe with a paint marker after tightening and torquing important nuts and bolts on your bike to proper spec so that you have a reference for the next round of maintenance.

Same theory applies with baseline suspension settings, too.

Sounds like we’ll see Marshal Weltin alongside Ken Roczen on a HEP Suzuki 450 for the upcoming season of Pro Motocross. This summer will be a busy time for the team, as they will have a two-rider presence in the US MX series with Weltin and Roczen, and the mandatory four riders for WSX (two in SX2, two in WSX) with Dilan Schwartz, Kyle Chisholm, and two more riders to be determined and announced.

Jo Shimoda made his return to action after spending the start of the season on the sidelines. The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider told us that being away from the gate for nearly half a year made him anxious, which could have been a factor in his Heat Race start, but he worked through the nerves and pushed forward to finish fourth in the 250 Main Event. Shimoda’s future is one of the bigger details being worked out this signing season and he is a hot commodity among the small-bore free agents. Stay tuned for more on this.

Cooper Webb didn’t waste any time when it came to finding a jump line in the whoops; we saw the Red Bull KTM rider hop his way through on the second or third lap of Timed Qualifying Session One, a technique he went back and forth from throughout the day.

Two wild starts in two rounds have gotten Kevin Moranz some attention, both good and bad, but the Tank Masters/Next Level Racing-backed privateer sees it all as a positive and he referenced Chase Sexton’s podium quote about the Glendale crash on his CANVAS MX gear.

Anyone want the 80-foot finish line double, downside the landing, and then pick a line to follow up the jump face of another 70-foot-plus booter?

Shoutout to Josh Greco for his pace in the afternoon practice at Atlanta. Quick laps by the privateer kept his name was near the top of the scoring pylon for the majority of session two and was credited with second in the B Group and 23rd overall after posting a 1:35.601.

Parked in the pits. Like Daytona, teams utilize the NASCAR garages in the infield of AMS and build out each bay with the lower from their rig awnings, toolboxes, and assorted items like rugs, refrigerators, and furniture. Air compressors are not hooked/offered in the building, so teams ran extra-long hoses back to their units built into their trucks.

Never far from each other, even on the opening ceremonies parade lap.

Fire power. The pyro crew went all-out with their opening ceremonies display on Saturday afternoon, an extended show that included even more fireworks than normal and the addition of colored smoke bombs. Every Friday the crew has to give a brief demonstration of the setup to the local fire marshal, and no matter the city, the authority figure always seems impressed by the massive fire balls that come from the finish line structure and gas-powered torches.

The Atlanta track was just about double the size of a standard Supercross layout, which meant twice the number of obstacles in the rhythm lanes for riders to remember and ground for the flaggers to cover. The move from the city to the speedway has gone on for five races, each with its own memorable moments, but we heard at the end of the weekend that a return to a stadium is being mulled over by the higher ups.

What does the future of the 250 Class look like? Will Hunter Lawrence stick around for another year on the CRF250R, or will he move up alongside his brother to the big bike in 2024 after clinching the East Coast title? Does Jo Shimoda become the title contender many expect him to be? Do Tom Vialle, Haiden Deegan, and Talon Hawkins add their names to the list of Main Event winners? Lots to ponder with a few races left in the season…

Could you skim over this 12-pack of whoops without a problem? Would you get through faster by hopping two or three at a time? Or, if we’re being honest with ourselves, would rolling each one be the best plan of attack?

Tom Vialle didn’t roll over for Hunter Lawrence in their Heat Race and took their battle for position to the end of the rollers, as Vialle covered off the inside opening that Lawrence tried to force his way through. The move was well-done but not enough, and if you scroll down to the gallery at the bottom of page, you’ll see that Lawrence got by after taking a tight line through the awaiting turn and down the next lane of track.

It’s good to be Hunter Lawrence right now. The Team Honda HRC rider has one hand on the number one plate for the 250 East Coast Region, which’ll be first title as a professional racer, and similar expectations for the upcoming 11-round Pro Motocross championship. Want to see what a day in the life is like for number 96? Our friend Stephane LeGrand has very well-made video with Lawrence and his wife at their Florida home that you can find on the LeBigUSA YouTube channel.

