Andrea's Angle: Anaheim 1
January 08, 2024
Welcome back to Andrea's Angle, a column showcasing my perspective as a newbie to Supercross. Here are my fairly unfiltered notes and thoughts from Anaheim 1!
First Track Walk
Everything was just so much bigger than I had expected - especially the finish line. I was scared I was going to slip and tumble down it right in front of all the riders! The distance between the finish line and the jump right after it was just insane to me.. it really made me appreciate the skill of the riders.
Was not expecting a chapel service right there on the track but, welcome to Supercross folks!
Opening Ceremony
One thing's for sure - the industry loves Jett Lawrence. He got a really special introduction here at A1 - it honestly felt flashier than Sexton’s. He walked out like a boxer, and then hopped on his bike with his long leather jacket flapping behind him like a cape.
Noticed a general theme of them trying to brand riders as "warriors" in the live show. So they're fighting... each other? Just felt like a strange characterization to me.
Heat Races
- 250 Heat 1 was way more stacked, it seemed, but the 250 class just generally doesn’t seem too deep compared to the 450s.
- There's a little green light on the leader's bike, which I believe was a new addition last year. I find it quite helpful for me, as I struggle to follow the race with so many bikes out there (especially with lappers in the mix later on).
- Chase Sexton, Hunter Lawrence, Logan Karnow, and Hunter Schlosser all went down in the first turn of the 450 Heat 1. There was some debate about who was to blame for it - Vince Friese got the initial flack, but in the end it seemed to be more of an unfortunate race incident.
All I know is that Karnow had his leg stuck in one of Schlosser's wheels, and when he pulled it out, his ankle was bending the wrong way. His season is completely over and he's got to be gutted. Now he's beefing with Friese on Instagram and it's a whole mess.- Context about Vince Friese: he's a rider who's notorious for doing basically anything to gain a position - dirty passes, taking people out, what have you. It's irked riders for years and seems he just can't stop himself.
- Eli passed Mookie and Plessinger, then was passed back. Is he playing it safe or just doesn’t have the speed he used to?
- In the press-day conference, he claimed he felt like he was back to his racing state January last year, but time will tell if that’s actually true
- Hunter will be going to the LCQ for his first 450 race! Couldn't believe it.
- In 450 Heat 2, Jett looked really fast in the whoops. However, he had a silly crash into a tuff block right after. That’s the Jett Lawrence I remember earlier in his 250 career, before he became the golden boy of the sport.
KTM Juniors Race
So cute. Seeing how huge the track was in person just from my perspective, it must be so intimidating for the kids! But an amazing experience. Thought it was funny how the 2nd place kid practically got a standing ovation after thanking Jesus Christ for his win.
Last Chance Qualifiers (LCQs)
The 250 LCQ had a good battle between 3rd 4th and 5th. Lance Kobusch was able to pass Max Miller at the very end of the race and secure a spot in the Main Event! Max Miller was so bummed, they practically crossed the finish line at the same time. I always love how winded and tired LCQ winners usually look in their interview - it's extremely clear that they gave the race everything they had to win it. Albright was no exception to that, but he was giving a lot of New York energy which is pretty rare in this sport!
The 450 LCQ began with a really bad start for Hunter Lawrence, he was basically in dead last. He made slow progress through the pack, and came close to making the main, but just couldn't pull it off (especially after some mistakes in the rhythm section). Sucks for him, he’s gotta be so disappointed in his first 450 race. Hopefully he can just pretend it didn't happen and go into San Francisco with a fresh slate.
250 Main
- First time I've seen a false start live - poor Oldenburg!
- Jordon Smith looking great in the whoops! Passes Kitchen, and then easily overtakes Beaumer in the whoops. Great rookie ride for Beaumer regardless!
- Lux Turner goes down in the rhythm section right by the press box and is down for the rest of the race. Learned later that fractured his hip. They were waving the Red Cross flag to keep the down rider / medical crew safe (it forces riders to roll the jumps in that area), but it seemed to be way too far back from the start of the section.
- Levi Kitchen jumped right around the flag, which allowed him to make a pass on Maximus Vohland. I was disappointed by that move - it was "greasy" as he said, but also just dangerous.
450 Main
- WTF Vince Friese!! He cleans Dean Wilson out in a corner and evidently hurts his shoulder in the process. He then just gets up and walks away, leaving his bike on the track. To me, that was karma for taking other people out... but what the hell is this guy doing? He can't help himself I guess - when will it go too far?
- Eli Tomac was way behind, a fairly disappointing opener for him. However, he doesn't usually have great showings at A1 so hopefully he can turn things around moving forward.
- Best I've seen Plessinger in a while, maybe things are finally clicking for him.
- In a rare mistake, Webb fully flies over the front end and crashes. Looked like he kinda gave up after that.
- Jett Lawrence has made history as the first supercross rider to win their 450 class debut! And no one else really came close to beating him.
