2024 Anaheim Two Supercross | Race Report & Results

2024 ANAHEIM TWO SUPERCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE

The Triple Crown format at round four of the Monster Energy Supercross Championship added even more excitement to series, as different riders won all six motos for the 250 West Region and the 450 Class, post-race penalties altered the podium, and the overall points for both divisions tightened. 

250 WEST REGION | REPORT & RESULTS

MAIN EVENT 1

When the gate dropped at the start of the first of three 10-minute main events, the 22 qualified riders roared off the gate and into the first turn for the first time of the evening. Leading the way was Levi Kitchen, followed by Ryder DiFrancisco, Nate Thrasher, RJ Hampshire, Garrett Marchbanks, and the rest. Jo Shimoda and Jordon Smith were mired at the start and started the race outside the top 10. Shimoda dropped even further back when he crashed on lap two and rejoined the race near last. Out front, Kitchen began to put some time on his pursuers. Thrasher applied heavy pressure to DiFrancisco and found his way past on lap four with a solid block pass, and Hampshire followed suit a few corners later. Hampshire found his way past Thrasher with a ballsy move down the second baseline and he immediately set his sights on Kitchen. 

After gating horribly, Smith broke into the top five with less than a minute left on the clock, overtaking Marchbanks just as they started a new lap. Remarkably, he closed in quickly on fourth-placed DiFrancisco, who had been riding a relatively lonely race, and began to pressure the rookie for fourth. Smith made the move on the last lap, passing the Gas Gas rider in the first set of whoops. A mistake by Kitchen on the last lap allowed Hampshire to close in and get the crowd on its feet, but at the flag, the Kawasaki rider prevailed for the first main event win of the night. Hampshire, Thrasher, Smith, and DiFrancisco rounded out the top five. Shimoda rebounded for ninth. 

MAIN EVENT 2

The second main event provided a whole new set of thrills. Nicoletti led Hampshire, Anthony Bourdon, Kitchen, and Robbie Wageman through the first turn. Smith, Thrasher, and Mitchell Oldenburg went down in the first corner and started the race at the very back of the pack. Nicoletti held Hampshire at bay for three full laps but succumbed to the Husky rider at the start of lap four. Kitchen also snuck past the holeshot winner, but there were four seconds of cushion between the veteran and fourth-placed Bourdon, who was under heavy fire from Carson Mumford. At the halfway point, Thrasher and Smith were up to 12th and 13th, respectively. Shimoda made big moves with less than two minutes left on the clock, passing both Mumford and Julien Baumer for fifth, then setting out after Frenchman Boudon. The Japanese rider took control of fourth with two laps left and was on fire as he quickly began to reel in Nicoletti for third. On the white-flag lap, Kitchen closed to Hamshire’s rear fender and pressured him heavily for the win, but Hampshire won the game of cat and mouse in the final corner. Shimoda found his way into third on the last lap, making up for a miserable start. 

MAIN EVENT 3

When the third and final 250 main event blasted off the line it was Thrasher who led the way. Kitchen was in hot pursuit, with Robbie Wageman, Bourdon and Marchbanks in tow. Hampshire was shuffled back to 11th at the start, just behind Smith. At the start of the fourth lap, Thrasher and Kitchen had a comfortable gap over the rest of the field. Bourdon held down third barely ahead of a closely bunched pack that included Wageman, Marchbanks, Hampshire, Shimoda, Smith, and Beaumer. Shimoda looked aggressive much earlier in the final main than he had in the first two and he passed Marchbanks for fourth and set his eyes on Bourdon. Smimoda moved into third at the halfway point, but Hampshire and Smith were in hot pursuit. Hampshire went down in the whoops and gave Shimoda solid control of third with three minutes left on the clock, and he remounted quickly enough to rejoin the race in seventh. This left red-plate holder Smith in fourth, with Beaumer and Marchbanks hot on his heels. At the finish, Thrasher enjoyed a small lead over Shimoda, who passed Kitchen on the next-to-last lap. Kitchen came home third in the race but he would have the lowest point total and emerge the overall winner of the Anaheim 2 Triple Crown over Hampshire and Thrasher. 

