Latest news with #ProgressiveInsuranceECSTARSuzuki
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The Motor City Stirs the Pot! Webb / Kitchen Win, Detroit Supercross Recap & Results
The following is a press release from Feld Motor Sports: Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Cooper Webb grabbed the win in a thrilling Detroit Supercross at Ford Field. Webb's first win of the season put the two-time champion into a point tie for the title just six races into the 17-round Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. The Detroit Supercross delivered thrilling and unpredictable racing to a packed stadium at Ford Field. Both the 450SX and 250SX Class Main Events came down to the final laps with multiple late-race lead changes. Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki's Ken Roczen jumped into the lead on the first lap and led the field for most of the 20-minute plus one lap Main Event. He defended several attacks by Webb throughout the race but gave up the top spot in the final minutes. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Chase Sexton got stuck in the starting gate then crashed on the opening lap, but from there he put in blistering laps and passed his way up to a third-place finish. Sexton retains the red plate but now stands in a point tie with Cooper Webb in both the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the SMX World Championship™. In round two of the Eastern Divisional 250SX Class, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Levi Kitchen nabbed the win after a late-race re-start tightened up the field. First place 450SX Class 'I really liked where I was by lap three, when I got around Aaron [Plessinger] and was with Kenny. I knew he was riding well today so it was going to be a good pace, and we had some good laps… He felt the pressure and rode well all through the Main Event. I was trying hard, and he picked up on some of my lines. It was a tough Main Event… I've been in that position before and it felt great. I'm stoked to get that first win, get the red plate. It just felt awesome.' – Cooper Webb, when asked at what point he felt he had the win. Second place 450SX Class 'It was a really fun race… I kept my cool the whole time even though he was revving behind me. I didn't let anything faze me. I know the stigma of when we go to battle and him getting me toward the end, but I just tried to do what I could; it's honest work… I'm happy with a podium, I really am, even though we only got two points closer [to the points lead], I'm doing whatever I can out there and we're executing our plans that we have coming into the [racing].' – Ken Roczen Third place 450SX Class 'I was dead last, and I was like, 'Well, time to send it!' I felt like I rode really well; probably the best ride of the season, but it's obviously not the result we wanted. But I made the most of a bad situation… I was smashing the whoops and that's more like it for me. I'm looking forward to keeping this season going; that ride was fun.' – Chase Sexton (#4 in photo above) The 250SX Class created excitement of its own when a red flag came out late in the race. Levi Kitchen, running seven seconds behind the leader in second place, used incredible sprint speed to take over the lead just two laps before the checkered flag came out. Prior to the re-start, last weekend's winner, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Max Anstie, grabbed the lead early and pulled out a comfortable gap. After several side-by-side racing moments with Kitchen in the final laps, Anstie eventually settled for second. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing's RJ Hampshire fought into third place, even recovering from a fall. Hampshire tried to capitalize on the staggered-start re-start but wasn't able to better his spot. Note: The AMA's re-start procedure after a red flag was updated prior to the 2024 season. The rule states that if the leader has completed at least three laps, and if there is any time remaining on the race clock, the riders line up in a staggered-position on the start straight. A green flag re-starts the race, and the remaining race duration will be, at minimum, three laps. First place 250SX Class 'Max rode so good in the beginning of that event… then the red flag came out and I was like, 'It's time to reset and I can capitalize on this.' I took a few deep breaths and just treated it like I was doing a two-lap sprint at Sandbox [Training Facility]. I sent it, made a pretty aggressive pass, and was able to get that [triple jump] out of the turn and got a little gap. We'll take that. I had to bounce back after last weekend… [After the re-start] I knew it was [going to be] green flag, white flag, checkers, so I tried to plan to get a pass and get some room, and that's what I did.' – Levi Kitchen Second place 250SX Class 'That red flag threw a bit of a spanner into the plan there. I was in a tough spot, because I knew Levi was fast, and the track was quite open. There were a lot of places to send it down the inside, and I would have done the same thing… I had it in the bag. I was literally cruising around the last two laps, and then the red flag [came out]. It is what it is. Big picture: I'm solid, I feel really good, I'm fast, I'm comfy where I'm at so, yeah, what a bummer.' – Max Anstie Third place 250SX Class 'We needed a podium so bad after last weekend. There was no one that pulled a worse card than me last weekend [getting the bike stuck on a track marker]… We came up with a pretty good setting for that Main Event and that's the best I felt all day. We'll take it. If you noticed, on the re-start I was hanging back a little bit. I didn't want to throw it away for no reason.' – RJ Hampshire
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
"It's Been a Dream" – Ken Roczen Takes Over 450SX Points Lead
Germany's Ken Roczen, riding for Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki, is once again a familiar presence on the 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship podium. At Anaheim 2, the third round, Roczen secured a second-place finish for his second podium in three rounds. His consistency (2-4-2 finishes) has now earned him the championship points lead heading into Glendale for Round 4. For the first time in ten years, Suzuki holds the coveted red plate. 