ROUND 1 / JANUARY 6, 2024
ANGEL STADIUM OF ANAHEIM / ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA
SUPERCROSS I MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES / SUPERMOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
P72
en and Julien Beaumer. Once
around the two youngsters,
Hampshire was too far gone for
Smith to mount a charge.
"I just have to try and be
better," Smith said. "We [he
and Hampshire] actually got
tangled up there in the second
turn and almost both got stuck
and had to untangle our bikes.
He [Hampshire] made some
good passes early and kind of
checked out. I might have to
work on my intensity to match
his in those first few laps."
Kitchen managed to claim
third after an eventful main
event. Kitchen, one of two new
recruits to the Monster Energy/
Pro Circuit Kawasaki team,
found himself leading after the
the opening-round win.
"I was really fast in the
whoops, which I haven't said
in years," Hampshire said. "I
just focused on that—get to the
whoops, pull a gap, and then
manage the rest of the race.
Once I saw my pit board saying
'plus-nine' on it, I was like, 'Wow,
this is getting real; we're about
to win A1.'"
Jordon Smith crossed the line
in second. The Monster Energy
Star Racing Yamaha rider is
another veteran of the class and
put his experience to use as he
worked through the field. Smith
found himself locked in a three-
way battle for second place for
most of the race but eventually
got the better of both Levi Kitch
-
second short of completing the
pass. His night was unexpect-
edly over all too soon, and he
now heads into San Francisco,
already spotting his younger
brother, Jett, 25 points.
250SX WEST
The 250SX West class saw
250cc veteran RJ Hampshire
come out on top and claim his
first career A1 win. The Rockstar
Energy Husqvarna Factory Rac-
ing pilot started third but used
some incredible whoop speed to
make his way into the top spot.
In fact, he executed the same
pass on two different occasions
to move from third to first. Once
out front, no one could touch
Hampshire as he ran away with
Ken Roczen (94) came
out swinging and won
the first heat race but
got swallowed up in
a first-lap multi-rider
crash in the main. He
salvaged 10th.