450 CLASS | REPORT & RESULTS

MAIN EVENT 1

The first 450SX Main Event was off and Chase Sexton was off to the race lead with Jorge Prado in tail. Christian Craig, Jett Lawrence and Justin Barcia went down in the second corner. Followed by Dylan Ferrandis, who went down in the whoops, dropping him to the back of the pack. Cooper Webb made his way into second place by the end of the first lap. 

Jason Anderson shuffled Prado back to fourth and then Ken Roczen also made a pass. Roczen then pulled alongside and past Anderson in the second set of whoops, but Anderson responded in the next rhythm by jumping a quad to the inside of Ken. A few sections later, Jason made a slight mistake and allowed Ken Roczen to take over third place. 

Malcolm Stewart then went down after losing his front-end, dropping him back in the pack. Up front, Chase Sexton continued to lead Cooper Webb, but Ken Roczen was closing on Webb. Jett Lawrence was on the charge through the pack, as he duked it out with Prado for 8th place. Jett ultimately secured the position after taking Jorge high before the whoops. 

Eli Tomac started clicking off fast laps and made the pass on Aaron Plessinger for fifth place. Jason Anderson then caught fire and started challenging Roczen for third place after reeling him in. Chase Sexton collected the first win of the night after a flawless start-to-finish race. 

MAIN EVENT 2

The second 450SX start went to Cooper Webb, who was closely trailed by Jorge Prado and Aaron Plessinger out of the first corner. Jason Anderson then quickly shuffled himself into second place and immediately pressured Webb for the lead. Justin Cooper made a pass for fourth place, shuffling Prado to fifth. Jason Anderson rocketed down the start straight and to the inside of Webb to take the race lead on lap two. 

Meanwhile, race one winner Chase Sexton sat in 15th place after a bad start. Aaron Plessinger was now challenging Cooper Webb for position, as he was looking inside. While battling through the pack, Sexton nearly went down in the whoops and allowed Eli Tomac to pass him. However, Sexton repassed Tomac a lap later and the pair continued to battle while charging through the pack. 

Jett Lawrence entered the picture and was pressuring Justin Cooper for fourth place. Jett made the pass for position but then nearly went down in the second set of whoops, which allowed Justin back by. Though, a lap later Jett completed the pass for fourth. Chase Sexton secured sixth place after a few passes, one on Prado and then Roczen. Sexton then got sideways through the first set of whoops and went down, dropping him back to 12th place. 

Up front, Jett Lawrence was on Aaron Plessinger’s rear wheel and pressuring for third place. Jett blitzed through the first set of whoops and to the inside of Plessinger to take away the podium position. Jason Anderson took the win in the second Main Event after setting sail with a speedy pace. 

MAIN EVENT 3

The final 450SX Main Event was underway, as Vince Friese led the field out of the first corner. Eli Tomac then cut inside and took the race lead in the second corner. Jason Anderson went down in the rollers before the second set of whoops, placing him in last. Chase Sexton made the pass on Friese to pick up second place. 

Moments later, Aaron Plessinger and Jett Lawrence followed Sexton past Vince. Meanwhile, Ken Roczen went down in the first corner and then also went off course in the long rhythm lane on the third lap. Roczen came around in 18th place following his mistakes. Up front, Jett Lawrence used an alternate rhythm to jump past Plessinger and into third place. 

Eli Tomac continued to lead and held a 3-second cushion over Chase Sexton in second place. A lap later, Jett Lawrence cut inside of Sexton after the second set of whoops to take over second place. Meanwhile, Jason Anderson was laying down some blistering fast lap times on his charge through the pack and had passed up to 8th place. 

On the final lap, Jett Lawrence went down in the second set of whoops and threw away his podium finish. Jett Lawrence remounted and finished in fourth place after his crash. Eli Tomac took the final Main Event victory ahead of Chase Sexton. Cooper Webb crossed the finish line in fifth place and claimed the overall win at Anaheim Two with his consistent finishes.