Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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VOLUME ISSUE JANUARY , P65 his way up through the pack and zapped him for second place on the last lap. Webb, on the Red Bull KTM, took the checkers 2.77 seconds behind Tomac and a second and a half ahead of Tomac. "The start was not good; me and Malcolm kind of got into it," said Webb of his surprise ride. "I wasn't too bad; I was behind Chase, and I actually stalled it and that put me back. I put my head down, but I saw up ahead of me there was a freight train and luckily no one was really getting away. It's tough because it's A1 and ev- eryone is feisty. At the end I felt really good. The track was in- sanely rough, but I found some good lines. I was just hoping to get a top five after that start." Tomac's teammate Dylan Ferrandis showed that he is a threat for the 2023 title. The former 250SX Champion had a strong performance and fin- aged. Stewart didn't fare much better but did finish out the race in 16th. Now, by lap 13 of the 21-lap race, it looked like Sexton had the race in his back pocket, but several bobbles and at least one near crash allowed Tomac, who was on the move, to catch up. At that point, the end was near for Sexton. Tomac passed the Honda rider three laps from the end and that was that. "I honestly thought I threw it away," Tomac said of his earlier crash. "But the way the track was, there was time to be lost and time to be made, so maybe that was in my favor. It's nice to have the win here, absolutely, but I'm always 'big picture' in my head and that's racing for the championship." Unfortunately for Sexton, two-time champ Cooper Webb, who had started the race in 10th, stealthily made BROWN OUT TLD/Red Bull/GasGas' Pierce Brown crashed in his 250cc heat race and was forced to sit out the rest of the night. He actually went to the hospital for evaluation but was quickly released. Brown later said via Instagram that "nothing broken. Be back soon... Rider error cost me the night. Thankfully came out with no serious injuries, just gonna be sore for a little bit." FORKNER INJURED Austin Forkner was looking forward to an injury-free season but just a few feet into the 250cc main, the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider went down spectacularly and was assisted off the track. No official word yet as to his condition, but he ap- pears to be dealing with at least a leg injury. HILL BROTHERS Justin Hill made his return to race alongside big brother Josh on the Team Tedder KTM squad. Justin Hill, who has ridden for the Pro Circuit Kawasaki and Red Bull KTM teams in the past, placed 15th in the 450SX main. "Felt good to get back in the mix, almost three years since I've walked onto a stadium floor, and I definitely missed it," he said. "I struggled to find the flow on this first go, but I'm confident in the work I'm putting in. The speed has been there during the week, just needed to get the monkey off my back and bring it to the races." Josh Hill, who was a factory Yamaha rider early in his career, finished 18th. Briefly... Chase Sexton was disappointed not to get the win after having the chance. He led laps 13 thru 17 then slipped back to third.