MMF

Photo Credit Feld Entertainment

Detroit, Michigan: Honda HRC rider Jett Lawrence didn’t look back when he got a good start until he crossed the finish line to become the first back-to-back winner in the 2024 Monster Energy 450 Supercross Class!

The big question is: is this the beginning of the dominance of the rider who won all Motos in the Pro Motocross Outdoor series last year? Can the reigning champion, Red Bull KTM rider Chase Sexton, stop him? Where’s the consistency of veteran riders like Tomac, Anderson, Webb, Plessinger, etc., as they were edged out by Progressive Ecstar Suzuki rider Ken Roczen this weekend?

What a season of unpredictability thus far! Could this season be one of the best Supercross seasons ever? What do you guys think?

photo credit: Feld Entertainment

One of the biggest surprises in the Detroit Supercross 250 East was Monster Energy Star Yamaha’s Daxton Bennick podium finish! A native of Morganton, NC, he rode like a veteran, consistent and strong to the finish. He didn’t look like he was trying because of how smooth he was riding. He admitted during the press conference that he felt so much pressure heading into his first professional rookie debut race and that after getting third place in the main event, he felt a huge weight was taken off his shoulders.

We saw the post of Dax Bennick’s dad, Todd Bennick, who was also a former professional racer and Freestyle Motocross rider, saying that the last time a rookie landed the podium in their very first professional race debut was ten years ago! Dax’s podium finish is indeed impressive—a better result than Jett Lawrence and Haiden Deegan’s first professional supercross race. 

Can Dax Bennick be one of the few to win the championship in their first year as a pro? We’ll see after 8 more rounds.

Photo credit: Feld Entertainment

Detroit Michigan: It appears that Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Austin Forkner is having fun riding and racing again. He won the first round of the Monster Energy 250 East Supercross when he led from the first lap to the checkered flag. He also seems to explain during the press conference that they found the culprit of why he has crashed, hence injured, in the past; it’s because he has always been fast, but sometimes the speed is beyond his riding techniques. His pre-season change, where he made former professional racer Ryan Hughes his trainer, was one of the best moves he made, as they focused more on reinventing his riding style by going back to the fundamentals and techniques.

Photo credit: Feld Entertainment

Getting back from suffering painful injuries is one of the hardest mental struggles any rider could ever experience. The best riders in the world didn’t have many injuries; that’s why they were able to build consistently and improve. Having fear while riding is never fun. This is what Austin said about it during the press conference:

“To ride a dirt bike scared, at this level is – you can’t do it. So [we also worked on] just keeping the whole preseason [work] fun… We did quality work over quantity so much, and we kept it fun and kept me in a good mental space coming into this season, and I think it shows.”- Austin Forkner

This year, 2024, might be the year for Austin to finally win a championship. Now that he is a veteran of the sport and has learned a lot from his former mistakes and wrong head space, Austin is ready to claim his first supercross championship. 
Photo credit: Feld Entertainment

Photo Credit Feld Entertainment

Red Bull KTM rider Aaron Plessinger was asked during the San Diego post-race press conference after winning the muddy race if he felt any pressure carrying the red plate headed to Anaheim 2. He said he thought he could handle it. His answer was acknowledging the pressure that comes with it, knowing how stacked the 450 class is in this year’s Monster Energy Supercross.

After the first 450 SX Group A qualifying at Angel’s Stadium, we saw Aaron Plessinger, still sweaty and tired, already signing autographs and taking pictures 20 minutes before the actual time indicated in the KTM paddock for the autograph signing session. He seems to really enjoy spending time with the fans. No wonder, during the opening ceremony, he had the loudest cheer among the thousands in attendance at the Angel Stadium.

He finished third overall in the first triple crown of the season, and he still managed to retain the red plate! Aaron Plessinger is riding really well this season and will head to Detroit with the red plate!

Video credit: Feld Entertainment

Honda HRC Rider Jo Shimoda shining bright in America is an understatement. He is the only pure-blooded Asian in Anaheim 2 Monster Energy Supercross. Born and raised in Japan, Jo is arguably the best rider the East has ever produced. So being Asians ourselves, we’ve always rooted for him. We saw him last August 2023 at Loretta Lynn Ranch when our very own girl rider, Shana Tamayo, qualified in the Girls 11–16 Class. He was so nice and quiet. A man of few words but genuinely nice. So the first rider we went to check out in Anaheim 2 Supercross is Jo.

The moment we arrived at Angel’s Stadium, we proceeded to fall in line at the Honda Paddock for autograph signing. We were unfortunate to not make the cut; we were just three slots short, but Jo insisted on going beyond the cut. He and Chance Hymas accommodated some really determined fans like us. Well, we didn’t spend a lot and travel from the Philippines to not do our best to have the best experience. When the Lawrence brothers already left their post, Chance and Jo (1:40 p.m.) were still there, but the difference between the two is that Jo has a 2:05 p.m. “250SX Group A Qualifying” schedule to attend to while Chance has time because he is signed up for the East Coast. The Lawrence brothers “450SX Group Qualifying A is still at 2:20 p.m., but they need to get back to work and probably watch tapes to know what line or rhythm section combination Rockstar Husqvarna rider Malcolm Stewart is doing to hold onto the fastest qualifier spot after the first two qualifying. So it is totally understandable for them to not extend their time with fans.

