Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1500384
ROUND 1 / MAY 27, 2023 FOX RACEWAY / PALA, CALIFORNIA MOTOCROSS I AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP / SUPERMOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP P84 most of moto two. Webb rounded out the top five in his first outdoor motocross race since 2021. An injury-depleted 450cc field (no Eli Tomac, Jason Anderson, Christian Craig, Malcolm Stewart, Marvin Musquin, Justin Barcia or Ken Roczen, who chose not to compete in this year's series), allowed many privateers to score some big points, like Grant Harlan (Manluk Rock River Racing) did. He finished seventh overall (9-6). make any big mistakes at round one. After Daytona I went to see a specialist to make sure everything was okay, and it was not. You always want more training and more preparation. It's been a wild time but I'm back." KTM teammates Plessinger and Cooper Webb traded posi- tions in both motos to finish fourth and fifth, respectively. Plessinger fell twice in moto one and then battled with Ferrandis for of my best laps in the last five minutes, so I know my speed and fitness are there. I felt like I was me from outdoors last year. "We're off to a solid start. I didn't feel like I had the speed early in the day, and that crash in practice didn't help my con - fidence. In the first moto, I just rode sloppy, but I kept building and getting more comfortable throughout the day." Ferrandis returned to racing following a lengthy recovery from injury. The 2021 series champion duked it out with Sexton early in moto one but dropped off the pace a bit and got third. Ferrandis found him - self in another battle in moto two, as he and Red Bull KTM's Aaron Plessinger slogged it out for most of the moto. In the end, a pair of thirds netted the Frenchman third overall. "If anyone had told me I would have finished on the podium at the first round, I would have told them they were dreaming," Ferrandis said. "Obviously you don't want to went 15-12 for 13th overall, while Surratt was one spot back with 11-17 finishes. METAL GATES New for 2023 is the addition of metal start grates. Officials say this is to keep the starting sur- face consistent all year at each of the different venues. Metal start pads are also used in the Supercross series, as well as MXGP in Europe. Briefly... 2023 Fox Raceway Pro Motocross Highlights (Left) Hunter Lawrence celebrates the 250MX overall victory.