Talon Hawkins was having so much fun on the Atlanta layout that he told the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team it would be the ultimate practice track. The fun the rider was having translated into results, as the eighth place Hawkins posted in the 250 Main Event is the best finish of his rookie season in the professional class, and he celebrated with a small no footer over the double.

We didn’t see what transpired between Deegan and Shimoda during their Heat Race, but something must of have happened for the lookbacks and a hand signal over the finish line…

We caught up with Chris Blose at the end of the day for a HWYW interview to recap his finish in the 250 Main Event, but it wasn’t until midway through that we remembered the scary crash, concussion, and helicopter ride that all happened the last time he was at AMS. We’re sure the incident had to be on the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider’s mind at some point during the day, but he was able to battle with Henry Miller and Talon Hawkins for seventh place, Blose’s sixth top-ten result this season.

Another speedway win for Nate Thrasher, this time in the Heat Race over Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha teammate Jordon Smith. It’s wild to see how good Thrasher is on the super-sized Supercross tracks.

We got a few minutes with Alex Gillespie of Dirt Wurx on Friday for the Pre-Race News Break video to talk about the ATL build and the afternoon storm that rolled through shortly after they removed the tarps. The end-of-year SMX rounds also came up, and Gillespie told us that they’re starting to develop a plan of attack for the mega tracks that’ll fill ZMAX Dragway and Chicagoland Speedway: go a week or two early to get all the dirt moved in and the layout established, then return the week of the event to put on the finishing touches.

Lot of trust in the front tire…

The Atlanta round was one of the must-hit races on Josh Hill’s originally planned partial schedule, as it’s the home round for sponsor Mountain Motorsports, but once the results started stacking up for the Team Tedder rider, he decided it’d be best to finish out the full season. After racing to third place in the Heat Race and eleventh place in the Main Event on Saturday, Hill and the team rolled up to MM’s HQ on Monday and did a jump show in the parking lot using Keith Sayer’s ramp to airbag landing setup. Respect.

Cheyenne Labonte. The Rippin Ruts/Cycle Zone.KTM team celebrated their trip to NASCAR Country and sponsorship from technology company NEXUS Inbound with special graphics inspired by two of the most iconic schemes in stock car racing: the Interstate Batteries number 18 for Cheyenne Harmon and the Tide 10 for Guillaume St-Cyr.

A handful of inactive riders made the quick trip from Florida to watch the action and spend time with their teams, including Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Malcolm Stewart and Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Justin Cooper. Stewart still faces some recovery time from ACL surgery and is likely out for the summer, while Cooper is eyeing up a final run at the 250 MX title before stepping to the 450 Class full-time in 2024.

Joan Cros will finish out the SX season as part of MADD Parts/Big Buildings Direct/Kawasaki in place of injured rider/owner Bubba Pauli, who lost his thumb in a freak accident at the Indianapolis SX. We spent some time with Pauli on Friday discussing his recovery and what he’s done with the team while off the bike, but from the sound of things, that won’t be long. You can find the full interview on our homepage or YouTube channel.

Aaron Plessinger’s afternoon came apart when the clutch on his Red Bull KTM 450 SX-F stopped working properly in his Heat Race. AP recounted the experience during his HWYW interview and said that he didn’t know what was going wrong at first, like when the bike stalled over the wall, but eventually figured it out was clicking off laps without issue until he ran into another rider and lost momentum.

We’ll need to watch the Anderson-Barcia-Sexton Heat Race battle once or twice more before boarding the flight to the next round, because he three riders stayed within striking distance lap after lap and crossed the finish line less than a second apart. Anderson’s off-track excursion around the whoops was unbeknownst to us, though, and we didn’t find out about the one-position penalty until we saw the AMA results 15 minutes later.

The clutch issue meant Plessinger had to ride the LCQ. The factory rider’s pace was impressive, especially in the clear air he had at the front of the pack, but it was a bit more than the rest of the riders in the race might have wanted, because AP crossed the finish line a few seconds before time expired and sent everyone around the track for an extra lap.

Jared Lesher took advantage of the extra time in the LCQ and pushed his FMF-backed YZ250 into a transfer position for the 450 Main Event. Hard to say what got the biggest cheers from the crowd: that Lesher is a Georgia native, that he threw a heel clicker over the finish line, or that he did it while burning premix.

