2024 St. Louis Supercross | Race Report & Results

FXR Racing
@fxrmoto

Round twelve of the 2024 Monster Energy Supercross Championship is officially in the books, as racing went off in St. Louis, Missouri. The unique track broke down just enough to provide a challenging and technical race course for the Triple Crown program. The fans inside The Dome at America’s Center saw a thrilling night of close battles, crashes, statement rides, and important finishes in the 250 West Region and 450 Class.

250 Race One

The first start of the night went to Julien Beaumer, who led Levi Kitchen and the rest of the field out of the first corner. Levi then dove inside in the second corner to take the race lead. However, Julien took Levi wide after the finish line and took the lead back for about half a lap, before Levi blitzed past him in the whoops and secured the race lead. 

Julien then had Jo Shimoda and Jordon Smith pressuring for position. Nate Thrasher, though, made the pass on his teammate and took fourth place from Smith. Unfortunately, Phil Nicoletti was forced to walk back to the pits after suffering another mechanical failure. Jo Shimoda took Julien wide and finally made the pass on Beaumer for second place after laps of lurking in third. 

Jordon Smith then passed Thrasher back and immediately went after Beaumer to take third. Nate Thrasher and Rj Hampshire advanced past Julien just a few sections later to take over fourth and fifth place. Up front, Levi Kitchen held over a 6-second cushion over Jo Shimoda. Rj Hampshire continued to charge, as he passed Thrasher for fourth place with three laps to go. Levi Kitchen crossed the checkered flag to collect the first main event win. 

250 Race Two

Ryder DiFrancesco snagged the holeshot in the second main event but Levi Kitchen was quick to advance into the race lead, as he made the pass before the end of the first rhythm lane. Jordon Smith trailed in third place and dove inside of Ryder to make the pass for second just after the opening lap. Meanwhile, Michael Mosiman was down hard on the opening lap and seen walking off the track with the medical crew. 

Back up front, Jordon Smith latched on to Kitchen and attempted to pressure for the race lead. Jo Shimoda was back in seventh place on the opening lap, but he was making some early passes to advance into fifth by lap four. Garrett Marchbanks was also making passes inside of the top-10, as he took seventh from Phil Nicoletti. 

Up front, Levi Kitchen began to stretch his lead out over Jordon Smith, as he had built a 3-second cushion. Jo Shimoda made the pass on Thrasher for third place and Rj Hampshire followed about a lap later to shuffle Nate back to fifth. Rj Hampshire was pressuring Shimoda on the final laps but did not complete a pass for third. Levi Kitchen made it two for two and won the second main event in St. Louis. 

250 Race Three

The third and final 250 start of the night went to Levi Kitchen, who had Rj Hampshire in tail. Jo Shimoda snagged another good start and sat in third place, as Ryder DiFrancesco was down after a fifth place start. Ryder remounted after his fall and sat in 21st place. Nate Thrasher was making moves, as he passed Julien Beaumer for fifth place and set his sights on teammate Jordon Smith. 

Garrett Marchbanks also advanced past Beaumer, shuffling Julien back to seventh. Up front, Levi Kitchen continued to lead and held a 3-second cushion over Hampshire. Following the passes on the opening laps, not much changed within the top-10. Levi Kitchen crossed the finish line to seal the deal on a perfect day, as he swept in St. Louis and extended his points lead. 

450 Race One

The first 450 start of the night went to Mitchell Oldenburg, but he went down hard after clipping a jump in the rhythm lane. That crash handed Hunter Lawrence the race lead, as Mitchell, Chase Sexton, Adam Cianciarulo, and others were down in that second corner. Eli Tomac lurked in second place for just over a lap, as Hunter tipped over and threw away his lead. 

Eli Tomac then took over the race lead and Aaron Plessinger trailed in second place. Hunter Lawrence remounted in ninth place after his crash. Following the crash on the opening lap, Adam Cianciarulo was slow to remount and seen limping. Adam rode off the track and back to the pits with a hurt ankle. 

Jett Lawrence began to put fast laps together and catch Ken Roczen in third place. A few positions behind, Cooper Webb was pressuring Malcolm Stewart for seventh place after a poor start. After a slight bobble, Cooper responded in the next corner and cut inside of Stewart to take over the position. 

While fending off Jett Lawrence, Ken Roczen began having bike issues. The bike seemed to cut out mid-way through a rhythm lane, which almost prompted Roczen to jump off. Luckily, Ken held on but he began to fade down the leaderboard with a smoking machine. Eli Tomac continued to lead, as Jett Lawrence made the pass on Plessinger for second place about five seconds behind.

Cooper Webb continued to charge through the pack, as he advanced into fifth place following a pass on Justin Barcia. Ken Roczen was now outside of the top-15 and a lap down with his mechanical issues. Jett Lawrence got close, but not close enough, as Eli Tomac took the first main event win in St. Louis.  

450 Race Two

Jett Lawrence snagged the start and early race lead in the second 450 race of the evening, but Justin Cooper jumped inside in the second corner to take the lead. Eli Tomac trailed in third place and looked inside of Jett on the opening lap to nearly make the pass. Jett blitzed through the whoops and then doubled over the first turn to jump past Justin Cooper and take the race lead back. Eli Tomac then took Justin wide a few corners later to shuffled Cooper back to third place. 

Cooper Webb was the fastest rider on the track, as he passed both Anderson and Sexton to then challenge Justin Cooper for third. Up front, Eli Tomac got within a few bike lengths of Jett but then made a slight mistake to drop back over a second behind. Cooper Webb ultimately made the pass to take over third place, Jason Anderson followed a few laps later. 

Cooper Webb then clipped a tuff-block while running in third place and tipped over, dropping him back to seventh place. Justin Cooper then went down after losing traction while fighting off Sexton, dropping him to tenth place. Chase Sexton caught fire late and began pressuring Anderson for third place. Sexton took Jason wide in the bowl corners and made the pass for third. Jett Lawrence took the race win and crossed the checked flag over three seconds ahead of Eli Tomac. However, the red cross flag was out on the finish line and Jett still doubled the jump.

Update:

Jett Lawrence, Chase Sexton, Jason Anderson, Cooper Webb, and Aaron Plessinger all were docked 2 positions in the race for jumping the finish line while the red cross flag was out. Jason Anderson was docked an additional 2 positions for jumping twice in the area of consideration. 

450 Race Three

The final race of the evening was off and Eli Tomac was off to the race lead after a great start. Chase Sexton made a quick pass on Cooper Webb to take second place on the opening lap. Jason Anderson went down on the first rhythm section, placing him at the back of the pack. Jett Lawrence was down hard on the opening lap and slow to get up after Justin Barcia drilled him in a corner. 

Jett regained the course a lap down after the incident. Up front, Eli Tomac continued to lead Chase Sexton and held a 3-second cushion. Cooper Webb was lurking less than a second behind Sexton. Chase Sexton made a mistake and had to double the triple, which allowed Cooper Webb to jump into second place. Hunter Lawrence worked his way into fourth place, just ahead of Ken Roczen. 

Just as it seemed Eli Tomac might not get a win in 2024, Eli Tomac answers the doubts and takes the win in the third main event to take the overall win in St. Louis.