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The A1 Curse – Will Eli Break It?!

MX Vice looks into the mixed history of opening round Supercross winners.

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In an MX Vice survey of over 40 of Europe’s top Motocross megastars, only three riders picked Eli Tomac to take the win at the opening round, despite the #1 Yamaha man dominating the 2022 season both outdoors and in with both titles, plus wins at the MXoN and the WSX in Cardiff.

Words: Ben Rumbold | Lead Image: Star Racing Yamaha

As Mattia Guadagnini correctly stated in his reply, Eli has never looked 100% at the opening round, with an average finish of only 10th place in his 9 years of 450cc Supercross racing.

The reigning champ silenced them all, however, with a stunning win despite having to recover from a mid-race crash, and he stalked down his main outdoor challenger Chase Sexton to do so.  But does it mean he’ll win the title? If so, he’ll have to break an 11-year curse, as the last rider to win both Anaheim 1 and the title was Ryan Villopoto back in 2012!

Now I’m sure Eli won’t really give a monkeys about any curse, he will pick off each round as he goes through, but if he were to get spooked then he could gain solace from the fact that he has already broken another A1 curse – Villopoto in 2012 was also the last REIGNING Champ to win at A1!

Ryan Villopoto was the last rider to win both Anaheim 1 and the AMA Supercross title, in 2012. (Image: Rene Johnston, Toronto Star)

Anaheim first hosted the series opener in 1981, when Kent Howerton took the win ahead of eventual champ Mark Barnett, and the venue opened the show 8 times in total, up to and including 1990. In 1982 to ’84 and also in ‘87, the winners all went on to become the champion – Donnie Hansen, David Bailey, Johnny O’Mara and Jeff Ward in that order.  The Citrus Bowl in Orlando then started the season for 6 straight years and it took the King of Supercross, Jeremy McGrath, to break that curse from 1994 to ’96.  In those days, MC won just about everywhere indoors!

In 1997 & ’98 the fabled L.A. Coliseum ran the opener, and both were won by former World Champions in shock results – Greg Albertyn on the Suzuki, who McGrath had just joined as a new teammate, and Sebastien Tortelli on a wild card pre-GP runout for Kawasaki.  Amazingly neither man won another AMA Supercross in their entire career.

Since the first “A1” in 1999 – when what is now known as Angel Stadium started hosting multiple events in the Supercross calendar – there have only been 4 winners who went on to the title – McGrath in 2000, Chad Reed in 2004 & ‘09, James Stewart in ’08, and RV in 2011 & ’12.

The number of reigning champions to have won the opening round is an even smaller club. Only 7 times since the series began has the previous year’s title winner won round 1. Johnny O’Mara was the first back in 1985 at Anaheim, with Jeff Ward winning 1987’s Houston opener and Rick Johnson the following year taking Anaheim whilst wearing #1.

Jeff Stanton won in Orlando before losing his title to Jean-Michel Bayle in 1991, and of course that man McGrath conquered all from 1994-96 with the #1 plate. MC began the A1 era with those wins in 2000 & 2001, but since then it has been slim pickings for reigning champs with only Stewart in 2010 and RV in 2012 winning with the red plate.

Before Saturday’s stunning performance by Tomac, he was part of a little club of multi-champs who never won A1 – Ricky Carmichael the most famous example, and Ryan Dungey more recently.  RC wasn’t in the hunt until 2001 when he finally rose to challenge McGrath – A1 & A2 were the only losses the #4 experienced that season – and he got on the podium that year, as well as in 2003, ’05, and ’06.  Even Kevin Windham enjoyed a rare victory over Carmichael in 2005. RC missed 2004 through injury and of course 2002 saw that famous nose-dive on his Honda debut that made his progression to the eventual title all the more remarkable.

