2023 Indianapolis Supercross | Race Report & Results

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2023 INDIANAPOLIS SUPERCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE

The Monster Energy Supercross Championship made its annual trip to Lucas Oil Stadium for round nine in the schedule, the 2023 Indianapolis Supercross. The race had everything we’ve come to expect in Indy, from a soft and technical track to a four-time winner in the 450 Class and near-capacity crowd that stayed long after the checkered flag.

250 Heat One

The first heat of the night was off, as Chris Blose led 250SX Heat One out of the first corner. Jordon Smith trailed Blose as they began their first lap on the challenging race course. Haiden Deegan shuffled himself into third place after the opening lap. A few laps later, Smith jumped to the inside and took Blose wide to take over the race lead.

Jace Owen sat in fourth place early-on, but Jeremy Hand and Cullin Park shuffled Owen back to sixth. Cullin Park then made the pass on Jeremy Hand and took over fourth place. Jordon Smith crossed the checkered flag first to secure the heat race victory over Chris Blose. 

250 Heat Two

As the second 250SX heat left the gate, Coty Schock bolted into the early race lead with Max Anstie trailing. Max Anstie made a quick pass in the third corner to take the race lead, as Tom Vialle followed shortly after to advance into second. Hunter Lawrence made his way into third place after a few passes in the early laps. 

Hunter Lawrence then passed Tom Vialle to take over second place, just before Nate Thrasher made his own pass on Vialle. A lap later, Hunter Lawrence was on Anstie’s rear wheel and pressuring for the lead. Hunter then looked inside and jumped to the race lead. Nate Thrasher then pulled up on Anstie but the red flag was then waved, as Larry Reyes was down hard.

Restart

With just over 2-minutes and a lap remaining, the race was back underway following a staggered restart. Nate Thrasher made the pass on Anstie in the second corner and advanced into second place. After getting tangled with another rider on the original start, Jeremy Martin was up to sixth place. Hunter Lawrence took the checkered flag and claimed the heat race victory over Thrasher. 

250 LCQ

The 250SX LCQ was off, as Hardy Munoz rounded the first corner in the lead. Though, Braswell made an early pass and took over the race lead as the field exited the second corner. Luke Reese sat in third place, while Lane Allison held on to the final transfer position. Luke Reese made a late race pass on Munoz to take over second place. Caden Braswell crossed the checkered flag to claim the LCQ win and move on to the Main Event. 

250 Main Event

The gate was down for the 250SX Main Event and Hunter Lawrence was off to the early lead after rounding the first corner ahead of the rest of the field. Chris Blose trailed in second place, but Jordan Smith and the rest of the Star Racing crew were just behind. Nate Thrasher shuffled his way into third place by the end of the first lap, while Jordon Smith sat ahead of Deegan. 

Both Thrasher and Smith passed Chris Blose on the second lap to advance into second and third place. Haiden Deegan then made the pass on Blose after a better run through the whoops and picked up fourth place. Max Anstie was the next racer to challenge Blose for position, as the two swapped lines a few times before Anstie ultimately secured the spot. 

Meanwhile, Hunter Lawrence continued to lead and held a 3-second cushion over Nate Thrasher. Jeremy Martin and Cullin Park advanced past Blose. Jeremy then went after Anstie and made a clean pass to take over fifth place. Tom Vialle was making moves inside of the top-10 after a bad start, as the Red Bull KTM rookie passed into seventh place. 

Jeremy Martin continued to make passes, as he caught and passed Deegan for fourth place. While making his way through lappers, Hunter Lawrence and Brock Papi collided – fortunately neither of them went down. Haiden Deegan went down in the whoops while running in fifth place and dropped back to seventh place before remounting. Hunter Lawrence took the victory in Indianapolis and collected his fourth race win of the season.

450 Heat One

Cooper Webb led the first 450SX heat into the second corner with Adam Cianciarulo trailing. Justin Barcia passed into fourth place through the whoops, just before Ken Roczen jumped inside of Cianciarulo to secure second place. A lap later, Barcia made the pass on Cianciarulo through the whoops and picked up third. 

Ken Roczen then looked inside of Webb and held the lead momentarily, as Cooper responded in the next corner. Roczen then passed Webb back and secured the race lead at the end of the whoop section. Justin Barcia shuffled Webb back to third place after a better run through the whoops on the following lap. Justin Barcia was on Roczen’s rear wheel and searching for a line around him. Ken made a slight mistake and Justin Barcia capitalized by jumping to the inside in the following corner to take over the race lead. 

On the final lap, Cooper Webb went down and gave Cianciarulo third place. Justin Barcia crossed the checkered flag to pick up the heat race victory after an impressive ride to the front. 

450 Heat Two

Eli Tomac rounded the first turn in the race lead with Jason Anderson trailing in 450SX Heat Two. Aaron Plessinger shuffled into third place, just as Chase Sexton went from fourth to second place through the whoops. Jason Anderson was then back to fourth, as Sexton went after Tomac and the race lead. 

Chase Sexton blitzed the whoops and exited ahead of Eli Tomac to take over the race lead. A few laps later, Aaron Plessinger made the pass on Tomac for second place after a better run through the whoops. Jason Anderson then passed Tomac through the whoops with two laps to go. Chase Sexton crossed the checkered flag and took the heat race win. 

450 LCQ

Logan Karnow was off to the race lead in the 450SX LCQ after snagging the holeshot. Lane Shaw jumped into second place but then went down in the whoops on the opening lap. Joan Cros was then rewarded with second place, but Cade Clason was trailing. After a lap, Freddie Noren made his way into the final transfer position. 

Cade Clason passed Cros for second place and then went after Karnow and the lead. Cade Clason jumped past Karnow and took over the lead with three laps to go. Freddie Noren then went after Joan Cros and made the pass for third place on the final lap. Cade Clason crossed the checkered flag to secure the LCQ win. 

450 Main Event

The gate was down for the 450SX Main Event and Ken Roczen was off to the early lead after rounding the first corner ahead of Adam Cianciarulo and the rest of the field. Cooper Webb made a pass on Adam for third place through the whoops, as did Sexton. Meanwhile, Eli Tomac was down in 11th place after a bad start. 

After passing Cianciarulo, Chase Sexton had his eyes on Webb. However, Cooper Webb was challenging Roczen for the race lead. Chase Sexton was the first to advance, as he made the pass on Webb after closing the door on him. Sexton then switched his focus to Ken Roczen and the race lead. 

Eli Tomac was up to 8th place and battling with Jason Anderson over the 7th place spot. While in second place and pressuring for the lead, Chase Sexton went down hard. Chase dragged his pegs in a rut and endoed into the on-off, dropping him back to 12th place. Ken Roczen now held a 4-second lead over Cooper Webb, who had a hard-charging Justin Barcia in tail. Aaron Plessinger passed Cianciarulo for fourth place.

Moments later, Justin Barcia made the pass on Cooper Webb for second place after a better run through the whoops. As the leaders worked through lapped traffic, Cooper Webb lurked behind Barcia, who was attempting to reel-in Ken Roczen. Laps later, Cooper Webb continued to pressure Justin Barcia, but Justin was not fading. 

Meanwhile, Jason Anderson passed Cianciarulo for fifth place, while Eli Tomac sat in seventh and Chase Sexton sat in tenth. Justin Barcia had Ken Roczen’s lead down to just 2-seconds, as anticipation was building for the battle over the lead. With just over a minute on the clock, Justin Barcia was just a second behind Roczen. On the final lap, Ken made a slight mistake but managed to hold on to the lead and collect his first race win of the season and his first race victory back on Suzuki.