2025 Anaheim Two | Kickstart News and Photo Gallery
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Presented by KTM
The Southern California leg of the 2025 Monster Energy Supercross series has ended. Anaheim Two yielded the fifth and sixth different main event winners and the racing kept the capacity crowd on its feet all night! A light sprinkling of rain kept the racers on their toes when the main events went off, but the precipitation didn’t cause the track to become a muddy mess; only trickier and more challenging. Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Haiden Deegan and Honda Honda HRC Progressive’s Jett Lawrence both earned their first wins of the year, looking much like the riders we expected to see at the season kickoff. Is this the start of a couple of win streaks? Time will tell. The Glendale Supercross will mark the first Triple Crown of the year, and those always seem to mix things up. For now, here’s what we saw at last weekend’s Anaheim Two California finale.

Before we get into this week's Kickstart photo gallery, we want to send a big GET WELL out to Rockstar Gas Gas racer Ryder DiFrancisco, who has seriously injured in a practice crash in the days leading up to San Diego. The official team PR has yet to drop....stay tuned.

San Diego SX Faces: It took Jett Lawrence three rounds into his championship title defense to stand atop the highest step of the podium. Did he think it would take that long? Find the SML Newsbreak by Yamalube elsewhere on our website to hear his answer, as well as some other great pre-race interviews with Jason Anderson, Jorge Prado, Chase Sexton, and more!

San Diego SX Faces: Christien DuCharme wrenches for Supercross Champion Jett Lawrence and he is easily one of the most easy going mechanics in the pits. Hes also crazy on his Harley...

San Diego SX Faces:Chase Sexton came into Anaheim Two suffering from the same chest/head cold that has been sweeping through the pits. On press day, though, it was hard to tell that he was feeling under the weather as he hammered out more laps on the abbreviated track than most everyone else.
San Diego SX Faces: Speaking of the chest/head cold, Jason Anderson struggled last weekend in San Diego and could only muster 13th. At Anaheim Two, though, El Hombre was back to normal and turned in another third-place finish aboard his Monster Energy Kawasaki.
San Diego SX Faces: We're not sure if Video Editor Chase Curtis' parents are cheering for him, or the great racing that A2 produced. Either way, it's always good to see our biggest supporters.
San Diego SX Faces: Dave Arnold and Gary Martini have both have been figureheads in the sport for decades. While Arnold is best known for his role as Team Manager at Honda, he's also been an advisor for Alta Motorcycles and now Triumph. Martini, meanwhile worked for American Honda for decades in various capacities before working at Specialized for three years doing product regulatory. For the past four years he has served as the Vice President of Road 2 Recovery. Legends!
San Diego SX Faces: In between races, we spotted this fellow picking up the tear offs that are discarded by the racers. With tear offs banned throughout much of Europe, we wonder just how long American racers will be able to enjoy clear vision thanks with the pull of a tab.
San Diego SX Faces: Big James Stewart is easily one of our favorite people to talk to at the races. Seemingly always happy with a funny stry or two to share, he is probably the longest-standing parent with a child at the pinnacle of the sport. James Jr. turned pro in 2022 and with Malcolm to look over now, Big James has been in the pro pits for 23 seasons now! Send it!
San Diego SX Faces: The kids in the KTM Jr. Supercross program have a new look in 2025 as they are decked out in Fly Racing gear, Alpinestars boots and 6D helmets. Not a bad deal! In addition to getting the experience of a lifetime racing in front of a packed stadium, they get to leave with over $1000 worth of quality riding apparel!
San Diego SX Faces: This is our friend Ryder Koch, better known as Foggy Llama Films. Since founding his company in 2017 and using an AI name generator for it's title, Koch has accumulated numerous accolades in both traditional and motorsports. For the past several years, he has traveled the world as Shane McElrath's film crew, and the duo co-produce the Shane and Foggy episodic vlog series. Check 'em out!
Seventeen-year-old New Zealander Cole Davies has made quite a splash thus far into his rookie year, winning a 250 heat race at San Diego then finishing third at last weekend's Anaheim Two Supercross. The Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider was running fourth and was the benefactor or a crash by Jordon Smith in the whoops, late in the race. You have to be in the right place at the right time, however, and Davies did just that. Look for the holeshot artist to run up front this weekend in the Glendale Triple Crown.