They say that you can lose the title in A1 even if you can’t win it. That 2002 DNF from RC wasn’t the only disaster suffered by a rider who still went on to win the title.  Stewart missed a gear whilst being chased by Reed in 2009, leading to a wipe-out for them both!  When asked what happened by trackside reporter Erin Bates shortly after, Stewart’s famous reply was simply “I crashed” as the steam was almost visually coming out of his ears! Josh Grant was in the right place at the right time to take what was to be his only 450 Supercross win.

Just ten years ago, Villopoto himself suffered a night of multiple crashes which left him with a 16th place finish while Davi Millsaps won a thrilling scrap with Trey Canard. It wasn’t until Round 10 at Daytona that RV re-claimed the series lead that he was never to relinquish.

Dungey, forever known as the diesel and a very under-rated 4-time Supercross Champion, was 2nd to reigning Champ Stewart in his 2010 450cc debut, then after four years of RV domination he was to become Champ from 2015 to ’17. He ran 4-2-2 at A1 through those years but was always there in the end.

So the A1 curse since 2012 has a further twist to its tale – only Jason Anderson, winner of A1 in 2016 then Champ in ’18, has even won a single Supercross title after being an A1 winner.  Checking through the winners of the last ten years and you have Millsaps (twice runner-up), Ken Roczen (four times A1 winner on three different manufacturers but twice runner-up in the series), Marvin Musquin (2018 A1 winner, 2nd in points that year), and of course the winner of round one from 2019-21 (although 2021 was in Houston), Justin Barcia, who has never finished higher than 4th in points.

So that leaves one more Champion, who has also never won the opener, that we haven’t mentioned yet. Only five of our surveyed riders suggested a podium for Cooper Webb, but he properly delivered with a solid ride through the field to 2nd place, putting a late pass on massive pre-race favourite Chase Sexton. Coupled with the fact that the track was brutal and that he has re-joined the Aldon Baker programme, many are pointing at the two-time Champ as being right back in title contention.

Webb has taken the #1 plate to the A1 podium, but never to another title after doing so. (Image: Align Media)

That may well be the case, but a good season opener hasn’t meant a stellar year in the past. His title seasons of 2019 and ’21 saw him finish 5th and 7th at round 1, whilst 2020 and ’22 saw him on the podium at A1 but 2nd and 7th in points.  Many riders either crashed or made mistakes and the whoops weren’t the sort to be blitzed, so there is an asterisk over Saturday’s 2nd place finish that just says “wait and see”.  From what’s likely to be a muddy second round at Oakland and the rest of the remaining 16 rounds, it will be fascinating to see if the A1 curse remains intact for 2023.

Year A1 Winner Champ. Pos. Champion A1 Position
2022 K. Roczen (Hon) 12th E. Tomac (Yam) 5th
2021 J. Barcia (Gas) 4th C. Webb (KTM) 7th
2020 J. Barcia (Yam) 5th E.Tomac (Kaw) 6th
2019 J. Barcia (Yam) 13th C. Webb (KTM) 5th
2018 M. Musquin (KTM) 2nd J. Anderson (Hsq) 2nd
2017 K. Roczen (Hon) 20th R. Dungey (KTM) 2nd
2016 J. Anderson (Hsq) 3rd R. Dungey (KTM) 2nd
2015 K. Roczen (Suz) 12th R. Dungey (KTM) 4th
2014 K. Roczen (KTM) 3rd R. Villopoto (Kaw) 4th
2013 D. Millsaps (Suz) 2nd R. Villopoto (Kaw) 16th
2012 R. Villopoto (Kaw) 1st R. Villopoto (Kaw) 1st
2011 R. Villopoto (Kaw) 1st R. Villopoto (Kaw) 1st
2010 J. Stewart (Yam) 20th R. Dungey (Suz) 2nd
2009 J. Grant (Yam) 4th J. Stewart (Yam) 19th
2008 C. Reed (Yam) 1st C. Reed (Yam) 1st
2007 J. Stewart (Kaw) 1st J. Stewart (Kaw) 1st
2006 J. Stewart (Kaw) 2nd R. Carmichael (Suz) 3rd
2005 K. Windham (Hon) 3rd R. Carmichael (Suz) 3rd
2004 C. Reed (Yam) 1st C. Reed (Yam) 1st
2003 C. Reed (Yam) 2nd R. Carmichael (Hon) 2nd
2002 D. Vuillemin (Yam) 2nd R. Carmichael (Hon) 20th
2001 J. McGrath (Yam) 2nd R. Carmichael (Kaw) 3rd
2000 J. McGrath (Yam) 1st J. McGrath (Yam) 1st
1999 E. Lusk (Hon) 2nd J. McGrath (Yam) 7th

