2024 St. Louis Supercross | Kickstart Recap & Photo Gallery

How did Michael Mosiman get a ride with Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha? He got in touch with Bobby Regan. “I reached out before Anaheim One, I heard Deegan was hurt and I just my name in the hat. I said I didn’t know what was going on, and after that they called me,” explained the rider. “It wasn’t so much a fill-in situation, because he wants to win championships and have two quality guys on either coast, and he felt I could be one of those guys in the years to come.” Mosiman’s implied getting to this point had been a challenge and that there were issues he’ll share in the future, including a bothersome ankle, but being back on the bike is a step in the process. “Taking the time to do it right, to feel prepare, and to be comfortable on the bike was huge and it makes it a lot more fun when you get on the gate knowing you can do this.”

30 & 31

In the tunnel with Colby Copp, Mitchell Oldenburg, Adam Cianciarulo, Shane McElrath, Colt Nichols, Vince Friese, Justin Barcia, Malcolm Stewart, Cade Clason, Aaron Plessinger, Benny Bloss, and Cooper Webb.

Four riders, four beverage sponsors that did billions of dollars of revenue in 2023: Rockstar Energy is part of Pepsico’s $91.471B, privately owned Red Bull did $10.9B, Twisted Tea helped the Boston Beer Company reach $2.01B, and the many varieties of Monster Energy totaled $7.14B.

What do you like more: the Red Bull blocks of glitter and bolts done by AirTrix for Jett Lawrence…

Or the neon colors, hard lines, exposed carbon, and Monster Energy M claw that apdesigns laid down on for Justin Cooper?

Want floor access to a Supercross? Start a company that makes sportwear for MX/snow/fishing, build it into a million-dollar business through years of work and retail partners, and then sign on to be the title sponsor a race team.

Shake out the arm pump.

Shane McElrath has made noticeable progress on the track in the last few weeks and tells us he’s getting better with every gate drop. The Twisted Tea/Progressive/Suzuki rider can rip a start and run a strong pace in the opening laps of a race, something he repeatedly showed in the Triple Crown, while 12-11-7 scores for tenth overall showed that he was able to improve as the night went on (For whatever it’s worth, his best lap in Race Three was a 57.030, while Race Two was a 58.301, and Race One was a 57.107). McElrath is now thirteenth in the championship with 103 points, down four to Dylan Ferrandis, 27 to Malcolm Stewart, and 30 to Hunter Lawrence.

Triple Jump Style Check. What do you notice from these shots of Kyle Chisholm…

Jett Lawrence

Justin Barcia

Eli Tomac

Jason Anderson

And Ken Roczen.

Hometown Hero Carter Stephenson. The Kawasaki rider grew up in nearby Rolla, two hours south of The Dome.

Happy birthday, Rowyn and Cade. Creo KTM will have Anton Nordström on the line for the remaining rounds of the 250 East Region after original rider Tyler Gibbs suffered a broken collarbone. The Swedish racer got used familiar with the team and SX in the STL, competed in the 450 Class aboard a 250 SX-F, and ranked 43rd in afternoon’s Timed Qualifying results.

What’s a Crocodile Cloth? Per the website, they are “extra-large, super-absorbent 10”x15” disposable cleaning cloths” that are “made of tough, durable, low-lint nonwoven material” with an “alcohol-free formulation” that is “gentle on skin, but tough enough to handle your grimiest messes.” The company is a new sponsor of Team Solitare/Heartbeat Hot Sauce/Yamaha and their products (Original/Auto/Outdoor/Marine/Paint/Power Scrub/Grill) are available through Home Depot, Walmart, and Amazon.

Why is John Starling limbering up?

Because he’d hate to pull a hammy when he runs to release the 250 A Group for Session One of Timed Qualifying.

Midwest’s Best

2 & 1. Like we said a few weeks ago, imagine the talking points we’d be going over if the 2024 title fight didn’t include the rookie with the red plate. Eight points now separate second place Webb and third place Sexton in the standings.

What the hell, how about some more helmets? Hunter Lawrence’s Alpinestars has the classic Red Bull four square and the Aussie pronunciation of his name by AirTrix.

apdesigns found the PPG catalog codes for pearlescent blue, two copper tones, black, white, and a glossy finish for a Monster Energy commissioned Bell that was run by Eli Tomac.

Faded. Korsace blended matte black, white, and orange, hit the necessary Rockstar Energy details, put a fish in the Mookie, and signed this Shoei for Malcolm Stewart.

Go Chiefs! Benny Bloss put a wrap on his Arai. The Oakley logo where the visor would be is a nice touch.

Bespoke apparel. Alpinestars put Jett Lawrence and Eli Tomac is styles from the Techstar line at STL, but one look at the back of each rider’s pants shows the unique details they are looking for. The Team Honda HRC rider prefers the “modern” lightweight racer cut, with a very slim fitting waist that sits above his hip and uses the SX2 magnetic buckle to cinch it in place…

While the Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider opts for a more traditional style pant that has more durable material, two adjustment straps on the sides, and three separate stretch panels in the rear.

Wavin’

Mitchell Oldenburg’s move to the 450 Class has added some more depth to the premier division, as he’s been in both Main Events at the past two rounds. The SmarTop/MotoConcepts/Honda rider will line up again in Nashville, Denver, and Salt Lake City.

