The Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing Team came to the AMA Supercross Championship season opener with their usual high hopes, a full off-season of preparation, and of course, Troy’s artistic touches for the rider’s helmets, bikes and gear. Racing aboard the all-new 2023 MC 450F and MC 250F Factory Edition bikes for the first time, both Justin Barcia and Pierce Brown came away with their fair share of ups and downs in Anaheim, California.
450SX
Justin Barcia and Anaheim 1 are generally a solid match, and he’s had plenty of success (including wins and podiums) in previous years at the season opener. Another win looked like a definite possibility once again, as he quickly grabbed the holeshot aboard his GASGAS MC 450F Factory Edition and jumped into the early lead. Unfortunately, after leading the first three laps ahead of last year’s champ, he had an off-track excursion that dropped him to the 11th spot.
Justin Barcia: "A1 is a wrap. The day started off pretty well. I felt good in the first practice but I struggled a little bit in the next two, just with feeling comfortable with the track, because it was very tricky with a lot of square edges and things like that. I made a big change before the heat race and unfortunately went in the wrong direction. So I went back to my base setting for the main event. Pretty much ripped the holeshot, led a few laps, made a huge mistake, and had a crash. I worked my way back up to like seventh and had another crash. So it was a difficult main event. We'll take a few positives from the day. We had a good start, and we had speed, we just need to keep it on two wheels and keep it simple and we'll be good. But the speed is there, the fitness is there, and the bike's there, so I'm happy with that and definitely put this result behind us and move forward."
250SX West
Pierce Brown started off the day on the gas, qualifying in the third position. But a hard crash in his heat race proved to be the end of his evening. After being seen by the Alpinestars Mobile Medical crew, he was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. The good news is that he’s already been released, and is headed home.
Next Event (Round 2): 1/14/23 – RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland, California
Results – 2022 AMA Supercross Championship, Round 1
450SX – Main Event
1. Eli Tomac (Yamaha); 2. Cooper Webb (KTM) +02.778; 3. Chase Sexton (Honda) +04.350 … 11. Justin Barcia (GASGAS) +42.507; 18. Justin Starling (GASGAS)
250SX West – Main Event
1. Jett Lawrence (Honda); 2. RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna) +05.259; 3. Cameron Mcadoo (Kawasaki) +10.671 … 18. Jerry Robin (GASGAS)
Championship Standings – After Round 1
450SX
1. Eli Tomac 26 pts; 2. Cooper Webb 23; 3. Chase Sexton 21 … 11. Justin Barcia 12
250SX West
1. Jett Lawrence 26 pts; 2. RJ Hampshire 23; 3. Cameron Mcadoo 21