Features

Stat Attack: Indianapolis Supercross Review

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With the tenth round of AMA Supercross in the books, statistics maestro Paul Pearcy has provided MX Vice with some brilliant numbers to tuck into from what was a great night of action. Enjoy

250 Class

Qualifying

  • Top 3
  1. Max Anstie: 49.492
  2. Tom Vialle: 49.492; (Max got top spot because his time came in the first session, while Tom’s time came in the second session)
  3. Pierce Brown: 49.719

LCQ

  • Top 3
  1. Jeremy Martin
  2. Ryder Floyd
  3. Hardy Munoz
  • Laps Led
  1. Jeremy Martin: 5
  2. Hardy Munoz: 2
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Jeremy Martin: 52.413
  2. Preston Boespflug: 53.150
  3. Gage Linville: 53.549
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Jeremy Martin: 53.655
  2. Preston Boespflug: 54.259
  3. Ryder Floyd: 54.373

Race 1

  • Top 3
  1. Cameron Mcadoo
  2. Haiden Deegan
  3. Seth Hammaker
  • Laps Led
  1. Cameron Mcadoo: 12
  2. Daxton Bennick: 1
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Haiden Deegan: 49.561
  2. Tom Vialle: 49.660
  3. Cameron Mcadoo: 49.854
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Cameron Mcadoo: 50.830
  2. Haiden Deegan: 51.086
  3. Seth Hammaker: 51.907
  • Most Consistent Lap Times (Least difference between fastest and slowest lap times)
  1. Preston Boespflug: 2.970
  2. Cameron Mcadoo: 3.184
  3. Jalek Swoll: 3.287

Race 2

  • Top 3
  1. Haiden Deegan
  2. Cameron Mcadoo
  3. Tom Vialle
  • Laps Led
  1. Haiden Deegan: 12
  2. Jalek Swoll: 1
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Haiden Deegan: 49.493
  2. Tom Vialle: 50.690
  3. Pierce Brown: 50.868
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Haiden Deegan: 51.522
  2. Cameron Mcadoo: 52.214
  3. Tom Vialle: 52.580
  • Most Consistent Lap Times (Least difference between fastest and slowest lap times)
  1. Jeremy Hand: 2.040
  2. Coty Schock: 2.315
  3. Max Anstie: 2.634

Race 3

  • Top 3
  1. Tom Vialle
  2. Pierce Brown
  3. Cameron Mcadoo
  • Laps Led
  1. Tom Vialle: 13
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Tom Vialle: 49.844
  2. Chance Hymas: 50.020
  3. Cameron Mcadoo: 50.175
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Tom Vialle: 51.493
  2. Pierce Brown: 51.563
  3. Haiden Deegan: 51.892
  • Most Consistent Lap Times (Least difference between fastest and slowest lap times)
  1. Marshal Weltin: 1.984
  2. Seth Hammaker: 1.997
  3. Nick Romano: 2.233

Overall

  • Top 3
  1. Cameron Mcadoo; (1st win of the season, 80% podium rate this year)
  2. Tom Vialle; (80% podium rate this year)
  3. Haiden Deegan; (40% podium rate this season)
  • Laps Led
  1. Tom Vialle: 13; (Tom is now tied with Austin Forkner for most laps led this season at 37.  34% of total laps raced)
  2. Cameron Mcadoo: 12
  3. Haiden Deegan: 12
  4. Jalek Swoll: 1
  5. Daxton Bennick: 1
  • Best First Lap Position Average
  1. Tom Vialle: 3rd 
  2. Cameron Mcadoo: 3.333
  3. Jalek Swoll: 4th 