How close was the pack in the 250 West Region? Here’s second through fifth on Lap Seven of Race One, a battle that didn’t end until the checkered flag.

Julien Beaumer is getting more familiar with the pace of the pro class through every gate drop. The Red Bull KTM rider put up a good fight in STL and finished 6-8-7 for seventh overall in the Triple Crown, his fifth top-ten result this season and fourth seventh place finish in a row. Beaumer told us that he was not used to the softer dirt in Missouri, and after some laps on a specialized setting, reverted to the base he and the team developed in California.

Buy merch. It’s a trip to see so many SML shirts at the races, and we get stoked on it every time. Thanks boys.

Michael Mosiman’s night ended abruptly after he was landed on during Lap One of 250 Race Two. We haven’t seen footage of the crash, but a photo snapped by Ryne Swanberg a split-second after the impact showed why the rider left the track with medics. Here’s to a quick recovery for MM.

Battlin’. There are now 26 points between Kitchen and Smith with three races left in the 250 West Region (two Showdowns at Nashville and SLC, one standard Main Event in Denver).

You know a guy aced the gate drop when they have a wheel on Vince Friese going into the first turn. Eli Tomac has talked at-length about starts over the years, and replies to questions about the matter in recent interviews show how much importance a rider puts in the first 15 seconds of a race, as Tomac has noted everything from dirt composition, grip of the grate, different starting maps programmed to the motorcycle, and timing of clutch and throttle can make or break a rider’s launch.

The matchup we’ve all been waiting for. There was 0.010 seconds of difference between these rider’s best runs in Race Two, as Jett’s 54.779 on Lap Seven came after Eli’s 54.789 on Lap Five.

Stone Spray Sandwich.

Rookies

Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha bikes ran 2-3-4 at one point in 450 Race Two. Now that both Webb and Tomac are in RVs at the race, Cooper has the 450 rig to himself for most of the weekend.

The wheels on the ground flag that was displayed in the last moments of 450 Race Two has been the subject to a lot of conjecture, and after seeing it play out from ten feet away and then replaying it on TV, there’s even more to mention. Lawrence lapped Friese just before the finish line double and hit the jump, so he wouldn’t have known the other Honda had stopped running and locked up the rear wheel, which Friese spent the last lap trying to fix. Tomac might have been close enough to see it all happen, including the MCR rider’s stall, and he clearly looked over at the two flags displayed at the finish of the race.

Ken Roczen’s Race Two might be a learning lesson for the Two Bike Exemption allowed at the Triple Crown, as the rider’s first time on the backup bike was in the moto and the lack of seat time meant he was unfamiliar with the feeling of the RM-Z. A potential solution for situations like this would be to allow riders and teams to switch between motorcycles during Timed Qualifying, ala MotoGP, so that they know how each bike feels on the track. However, this would create other issues that would need to be addressed, including extra transponders for scoring and a dealership of bikes in the staging area.

Emotions by the podium were what you’d expected after the controversial finish to Race Two.

Lean to the right with RJ Hampshire…

Jo Shimoda

Nate Thrasher

RJ Hampshire kept Levi Kitchen in check during Race Three, as the gap between the two stayed under three seconds until the final laps.

Three for three. Kitchen becomes the second rider in 250 Class history to sweep a Triple Crown, a feat done once before by Austin Forkner in 2019. The Chef dedicated the win to his teammate, who is taking the right steps to return to racing soon. Hit the homepage for an extended chat with Forkner.

The little wheelie Levi did after the win was cool. Riders, do that more. Yeah, we know you just did a full moto at a high heartrate, but we wanna see you raise it up.

The penalty and scoring confusion continued up to the moment riders were called to the gate for Race Three, as Tomac was sent to the line first, followed by Hunter Lawrence, Jett Lawrence, Justin Barcia, and Chase Sexton. As Tomac mentioned on Monday’s PulpMX Show, Team Manager Jeremy Coker briefed him on the scores after the starting blocks were set.

Between this goggle throw at the podium and the Rig Riot t-shirt toss AC put on Instagram, Jo was on one in STL. Someone should see about him throwing out the first pitch at an MLB game.

Everything can change in an instant. Jett Lawrence’s run-in with Justin Barcia had a seismic effect on the 450 Class, and for all it did to the point standings, which is now down to 29 points between first and fourth, we might not know how much this truly impacts the title fight until a few weeks from now.

Contact

Jeremy Hand is a very versatile racer. The Ohio privateer decided to stay in the 450 Class for the St. Louis Triple Crown (he wisely dropped down to the small-bore bike at Indy), raced his way into the night show via the LCQ, and went 17-18-16 for 18th overall.

Eli’s win was very, very popular at The Dome and we saw hundreds get on their feet to cheer for the rider as he made his was around the track on the final lap.

52 wins, 100 podiums.

Justin Barcia was visibly upset by the incidental run-in with Jett Lawrence, as he motioned disbelief in the air over the next jump after the wreck, pulled over to the rookie immediately when the race was to discuss what happened, pulled up to AMA official John Starling after that, and went to the Honda truck later to talk with the entire team.

Triple Crown champion Cooper Webb. This award has been handed out a few times by now, but it’s commonly forgotten about by riders and teams until the trophy is in their hands.

Twelve down, five to go.