San Diego SX Faces: Like his fellow defending Supermotocross Champion Jett Lawrence, Haiden Deegan didn't earn his first 250 Western Regional Supercross win of the year until Anaheim Two. "I had some bad luck and needed to get more comfortable on the Southern California hardpack," he said. "I grew up in California but I've been on the East Coast for a while now." On another note, Deegan's replica Alpinestars SM10 helmet is available in both adult and youth sizes. Interestingly, the youth helmet comes sans the Monster M claw, as energy drink advertising to children has fallen under scrutiny.
San Diego SX Faces: Jordon Smith had his worst race of the season at Anaheim Two. While a fourth-place is something many would die for, Smith has his sights set on earning Triumph's first-ever Supercross win. A fall in the slippery conditions while running third cost him a position, but he is ok and ready to go in Glendale.
San Diego SX Faces: Grant Harlan has thus far been struggling with bad luck poor starts, and crashes in 2025. Normally a regular fixture in the 450 main events, the Gizmo Mods/Rock River Yamaha rider has yet to make it into the main. Once he gets "warmed up," we expect to see him in the top 22.
San Diego SX Faces: Five-time Arenacross Champion Kyle Peters was on hand at Anaheim Two. Unfortunately, the North Carolina native suffered a neck injury early in this year's AX series and will sit out until he is well. Peters already has numerous vertebra in his neck fused, so he is weighing his options carefully before taking a course of action for recovery. Get well soon, Kyle!
San Diego SX Faces: Derek Kelley has found a new home with the Heartbeat Hot Sauce/Team Solitaire/Yamaha crew and is paired with mechanic Scott Longstrand. Kelley had a big crash at Anaheim One and sat out San Diego, but he returned to action last weekend. Sadly, a first-turn crash in the LCQ kept him out of the main event but he should be back where he belongs soon enough. Interesting fact: Longstrand was paralyzed in a mountain bike crash years ago, but has recovered well enough to become a fixture on. the tuning circuit.
San Diego SX Faces: Weird Tea's Mike Kelso and Jo Shimoda. Kelso, formerly the Director of Marketing and Events at Rockstar Energy, ventured out on his own to create an "energy drink" without any harmful additives. Weird Tea is a plant-based tea and yerba matte drink, and Shimoda signed on with the brand partway through the day at Anaheim One! "Because it's tea and I am Japanese the fit it good," joked Shimoda. After learning of Jo's new helmet deal, we ordered a case of the acai/pomegranate Weird Yerba and are hooked!

San Diego SX Faces: Jo's got jokes. But for real, imagine having to answer the same questions hundreds of times in each autograph session!

Unless you've been living in a cave for the past couple of weeks, you should know that Jo Shimoda suffered two fractured fingers during the final qualifying session at San Diego when he struck a mechanic's pit board with is left hand. Shimoda taped his fingers up, cut his Fox Racing gloves to alleviate the squeezing pressure they caused on his swollen digits, and toughed it out to seventh in the 250 main. Shimoda told us that he rode practice and qualifying with no pain killers, as he wanted to save the benefit for when it counted.
San Diego SX Faces: Billy Laninovich is a hero to every rider over 40. The San Diego native qualified for a couple of 250 main events last year and set the record for the oldest rider to do so at 40. Paired up with the SlR Honda squad and pulling double duty as a racer and riding coach to upstart Parker Ross, Lano's yet to find his way into another main thus far in 2025. Cheer for the old fella running 132 if you're in Glendale this weekend!
The technology implemented in the modern motocross bike is amazing.Only 10 years ago, who would have thought that laptop computers would be used to fine tune the bike's power band or collect data from the last moto? We're not sure what's going on here, but if that smart phone is being used to upload some settings, we have to assume that they'd be pretty soft...
Notice the off-road AT82 tires on display at the Dunlop support rig, The dual-directional off-road tire debuted at the start of the year and has been embraced by more than off-road racers! The front AT82 is preferred by many Supercross racers and the rear, when turned to the scoop side, performs much like the MX14 but with a wider range of application. Eli Tomac won the Vancouver Supercross on AT82s last November.