Points

  • Top 10
  1. Cameron Mcadoo: 98
  2. Tom Vialle: 96
  3. Pierce Brown: 87
  4. Haiden Deegan: 82
  5. Coty Schock: 79
  6. Seth Hammaker: 72
  7. Daxton Bennick: 71
  8. Max Anstie: 62
  9. Chance Hymas: 60
  10. Jalek Swoll: 58

450 Class

Qualifying

  • Top 3
  1. Jett Lawrence: 48.523
  2. Eli Tomac: 48.554
  3. Cooper Webb: 48.568; (The difference between 1st and 3rd was .045 seconds.)

LCQ

  • Top 3
  1. Kyle Chisholm
  2. Justin Starling
  3. Devin Simonson
  • Laps Led
  1. Kyle Chisholm: 7
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Ty Masterpool: 52.415
  2. Kyle Chisholm: 52.810
  3. Freddie Noren: 53.248
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Kyle Chisholm: 54.223
  2. Ryan Breece: 54.271
  3. Freddie Noren: 54.390

Race 1

  • Top 3
  1. Jett Lawrence
  2. Ken Roczen
  3. Chase Sexton
  • Laps Led
  1. Jett Lawrence: 10
  2. Ken Roczen: 6
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Jett Lawrence: 48.639
  2. Ken Roczen: 49.225
  3. Cooper Webb: 49.581
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Jett Lawrence: 51.023
  2. Cooper Webb: 51.383
  3. Ken Roczen: 51.402
  • Most Consistent Lap Times (Least difference between fastest and slowest lap times)
  1. Aaron Plessinger: 2.774
  2. Eli Tomac: 3.095
  3. Chase Sexton: 3.785

Race 2

  • Top 3
  1. Jett Lawrence
  2. Ken Roczen
  3. Chase Sexton
  • Laps Led
  1. Jett Lawrence: 10
  2. Ken Roczen: 6
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Jett Lawrence: 49.499
  2. Ken Roczen: 49.713
  3. Chase Sexton: 49.849
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Jett Lawrence: 50.735
  2. Chase Sexton: 50.884
  3. Ken Roczen: 50.908 (That’s a difference of .173 in average lap times over 16 laps)
  • Most Consistent Lap Times (Least difference between fastest and slowest lap times)
  1. Ken Roczen: 2.537
  2. Malcolm Stewart: 2.641
  3. Chase Sexton: 2.676

Race 3

  • Top 3
  1. Jett Lawrence
  2. Chase Sexton 
  3. Ken Roczen
  • Laps Led
  1. Ken Roczen: 10
  2. Jett Lawrence: 6
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Ken Roczen: 49.131
  2. Chase Sexton: 49.284
  3. Jett Lawrence: 49.314
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Jett Lawrence: 50.477
  2. Chase Sexton: 50.483
  3. Cooper Webb: 50.594; (That’s a difference of .117 in average lap times over 16 laps)
  • Most Consistent Lap Times (Least difference between fastest and slowest lap times)
  1. Chase Sexton: 2.528
  2. Cooper Webb: 2.885
  3. Jason Anderson: 3.079

Overall

  • Top 3
  1. Jett Lawrence; (The only other person to have a perfect sweep at a triple crown was Ken Roczen in 2020 also on a Honda.  Jett has now won 50% of the races this season, with a 60% podium rate)
  2. Ken Roczen; (Ken has a 50% podium rate this year)
  3. Chase Sexton; (Chase has a 50% podium rate this year)
  • Laps Led
  1. Jett Lawrence: 26; (Jett now has 130 laps led, 50.7% of total laps)
  2. Ken Roczen: 22; (Ken has the second most laps led at 49, Just 19% of total laps)
  • Best First Lap Position Average
  1. Ken Roczen: 1st 
  2. Jett Lawrence: 2nd 
  3. Jason Anderson: 4th 