Jo did well in the races, except that he had mediocre starts in all three races! But each time he climbs from behind the pack and passes riders like it was easy to do on a “hard to pass” technical supercross track. If it weren’t for his collision with Monster Energy Yamaha rider Jordon Smith, where he received the short end of the stick and crashed, he could have finished inside the podium, or that momentum could have mentally given him an edge with confidence, hence getting better starts in the next two races. He might not have finished inside the podium yet this year, but he sure did make an impact with us for his kind gesture.

What Jo Shimoda did to us was genuine, coming from the culture he grew up in. Asian culture is rooted in protecting one’s honor instead of fame. Money and fame are just means or vehicles to receive what true riches are, and that’s to receive “honor.” This is the root of Asian culture that is missing in today’s Western society. So, Jo, we wish you only the best in your time here in the US, racing at the highest level of Supercross racing, representing the Asian continent region and culture, and shining bright like the stars in heaven.

Photo Credit: Feld Entertainment

Star Racing Yamaha’s Eli Tomac racing the 2024 Monster Energy Supercross is one of the best stories this year! No disrespect to Chase Sexton, but the 2023 championship should have been Eli’s until the Achilles injury happened. Everyone is waiting for Eli’s beast mode speed to match, if not beat, the speed of the incoming rookie in the 450 Supercross class, Honda’s Jett Lawrence. But during the dry Anaheim 1, the beast mode speed is missing. Then, during the muddy San Francisco and San Diego rounds, beast mode speed is not really relevant in such conditions. So Eli Tomac believers are waiting. When will Eli unleash the Beast speed?

During race 3 of the Triple Crown in Anaheim 2, the beast mode Eli Tomac was engaged! The insane speed everyone was waiting for was on full display when he got the holeshot and never looked back. During the start of the race, Tomac had a 57.838 laptime, one second faster than the rest of the front runners. That Race 3 win was enough for Eli to get his second “second overall” of the season.

Beast mode Eli Tomac is back.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Photo Credit- Feld Entertainment
   

Star Racing Yamaha rider Cooper Webb once again proved why he is a two-time Monster Energy AMA 450 Supercross Champion when he won the overall at the first Triple Crown of the 17-round series on Angel Stadium dirt!

Why is it so important for Webb to get his first win early in this 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series? Look at the result of a mud race win by Aaron Plessinger last weekend; AP backed it up with another podium in A2 and retained the red plate! The sport of Supercross requires its athletes to have a strong belief in one’s competencies in order to win, and Webb, being a veteran now, knows exactly just that. At last weekend’s press conference, when he got held by Sexton during the final two laps, he was furious with the reigning champ because he wanted to win the third round; he mentioned that according to statistics, 62% of the time, round three winners win the championship. That speaks volumes about how intentional Cooper Webb is with regards to the mental game of the sport.

With Webb’s Anaheim 2 win, it validates his Anaheim 1 heat race win over Jett Lawrence and the speed he had during the main event, where he was all over Jason Anderson but unfortunately endoed in the wall jump trying to set up a pass with the 21. Cooper means business! Remember, he was the only one who consistently challenged Eli Tomac last year before his season-ending crash.

Can Cooper Webb win the 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross premier 450 Class championship? Only time will tell.

~Sam Tamayo

Jett Lawrence crumbles under the hostile Anaheim 2 Supercross Fans in attendance! A2 SX MMF Editorial

The Angel Stadium was packed, and the weather was spot on for some dry racing. We flew all the way from the Philippines to cover Anaheim 2 Supercross by Feld Entertainment; hence, we were all drowsy from jetlag. We arrived in Angel Stadium from our hotel at 11:30am and immediately went to the Honda paddock for the 1:20pm “autograph time” with the Lawrence brothers and Jo Shimoda. The incident from San Diego Supercross where Jett and Jason Anderson had an altercation carries a different vibe from the normal vibe in the Honda pits. We saw the young superstar seldom engaged or smiling with the fans, like his usual jolly demeanor. He doesn’t look like his normal self since the incident.

The night show began, and the crowd gave Jason Anderson a loud cheer, but to Jettson, they gave a loud boo. We were so surprised by what’s going on that I even filmed it in the video that went viral on our Facebook MxMessiah page. We were culture shocked, to say the least, because Jett Lawrence arguably is the biggest star and most liked right now in the Southeast Asia region based on Facebook metrics of the most liked and visited posts in our social media channels.

Yes, we know Jettson is next level in terms of riding and confidence, as proven by the A1 result and last year’s championships, but that was him having a happy and jolly demeanor—the normal Jettson with the right mindset. But during A2 Supercross, this demeanor is missing. This is not Jett! Then the “booing by fans” happened! Guess what happened to having a different mindset than he is accustomed to when he wins? Bad starts in all motos! After a mediocre start, he collided with Aaron Plessinger; hence, he crashed and started the race from the back!

And just when we thought he could finish the day without crashing anymore and just settle for position 2 behind Eli Tomac during race 3, he crashed in the whoops during the final lap! As a result, he lost positions and, from a secured p2, overall dropped to p6. Jett Lawrence crumbled under the negative crowd pressure!

Good thing it’s just early in the season and the series is heading east coast in Detroit for round 5. Different state, different crowd, different environment. Will we see the happy and jolly Jettson? If so, he will be back in his winning ways!

Sam Tamayo