Enzo Lopes rode well all day in his return to Supercross with the Toyota of Redlands/Bar-X Yamaha squad, but an issue with his shock forced the team to swap out the component just before the start of the main event. Not knowing what to expect from the shock that was pulled from another rider's bike, Lopes blasted off. the starting line a bit apprehensive and that resulted in a poor start and a first-turn crash. Lopes hyper-extended his knee in the pileup, but fought back to 17th in the main. "I am very frustrated," he said in his How Was Your Weekend interview that you can find elsewhere on our website. "Because I know that I am capable of so much more."
San Diego SX Faces: Drew Adams made his professional debut at Anaheim Two with the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki squad. After Levi Kitchen pulled out of the West Coast 250 series sick, Ty Masterpool was called up to finish the series at San Diego. When Masterpool injured his hand at that race, Adams finally got the call and he made the most of it, finishing eighth. "It was what I was waiting for my whole life and I am so glad to finally be here. Eighth isn't what I was hoping for but it's a good start." When we asked Drew about his "Goldfish" butt patch, he replied, "A goldfish is a snack cracker that I always used to like to eat on the starting line when I was younger." Excellent!
Phoenix Honda's rookie Gavin Towers continues to stack points and main event appearances. Towers was 15th at Anaheim Two and sits 18th in the point standings.
A solid 10th for Hunter Yoder at Anaheim Two! Yoder holds the distinction of the last factory Honda CRF150R racer. We're long time fans of Yo Dirt.
Joey Savatgy continues to get more comfortable on the Quad Lock Honda CRF450R. He was 11th at Anaheim Two; not where he wants to or expects to be, but he will get there.
Fly Racing debuted its new Lite LE Lancer kit at Anaheim Two and all Fly-sponsored riders were decked out in the navy and florescent yellow kits. Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha's Cooper Webb wore his Lancer gear to eighth in the main after a poor start. Expect Webb to really catch fire when the series heads East in a couple of weeks.
Ken Roczen's runner-up performance at Anaheim Two netted the Progressive/HEP/Suzuki rider the championship points lead and the red olate heading to Glendale this weekend. The last time Suzuki controlled the points lead was also with Roczen, after he won Anaheim One in 2015!
Justin Cooper looked a tick off of his usual speedy self all day at Anaheim One...until the gate dropped on the main event! J.Coop holeshot the main and looked great up front. Ultimately, his choice to jump through the whoops seemed to cost him and once he surrendered his grasp on a podium spot, he silently slipped back to sixth.
Jett Lawrence was quick all day, turning in the fastest qualifying lap, winning his heat race, then going on to victory in the main. After struggling with bike set up at the series opener, he and the Honda HRC Progresisve team went to work and seemed to fix the issues in short order. Lawrence looked in complete control and exercised patience and strategy as he stalked Jason Anderson before taking control of the lead and racing off with his first win of the year.
Monster Energy Kawasaki's Jorge Prado had a big crash in the third baseline rhythm section during the final 450 qualifying session, and he and his bike were captured by the corner netting. Prado suffered a dislocated shoulder in the crash - not sure whether it was from impact or getting tangled in the net. On Monday, Prado told us that he is, "still getting my shoulder checked out. We will see if I am ok or not."
Hunter Lawrence equaled his best finish of the season with a fifth at Anaheim Two. In the off-season, the elder Lawrence bested Jett for the King of Paris Supercross crowd and got us wondering if he'd be a race winner in 2025. Given the right circumstances, we can see it happening. Can you? Comment below!
When most people think of California Supercross tracks, ruts like these don't normally come to mind. There was some great racing at Angel Stadium.
The sand section at Anaheim Two was set up immediately after the second set of whoops and definitely challenged riders all day long with its constantly changing lines. Without doubt, the sand yielded some of our favorite photos of the day. Haiden Deegan isn't afraid of a little sandblasting.
Though he was second iat Anaheim Two, Red Bull KTM's Julien Beaumer holds on to the red plate thanks to his 2-1-2 finishes this season.
Speaking of JuJu, we were pumped on his custom all-white One Industries kit. Funny how something so plain can look so cool with all the sponsor logos added. No word if this colorway is coming or not...yet.
Throughout the afternoon free practice and qualifying sessions, Jo Shimoda was in obvious pain from his broken fingers and he hardly did any consecutive laps at speed. How he qualified 10th fastest with not so much as an asprin in his system is amazing.
