What Really Happened at Anaheim 1

“Last year I think I showed good speed, but I didn't necessarily believe that I could do that for 15 minutes plus one lap, and that's the reality of it,” Beaumer admitted in the post-race press conference. “I only have one boot camp under my belt. Obviously, it takes a little bit to build the base. So, for me to have that whole season under my belt and then a really strong boot camp this season, I came into the season knowing I could go 15 plus one, all out. So, for me, it was putting everything together, putting everything I do with the test track together, and I think we did that.”

The battle for the final podium spot would play out between Jordon Smith and Ryder DiFrancesco, with DiFrancesco holding third at one point, but ultimately finishing fourth behind Smith. The third for Smith marks the first supercross podium for Triumph in the brand’s history.

“We had a blast, and the whole team was just stoked afterwards,” Smith said. “We have a lot of guys that have been in the situation of podiums, we have a lot of guys that have been in that position, but also a lot of guys there that haven't experienced this. So, it was cool. It was a lot of fun. Everyone's stoked back at the rig.It's part of the draw of coming to Triumph, kind of being able to hit those milestones for them and be part of that legacy.”

We found DiFrancesco in the pits afterward and he told us that it stung to have given up the podium spot, but coming into the weekend his goal was a top five, and that he’s pretty happy with fourth place. He also told us he gained 15 pounds since the SuperMotocross finale in Las Vegas, and that he’s feeling great on the bike. It certain showed at A1!

Rounding out the top five was Deegan, who put in an incredible charge that saw him snag fifth from Coty Schock in the last turn before the finish line. In doing so, Deegan put himself in a position in which Schock could have sent him over the berm if he wanted to, but Schock decided against violence. Last year Deegan blasted Schock in the last turn in Birmingham, and when we asked Schock afterward why he hadn’t returned the favor tonight when he had the chance, he simply responded, “It’s racing, you gotta get over that stuff.” Schock also had an outstanding ride in his heat race. He went down in the sand section early, then dumped the bike again while attempting to get going again. He was so far back it seemed the LCQ was a foregone conclusion, but Schock charged hard and was able to pass into a qualifying spot just a few turns before the finish line.

Garrett Marchbanks holeshot and had a nice night going, holding down third for a while, but made a mistake exiting the whoops and went down. He eventually finished ninth. Afterward he told us he just got too excited at how well he was doing and started making mistakes. Elsewhere Anthony Bourdon had a good night, taking seventh, and rookie Cole Davies rode great to take eighth.

In the 450 Class, a parallel story played out, with the favored rider experiencing problems right away. Jett Lawrence tangled with Jason Anderson on the start and ended up getting mixed up with some Tuff Blox. He didn’t crash, but he was temporarily stuck to them and didn’t free himself until he was in dead last. Up front Jorge Prado had holeshot, but Eli Tomac quickly took the lead away, only to crash all by himself shortly after. Just like that, Tomac and Lawrence were bringing up the rear on the very first lap.

The ultimate benefactor? Chase Sexton, who went by Anderson for second when Anderson bobbled in a rhythm lane and led every lap after that for his first A1 win.

“It was actually Monday before this race this week that I found the feeling that I was looking for, or at least toward that direction,” Sexton said in the post-race press conference. “So, last minute, but I knew after Monday we were gonna be in a good spot and I felt racy and back to kind of being explosive.”

Finishing second was Ken Roczen, who sliced by Anderson not too long after Sexton went by. Roczen is definitely a fan favorite these days, and the crowd erupted when he went by Anderson. They got even louder a few laps later when Sexton stalled his bike for a moment and it looked like Roczen might move into the lead. Sexton held on, but even so, it was a fantastic night for Roczen.

“I've won Anaheim 1 at least, quite a bit, and it kind of led nowhere, so to me, it just didn't really mean anything, besides having four of them now and then,” Roczen said. “So it was more just like a kind of a relief and it was just these games that I played in my head before the main event where I said, ‘You know what, a second place would be kind of like perfect. Not winning, because that never has never led to a championship for me or anything, but a second would be just kind of sweet.’”

Rounding out the podium was Anderson, who, after giving up second to Roczen, rode most of the race all by himself. Anderson may have actually been able to push it a little harder, but was dealing with some broken spokes after getting into it with Jett Lawrence on the start.

“When I came out of the gate, I kind of got squirrely and tangled bars and I ripped, I don't know [how many spokes out],” Anderson explained afterward. “Nothing crazy, but just like whenever you see them hitting your fork, whenever you're in the air, it's nervous, you don't want your front wheel to blow out whenever you're riding and then I started just making mistakes left and right because I was just thinking about my front wheel. But, yeah, luckily, I was able to get in a groove and once I got passed by Kenny, I just tried to latch onto him and bring it in. I had a little bit of pressure from Cooper [Webb] at the end, but I'm just thankful my front wheel held together because I could have definitely been on the ground pretty hard because of that.”

Cooper Webb quietly rode to fourth, with Tomac rounding out the top five. Considering Tomac was in dead last on the first lap, this fifth is pretty impressive. Barcia finished sixth, although he was nearly successful in holding off Tomac for fifth. Barcia was riding great and even when Tomac caught him, Tomac wasn’t really able to make a move stick for quite a while. Elsewhere, Jorge Prado had a pretty good night going but crashed in the whoops while running eighth. Shoutout to Justin Hill, who rode awesome tonight and scored eighth in a fully stacked class. Malcolm Stewart also deserves props after having a horrendous crash in his heat race, in which he was ejected from his motorcycle and landed hard on the dirt on his lower back. He was able to come back and qualify through the LCQ and take tenth on the night.

As for Jett Lawrence, well, it was a night he’d likely forget, although he’s probably going to be playing it in his head a few times in the coming week. After starting in last, he later went down in the sand section after he bumped with Joey Savatgy. When he got up it seemed like he was just sort of riding around out there and he struggled to make passes. When it was all said and done, 12^th was the best he could muster. That’s his worst career 450SX finish, and the first time he’s finished outside of the top ten in 450SX. 

If you’re wondering about Dylan Ferrandis, he had a problem in his heat race and went off the track and crashed again later. In the LCQ he tangled with Ryan Breece and went down. The result? A DNQ for the Phoenix Honda rider.