Points

  • Top 10
  1. Jett Lawrence: 210
  2. Cooper Webb: 189
  3. Chase Sexton: 185
  4. Ken Roczen: 175
  5. Eli Tomac: 174
  6. Jason Anderson: 165
  7. Aaron Plessinger: 162
  8. Justin Cooper: 120
  9. Justin Barcia: 109
  10. Dylan Ferrandis: 107

Lead Image: HRC

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Monster Energy Supercross

Results: 2024 Indianapolis Supercross

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2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross is back for round 10! The racing in Indianapolis has commenced and the results are flying through at quite a rate. Keep up with everything that is going on in the different sessions in both 450SX and 250SX by checking this page. Lead Image: AMA Supercross

This page will have all of the results. The results are posted in an easy-to-view fashion, with the latest results at the very top of the page. If you do not immediately see the most recent results, hit the refresh button in the top-right corner and then the issue should be rectified.

450SX Overall

250SX Overall

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Monster Energy Supercross

How To Watch Indianapolis SX, Entry List, TV Schedule And Track Map

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Details on how to watch round 10 of the 2024 AMA Supercross season from Indianapolis for both international and U.S. viewers can be found here.

U.S.

NBC Sports, Peacock, and the SMX League announced the 2024 SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) broadcast and streaming schedule, including the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. All 31 rounds across the series, including exclusive live coverage of qualifiers, heats, Main Events and Motos will be presented on Peacock, NBC, USA Network, CNBC, and NBC Sports digital platforms.

Peacock is the home of the SuperMotocross World Championship Series in 2024, presenting comprehensive live coverage of all qualifying, heats, Main Events and Motos across both Supercross and Pro Motocross, spanning 31 rounds from January to September 2024. 17 races will livestream exclusively on Peacock. The platform will also provide on-demand replays of every race. Qualifiers and heats will be available exclusively on Peacock for every race throughout the season.

2024 marks the second year of the SuperMotocross World Championship Finals, fueled by Monster Energy which unified both disciplines of Supercross and Pro Motocross. The SMX World Championship culminates in a series-ending postseason playoff style of racing that features the best racers in the world competing for the sport’s ultimate title.

NBC Sports’ 2024 SuperMotocross World Championship coverage begins in under a month with the Monster Energy Supercross season opener from Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., live on Saturday, Jan. 6, at 8 p.m. ET on Peacock and USA Network. An encore presentation will air the following day on Sunday, Jan. 7, on NBC at 2 p.m. ET and on Sunday, Jan. 8, on CNBC at 1 a.m. ET. CNBC will air a next-day encore for all 31 rounds across the series in 2024.

International

For international viewers, The SuperMotocross Video Pass (www.supermotocross.tv) is now available in every country outside the United States, live and on-demand, in both English and Spanish, giving viewers the choice on how to follow all the racing action. SuperMotocross Video Pass subscribers can enjoy all the live 2024 racing action between January and September, plus gain access to 13 years of archival race content dating back to 2010. New for the first time ever, you can now give the gift of a 2024 Subscription to SuperMotocross Video Pass for the holidays. Visit, https://app.supermotocross.tv/gift to finish your holiday shopping today. The SuperMotocross Video Pass is currently available via the web, and in all major app stores across IOS, Android, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Samsung CTV.

2024 Supermotocross Video Pass Features

Live & On-Demand access to 28 Rounds of the 2024 SuperMotocross regular season

Live & On-Demand access to 2 Rounds of the 2024 SuperMotocross Playoffs

Live & On-Demand access to the 2024 World Championship Final

Live & On-Demand access to ‘Race Day Live’ for the 2024 SuperMotocross full season

Live & On-Demand access to Spanish Language Play by Play of all 2024 Live Races

Extended Content including rider features, weekly news programs & extended archives

Entry List

450SX

250SX

EVENT SCHEDULE (all times Local):

Here are the start times for Saturday, according to the Monster Energy Supercross schedule from the AMA:

TRACK LAYOUT:

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