Follow direct updates from Round 16th of the AMA Supercross Championship at Denver. From the Time Qualifying report to the Main Events report f the day, you’ll find it all right here. Updates are posted in chronological order, so be sure to scroll down for the latest info. For more updates follow us on Twitter: @mx1onboard
250SX West Coast Combined Times: No surprises. Jett Lawrence topped the board sheet with a time of 43.893 beating RJ Hampshire by +837. Brazilian Enzo Lopes went fastest in Q1 but he settled in third on the combined times with a 44.860. Max Vohland and Mitchell Oldenburg rounded the top 5. From sixth to tenth were: Kitchen, Mumford, Kelley, Yoder and Thompson.
450SX Combined Times: Chase Sexton nailed every rhythm section to put his fastest lap of the day at 43.968. However, the HRC rider was closely followed by Ken Roczen just +0.41! Tomac, Cianciarulo, and Wilson found the final three spots in the top five riding between the 44`s. Justin Hill, Nichols, Chisholm, Josh Hill and Venezuelan Anthony Rodríguez completed the top ten coming to the heat races.
250SX Heat one: Monster Energy Yamaha Levi Kitchen won with ease. Once he grabbed the holeshot, just ran away from RJ Hampshire who initially put some pressure but then ending lost touch against the eventual winner. Max Vohland made some quick passes to come home in third over Privateer pair Derek Kelley and Robbie Wageman in 4th and 5th positions. Thompson, Robie, Harrison, and Thury advanced to the Main Event as they finished from 6th to 9th respectively.
250SX Heat two: History was made in the second heat of the night! Brazilian Enzo Lopes won his first-ever heat race in Supercross. The Muc-Off Yamaha rider emerged with the win after a three-way battle against Mitchell Oldenburg and Carson Mumford. Meanwhile, Jett Lawrence was forced to climb positions after a first-turn crash. He came in 4th. Suzuki pairs Dilan Schwarz and Derek Drake came behind the Australian, while Miller, Politelli, and Kalaitzain secures the transfer spots straight to the Main
450SX Heat One: Ken Roczen went on a dominant performance over Adam Cianciarulo and Justin Hill. The transfer spots were completed by a handful of privateers such as Kyle Chisholm, Justin Starling, Grant Harlan, Anthony Rodríguez, Michael Hicks and Logan Karnow in the ninth and final spot to the Main.
450SX Heat Two: Chase Sexton sent a strong message in this heat. He followed Eli Tomac in the first stages and then caught the Yamaha rider for the victory. Sexton´s teammate, Colt Nichols, rode on a solid third place from the beginning to the finish line, while Shane McElrath prevails over Dean Wilson. The rest of the transfer spots were to Josh Hill, Kevin Moranz, Joshua Cartwright and Cade Clason.
LCQ 250: Hunter Yoder, Geran Stapleton, Brandon Ray and Kaeran Amerine advanced to the Main Event.
LCQ 450: Tristan Lane, Lane Shaw, Devin Simonson and Fredrik Noren secures the final spots to the Main Event.
Main Event 250SX West Coast:
Lawrence started well outside of the lead group but charged forward to third, fulfilling the requirement of finishing 10th or better to secure his second Supercross title. Kitchen led the majority of the main event, fending off increased pressure from Hampshire. Seemingly ending his chance to win win, Hampshire attempted an outside pass on Kitchen, but the Yamaha rider pushed him ride and forced Hampshire to check up before a double out of a 90-degree turn — a situation made worse as he accidentally clicked his Husqvarna FC 250 RE into neutral. Hampshire rode alongside the whoops off the track before rejoining and mounting a new charge toward Kitchen. He successfully caught and passed Kitchen and earned his first win of the 2023 Supercross season by a margin of 1.353s seconds. Lawrence finished 21.231s further back in third and laid down his Honda CRF250R after the checkered flag to salute the crowd and the bike itself as a clear send-off of his 250 career. Lopes fell victim to Lawrence’s charge and settled for fourth. Oldenburg completed the top five. A tip over after contact with Lopes while battling for third limited Vohland’s ability in the main event, leading to a sixth-place result. Kelley finished just behind in seventh while Mumford, Thompson and Robbie Wageman rounded out the top 10.
Main Event 450SX:
The small handful of factory machinery lined up on the gate for the year’s penultimate 450SX main event became even smaller leaving Denver, with reigning champion and season-long points leader Tomac the latest to sustain injury. While leading the Denver main event, Tomac ruptured his Achilles tendon and rode as quickly as he could to the Alpinestars medical unit, nursing the injured leg. The race continued with Sexton in the lead, effectively the new champion elect. Roczen charged forward from last place after a first-turn crash to finish second, 8.361s in arrears of Sexton at the checkered flag. Despite losing second to Roczen, Cianciarulo held on for third to secure his first Supercross podium since January 2021 in Houston. Justin Hill and McElrath were fourth and fifth, leading Wilson, Josh Hill, Chisholm, Harlan, and Starling in the top 10. In addition to Tomac, Moranz and Nichols left the race early, with Nichols notably receiving medical attention for multiple minutes after a crash.