'Kickstart Kenny' entered the 2025 season opener at Anaheim 1 under the radar, with little chatter surrounding the #94. While he hasn't set the fastest qualifying times this season, when the gate drops, he delivers. Roczen spoke after the night's racing from Anaheim 2 in the post-race press conference, where he was ecstatic, stating, "Yeah, I mean honestly, the whole main event was really rad. I feel like I was in a four-man battle the whole way. I had pressure from behind and, obviously, the guys up front and, just a very tricky track—really slick in some areas and then a lot of like little techy things like after the start area, like going over that little hump right there, hitting that rut was tough. And, after I passed Jason (Anderson) the first time, going over the double and then hitting the table—that's where I hit neutral on accident. My boot must have just hit it, and I backed out of the triple and then, had to go to work again. But I was just so happy with the whole main event. I just kept really focused, and I felt really strong in the whoops, felt like I was able to catch to the front a little bit, and yeah, I'm just beyond stoked to be on the podium, honestly. It's just been a dream." When asked about the red plate and the new championship points leader after three rounds at a race where he had his gruesome arm injury in 2017, he reflected, "Yeah, I was, you know, reminiscing about the red plate last week—like how, you know, if I would have made the pass for third, I could have shared it with Eli, which would have been really rad. And, you know, besides having the red plate frequently, 2022, I haven't really had a taste of it in a long time and especially not on yellow. So it's—it's just a dream come true. And honestly, Anaheim 2 is a little bit of a funky one. Like, I just feel—I try not to be—but I just feel a little bit more anxious of what happened in 2017. Like, it's just kind of lingering a little bit. So in practice and stuff, I'm just a little careful. And, also, we tried some things this week, I had a new shock in, and, for the last practice, I just kind of went back to my base, and that was a massive—or that was the perfect decision we could have made as well, just because it felt a lot more familiar to me. So it seemed like everything that we have, done today was—yeah, a success." Ten years since Suzuki has held the red plate in Monster Energy Supercross, Roczen was optimistic, "Yeah, I don't know. I guess we're just sometimes up for surprises, right? Like, we've been putting in a lot of work, and it's tough going through the—if you want to call it offseason or the offseason races—just not feeling like you're 100% or the motorcycle isn't 100%. But then also, that's the time where the experience comes into play and just trying to be patient. So now, if somebody would have told me I had the red plate after three rounds, I would have been like, 'Are you sure?' But, it's pretty rock and roll, not gonna lie. So I'm just gonna enjoy the moment, and of course, the work doesn't stop, and I'm just gonna try and put it on the box as much as I can." The veteran riders of the 450SX class are still the top dogs in the fight. Roczen spoke about the trend of older riders still being competitive, "It's pretty much been dominated by older guys, to be honest. I think we all just really enjoy what we do, you know? I think, I'm pretty sure, all of us have gone through a hump to where we're kind of bitter at what we do just because it's—it's tough. It's really tough. But I think, we're all at the age to where, driving to the track on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, going to the races, 30 weekends a year—it's what we've done for so long. So I think, we're just passionate about what we do. And honestly, I think also we've gotten—I don't know if you want to call it lucky—but throughout the offseason, like, all of us have stayed healthy, you know? There were no, you know—we weren't grenading ourselves. And, I think everybody is firing on all cylinders at 100%, and that's the kind of racing that you get when we're all at the top of our game." Roczen was asked about the two whoop sections back to back and the outlook on the whole track from Anaheim 2, "Honestly, they both broke down for sure, even in practice. I was a—I don't know, surprised? But, when you walk them, they were like cement—especially the rutted ones, right? But then we have hundreds of people doing hundreds of laps throughout the day, and you're just—you're going to break through the crust. But, that second set of whoops—even though they were rolled—they were no joke. I think—I thought they were pretty big. And of course, once they get cupped out, they start getting steeper and steeper. So then the rain played a big role too. And, I mean, overall though, I did enjoy the track. I thought it was technical. It was a very busy track—a lot of—we went from not really having a rhythm section last weekend, where we jumped three in and then quad out—that was the only rhythm section, if you want to call it—to having a lot of obstacles on a track here today. But overall, I enjoyed the whole track, honestly." Roczen now faces the challenge of defending his points lead in Glendale this weekend. How long can 'Kickstart Kenny' hold the red plate for? Related: Watch: Anaheim 2 Supercross 450 TWMX Highlights | Jett Lawrence Wins Ken Roczen Leaves With The Red Plate | How to Watch: Glendale Supercross | Track Map: Glendale Supercross | Jett Lawrence and Haiden Deegan Capture First Wins of 2025, Anaheim 2 Supercross Results | Watch: Anaheim 2 Supercross 250 TWMX Highlights | Haiden Deegan Back on Top
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Jett Lawrence and Haiden Deegan Capture First Wins of 2025, Anaheim 2 Supercross Results
The excitement keeps rising in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the SuperMotocross World Championship with round 3 for Anaheim 2 in Anaheim, California, the final stop of the Supercross series in the Golden State, where two new winners in 2025 came to light. The battle at the front of the field for this win was close and intense between the top 3 riders on the night in 450SX. Honda HRC Progressive's Jett Lawrence, in the 450SX class, grabbed his ninth career premier class Supercross victory by being patient on a wet, slippery, and unique track to take the lead away three-quarters into the main event and ride to victory. Consistency has been key for the Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki's Ken Roczen, with 2-4 finishes in the first two rounds to take control of the championship red plate heading into Arizona next weekend after finishing another 2nd on the night. Jason Anderson, aboard the Monster Energy Kawasaki, grabbed the holeshot early and held the lead for 14 laps before getting passed by Jett through the whoops and eventually Roczen late to finish 3rd on the night. Here are the 450SX Main Event results and the championship points: The 250SX West main event witnessed an all-teenager podium since 2011. 19-year-old Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Haiden Deegan grabbed his first holeshot of the season and took off from the rest of the field to his first win in the 250SX West Regional Championship in 2025, 4th career 250SX win, with the race seeing rain halfway through. He sits back seven points in the standings from points leader KTM Factory Racing's 18-year-old sophomore Julien Beaumer, who finished 2nd on the night and is three for three on podium finishes to start this championship to hold the red plate for another weekend. The final step on the box was 17-year-old rookie Cole Davies, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing, claiming his career-first podium in Supercross and trending upward. Here are the 250SX West Main Event results and the championship points:
