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/1507502
ROUND 1 / SEPTEMBER 9, 2023 ZMAX DRAGWAY / CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA MOTOCROSS I SUPERMOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP P76 Atlanta (Supercross) track," Sexton said. "I tend to like these speedway-style tracks with the rough bumps and supercross mixed in. I was comfortable from the get-go." 450SMX The SMX format uses a two-moto system, like the outdoor nationals, but with a Supercross-type setting and a track that mixes a little bit of "outdoors" (motocross) with "indoors" (supercross), sans Supercross whoops. Many of the riders and teams struggled to find the perfect blend of both styles of racing with their bike setups, mainly suspension. Sexton and his Honda crew appeared to have gotten it best, despite finishing sec - ond to teammate Lawrence in timed qualifying. The 2023 Supercross champ, Sexton, looked right at home on the hybrid track once the racing got underway. Sexton returned to his old form, picking up where he left off back in May and went 1-1 on the day. He excelled on the unique track, which he said resembled the speedway track of Atlanta, where Sexton also won earlier this year. "It honestly felt like the 51 JUSTIN BARCIA 7TH (6-8) 450SMX Justin Barcia couldn't take advantage of good starts and slipped to seventh overall. Like many teams, Barcia and crew struggled with bike setup (and arm pump). "Everyone has to deal with the same conditions on the track, but unfortunately, we weren't able to find a happy medium between Supercross and motocross with our settings, so we kind of fought it all day," said Justin Barcia, who got good starts but couldn't maintain the led pace. "We should have been near the podium with how I felt body-wise, but I struggled with some arm pump today." 2 COOPER WEBB 8TH (8-7) 450SMX Cooper Webb made his Yamaha debut af- ter recently returning to his former Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha Team. Webb looked good on his new ride, but his results did not reflect that. "The race day was up and down for me," Webb said. "Practice was decent. I was second and then sixth overall, which was good. The first moto, I didn't ride very well. I got a bad start, and the track was tricky to pass on today, and you kind of got stuck in a pace, and I feel like that's what I did. In the second one, once again, I got a bad start, which didn't help, but I felt like I rode a bit better. I'm a little bummed with the overall result." MYOWNRACE The 450 podium might not have been what everyone was expecting. Ken Roczen rode to a surprising second overall.