The opening moto of the World Supercross Championship kicked off in Buenos Aires to a packed house. With some established names and a few big wildcard riders behind the gate, it was hard to go wrong. Ken Roczen took home his victory in the SX1 class, while Max Anstie made a resounding start in the SX2.
DThe German superstar overcame illness to produce a faultless performance, while Haiden Deegan took a podium finish on his SX1 debut.
It was the Roczen of yesteryear. The 31-year-old entered this year's championship looking to build a strong run after being sidelined by injuries. His dedication to all five rounds of the World Supercross Championship underscored his seriousness in his ambition to add another championship title to his palmares. And he made a clear statement early on in front of a sold-out crowd in South America by achieving a clean sweep (winning everything). He took Superpole, won the two sprint races, and the feature race in a dominant performance to set the pace in the championship.
Roczen: "I really feel like I rode really well. With the track and the moisture, there's a fine line between pushing for speed and sliding around and making mistakes. I had a great time there! I loved the track, and I had an incredible night!" "In the whoops, things happen so quickly because of the moisture. But man, I had a great time there! I loved the track, and I had an incredible night!"
Justin Cooper finished in second place, while fellow wildcard contestant Deegan had a memorable evening.
The American, racing outside the US for the first time, overcame a clutch issue and a late start to finish third in the feature race. This earned him a podium finish and enough points to finish the event in third place.
Deegan: "I'm still getting used to this bike, so I'm learning and progressing every time I go out on track. We're giving it our all. The crowd was amazing. I love Argentina! I've dreamed of racing against Ken since I was a little kid. I have pictures of myself in the stands, and I had his shirt in my room. So just being on the same track as these guys is a huge accomplishment for me, my team, and my family."
Regarding his comeback after a difficult start, he added: "Whatever comes my way, I'm going to learn from it. I'm sure we'll encounter situations like this again, so we'll make the most of it and put on a show for the crowd."
Defending champion Max Anstie organized the SX2 event. Is this a step towards defending the title?
Anstie looked in control from the start and was already fastest in practice – no wonder he is mentioned as the favorite to win the SX2 title he first clinched in 2023. The Team GSM Powered By Star Racing rider came into this year’s World Supercross Championship after missing a large part of the season following a difficult leg injury he sustained in March. The original prognosis was that he would be back up to speed quickly, but complications led to surgery, which delayed his recovery.
Now he is eager to make up for lost time and he treated the large audience to a spectacle.
Anstie: "It was a crazy night and amazing to be here in Argentina. The fans are fantastic. Every time I come here—I've been here before for a few MXGPs—the fans in Argentina are the best in the world. So thank you—it was an amazing night."
Anstie's biggest threat to the title is Shane McElrath. The Quad Lock Honda rider finished the round in second place.
McElrath: "It was a lot of work tonight—much harder than it should have been. We came prepared, but we still have work to do. The team has invested a lot of time, and we're going to keep it going. We'll be back in Canada next weekend. There were some tough races tonight. The track was very technical. There weren't many lines, and they were slippery."
Rick Ware Racing's Coty Schock took the final podium spot.
Uitslag SX2 (twee reeksen, plus finale): 1-99-Max Anstie-Team GSM-10-10-25-45; 2-1-Shane McElrath-Quad Lock Honda-8-9-20-37; 3-69-Coty Schock-Rick Ware Racing-6-6-22-34; 4-2-Cole Thompson-Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki-7-7-18-32; 5-16-Enzo Lopes-Rick Ware Racing-2-8-16-26; 6-110-Kyle Peters-Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki-5-4-15-24; 7-43-Cullin Park-MotoConcepts-9-1-13-23; 8-141-Maxime Desprey-Team GSM-3-5-10-18; 9-460-Michael Hicks-Stark-1-2-14-17; 10-100-Anthony Bourdon-Quad Lock Honda-4-0-11-15; 11-11-Kyle Chisholm-Pipes Motorsports-0-3-12-15; 12-95-Lance Kobusch-Stark-0-0-9-9; 13-64-Robbie Wageman-Pipes Motorsports-0-0-8-8; 14-39-Noah Viney-MotoConcepts-0-0-7-7;
Uitslag SX1: 1-94-Ken Roczen-Pipes Motorsports-10-10-25-45; 2-32-Justin Cooper-Wildcard-6-9-22-37; 3-38-Haiden Deegan-Wildcard-7-5-20-32; 4-28-Christian Craig-Quad Lock Honda-9-6-16-31; 5-21-Jason Anderson-Pipes Motorsports-4-8-18-30; 6-17-Joey Savatgy-Quad Lock Honda-8-7-13-26; 7-88-Devin Simonson-Rick Ware Racing-0-4-15-19; 8-200-Ryan Breece-MotoConcepts-0-0-14-14; 9-102-Matt Moss-Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki-3-2-9-14; 10-20-Greg Aranda-Team GSM-2-0-12-14; 11-46-Justin Hill-Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki-0-3-10-13; 12-98-Austin Politelli-MotoConcepts-5-1-6-12; 13-29-Henry Miller-Rick Ware Racing-0-0-11-11; 14-99-Jorge Zaragoza-Stark-1-0-7-8; 15-911-Jordi Tixier-Team GSM-0-0-8-8; 16-719-Vince Friese-Stark-0-0-0-0;
The World Cup continues next weekend in Vancouver, Canada.
Credits: worldsupercrosschampionship.com.