The weather forecast had a 50% chance of rain by 6:00 p.m. Saturday night, but the skies held out until the main events started. Thankfully, it was not a downpour and the racing was not compromised. Here, Ken Roczen flies through some daunting skies.
Jett Lawrence's cool, calculated riding style rarely yields photos like this, where he is actually seated and breaking traction more than he expected to. Should we buy a lottery ticket?
The tunnel jump following the sand yielded some cool scrub whips, but an equal number of straight-as-an-arrow flights.
We were surprised to hear that Eli Tomac has changed his rear tire choice to a 120/90-19 MX34 production tire. The taller 90 sidewall yields more flex than the more common 80 size that is preferred by most Supercross racers.
Justin Barcia's results seem to be trending in the wrong direction. JB's 6-8-10 scores have him ninth in the standings, but it's a long season and he's got plenty of time to catch fire.
Malcolm Stewart told us that he is still hurting from the massive crash he had in his heat race at Anaheim One, and also still feeling the effects of the cold that slammed him at San Diego. Still, he raced to ninth. "I never even went to the doctor after that crash," he said. "I am sure I broke one or two ribs but they can't do anything for those anyway so why go?"
After his qualifying crash, Jorge Prado's Kawasaki KX450 sat idle for the rest of the night at A2. We asked his mechanic Derek Dwyer why Prado's bike has a solid airbox cover while Anderson's boasts multiple vents cut by a water jet. "He likes a mellower power delivery," said Dwyer. "I think that as he becomes more accustomed to the bike and more comfortable at Supercross, he may want more power like Jason."
According to Sexton's mechanic Jade Dungey, the front suspension data acquisition assembly remains on the bike throughout the day and night. "If he comes into contact with another bike, it's only a small wire that will snap," Dungey said.
Are you a fan of the green leader lights that illuminate on the lead machine? We sure are. We noticed that the thin strip of LED lights fit perfectly in the split in the lower KTM triple clamp!
Mitchell Oldenburg had a great showing on his Liquid Moly Beta. Freckle ran third in the first 450 heat race and looked faster than he has thus far on his new bike, "but once I realized I was up front I made a few mistakes," he said. Oldenburg was 13th in the main, just behind teammate Benny Bloss. "I was actually starting to be too cautious in the rain, but when Ben got past me and was still jumping everything, it gave me confidence."
After rocking the bright pink, white and blue O'Neal Prodigy gear at round one and the crazy Wild Hardware kit at San Diego, Justin Cooper flew under the radar with an all-black getup at Anaheim Two. While we like all-black kits for ourselves, we think pros should be easier to spot. Haha!
Congrats to Jerry Robin on makings first 450 main of the year at Anaheim Two. Estenson Racing Yamaha rider was 18th.
Last week, we had boot customizer Michael J. Kicks on the 6D Helmets Midweek Podcast. (Find it elsewhere on the website!) He told us that he would be delivering a freshly customized pair of Gaerne SG22 boots to Anthony Rodriguez. We got to check them out before and after the race, and can attest to the paint's resilience as you could barely tell that they had been ridden in. Check him out at @michaeljkicks on Instagram.
We liked the patten included in the name and number on Jordon Smith's FXR Racing jersey. Extra touches like that make a good kit, great.
On the starting line, we saw Drew Adams fiddling with something near the headset of his Kawasaki KX250.
We noticed a flashing light on it as he prepared to start the race, and assume it is the starting map button, relocated off the bars and out of harm's way.
Drew Adams was eighth in his pro debut. While he was not thrilled with his finish, he was elated to finally be racing. We asked him if Supercross Futures helped and he said, “for sure, with the real track experience and the crowd and stuff, but the real pros are so fast!”
Cole Davies didn’t get his usual holeshot at the start of the A2 250 main, but he did get his best finish thus far. “When I saw someone down in the whoops at the end of the race I was praying it was Smith,” he joked. “And it was! Not wishing him harm, but it allowed me past.”
Red Bull KTM’s Julien Beaumer and Haiden Deegan had a little sparring on Instagram on Monday morning after the race. Is it real or all in good fun? We’re guessing the latter.
We still can’t help but wonder how the points would stand had Eli Tomac not pushed his front end at the start of Anaheim One. The Beast is back in 2025 and we’re loving it.
“I’m going to pretend that the red plate isn’t even there,” said points leader Ken Roczen on his Instagram.
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