We’ve been eagerly awaiting a bar-to-battle battle between Hunter and Haiden since the Detroit post-race press conference. The teenager did everything he could to keep the more experienced rider behind during the early laps of the 250 Main Event, much to the delight of the crown, but Lawrence eventually made a pass stick and sped off to his sixth win of the season. Deegan had plenty of praise for Lawrence in our HWYW interview, saying that he knew it was a matter of time until the two swapped spots and that he learned a lot from the laps that the spent together.

Stylin’ in the southern air

We’re gutted for Nate Thrasher, as the Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider will miss an extended amount of time due to the broken collarbone and dislocated hip he suffered in a hard slam during the 250 Main Event. Thrasher was ranked second in the championship standings going into the weekend despite a badly damaged knee, and that’s another injury the rider will have to sort out while spending the summer on the sidelines.

Is your money on Hunter for the East-West Showdowns? Or do you think Jett has both coasts of the 250 Class covered? Can someone not named Lawrence get the win? We can’t wait to see what happens when the two regions face off in New Jersey and Salt Lake City.

How many trophies have these three taken home from the 250 East Coast Region this year? 14 total, as Lawrence has finished on the box in all seven races, Deegan has podiumed three times, and Smith four times.

The Reed and Deegan families got to know each other during their shared time in North Carolina, and at ATL, the multi-time champion gave Haiden a few words of advice after his third-place finish. Imagine trying to be a know-it-all teenager against the General and CR22…

Where you going, Benny? The Truck Centers/Rock River Yamaha rider got caught up in the first turn of the 450 Main Event, went off the track, and remounted in last place, at least fifteen seconds behind the next rider…

Josh Hill and Justin Hill diced it up for spots in the top-ten on the opening laps of the 450 Main Event while good friend Aaron Plessinger lurked behind. A mistake in the whoops shot JR Hill off the track and cost him a few spots (Dean Wilson got by him, too), but he regrouped and charged back to tenth place.

Benny made up for his early mistake in the whoops, as a willingness to skim while everyone else hopped or rolled through helped him pass multiple riders and get back to 13th place at the checkered flag. Watch HWYW for a hilarious detailed explanation of the moto by Bloss.

Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac’s fight to the death for fourth place had our attention in the 450 Main Event, as both riders linked together laps, made mistakes, pulled away from the other, lined up moves, and pushed each other for the majority of the 20-minute moto.

Despite staying very close, the two never really traded passes, and Webb’s efforts to keep Tomac at bay earned him a single, crucial championship point. It’s probably a good thing they never passed each other back and forth, because we’d have been too busy screaming and cheering to take any photos.

We mentioned Justin Barcia’s ability to turn berm shredding into line choice for the next section on the Kickstart Podcast, and here’s two photos of the “technique.” See how hard BAM has blasted the big Dunlop berm…

All to get to the far-left, and likely smooth line, in the rhythm lane. Impressive.

They didn’t show the Josh Hill-Dean Wilson top-10 battle on TV, but it was just as good as anything happening between Roczen-Barcia and Webb-Tomac. Wilson came out on top in this one, as he finished eighth to Hill’s eleventh.

Technique check, starting with Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton…

…Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb…

…Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Eli Tomac…

…Red Bull KTM’s Aaron Plessinger…

…Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo…

…Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson…

…Team Tedder KTM’s Josh Hill…

…Team Tedder KTM’s Justin Hill…

…Twisted Tea/HEP Motorsports/Suzuki’s Kyle Chisholm…

…Tank Masters/Next Level Racing’s Kevin Moranz…

…JSR’s Justin Starling…

…Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing’s Justin Barcia…

And Progressive Insurance/ECSTAR/Suzuki’s Ken Roczen.

Chase Sexton’s win was big in every way. The Team Honda HRC rider was practically flawless through the 450 Main Event, as he led all 15 laps, gradually added to his gap over the pack, avoided a critical mistake, and scored maximum points compared to Webb-Tomac. Can he claw back 17 more points in the four remaining rounds?

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The Sexton-Barcia-Roczen podium added even more intrigue to the championship chase, because now it’s clear there are riders who can and will get in the way of Tomac and Webb through the final rounds, and all three have different incentives to stay ahead (Sexton’s long shot at the title, Roczen-Barcia’s battle for fourth in the standings). Onto East Rutherford...