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/1514183
ROUND 1 / JANUARY 6, 2024 ANGEL STADIUM OF ANAHEIM / ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA SUPERCROSS I MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES / SUPERMOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP P66 450SX Lawrence picked up right where he left off after having won the Los Angeles round of the 2023 SuperMotocross season finale in September. While he's techni- cally a 450SX rookie, the current SMX World Champion came out swinging at A1 to take the win in his first official 450cc Super- cross race. Lawrence jumped out to the lead by grabbing the holeshot and worked hard to sprint away from Jason Anderson and the rest of the podium contenders in the opening stages of the main event. "Once I got a clear track and saw that Jason wasn't too close to make a pass, it was just, 'Alright, let's get a gap,'" said Lawrence. "I think we got it to three seconds then I tried to hold it there and not make any mistakes and try to conserve energy in case for the end." The number 18 went uncon - tested to lead all 20 laps of the 450SX main event and owns the championship points lead going into round two in San Francisco. "We're going to try and win as many of these as we can," Lawrence said. "Keep coming into each round and gathering information for myself and learn - ing from the other riders and dealing with whatever situation I'm dealt with." Monster Energy Kawasaki's Anderson, aboard the all-new Kawasaki KX450, took second. The former 450SX champ rode both offense and defense as 111 JORGE PRADO 13TH 450SX Reigning MXGP World Champion Jorge Prado competed in his first Supercross at A1. The GasGas rider, who got support from the TLD/ Red Bull GasGas Team, ran as high as seventh early in the race before slipping to 13th. It was a respectable showing for the Spaniard. "It's so different from what I am used to, and it was just a day of building," he said. "I felt good in practice every time, and then the night show, the track was so different. I'm used to riding the test tracks with a harder base and differ- ent whoops, so every time I tried to go through these ones, they were so different, which made it difficult and unpredictable. I didn't find a good flow in the main event but I got a good start. I think next week we will move in the right direction." 929 JULIEN BEAUMER 6TH 250SX Red Bull KTM's Julien Beaumer was impressive in his Supercross debut. The 17-year-old from Arizona finished second in his heat race, grabbed the MYOWNRACE Jett Lawrence (18) led every lap of the main, but he could never let his guard down.