SuperMotocross Weekly presented by Kawasaki: Anaheim 1

Follow along with the biggest stories in SuperMotocross every week with SuperMotocross Weekly presented by Kawasaki!

This Week: Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA

When to Watch: Saturday, 10PM ET, USA and Peacock; Sunday, 2PM ET, NBC

Last Year’s Winners: Ken Roczen (450SX), Christian Craig (250SX)

Latest News: The full slate of venues for the inaugural SuperMotocross World Championship playoffs have finally been announced, and both are a bit of a surprise. SMX has partnered with Speedway Motorsports to bring the series to zMAX Dragway in Charlotte on September 9, and NASCAR to head to Chicagoland Speedway on September 23. The respective partners already play host to Supercross races in Atlanta and Daytona, respectively. While the Charlotte race fits within an established history of out-of-the-box thinking on the Charlotte Motor Speedway grounds, the Chicagoland track has been unused in any racing capacity since 2019.

Race Preview: While Ken Roczen is the defending 450 winner at A1, he may have had the most tumultuous offseason of any rider after leaving Honda in the wake of his participation in WSX. Roczen shifts to HEP Suzuki for 2023, while rookie Colt Nichols replaces him at Honda HRC. He won’t be the only defending A1 winner on a new bike, though, as Christian Craig moves up from the 250 class to partner Malcolm Stewart at Rockstar Energy Husqvarna.

Most of the other big names in 450—Jason Anderson and Adam Cianciarulo at Monster Energy Kawasaki, Eli Tomac and Dylan Ferrandis at Monster Energy Yamaha Star, Justin Barcia at GasGas, and the trio of Cooper Webb, Aaron Plessinger, and Marvin Musquin at Red Bull KTM—have stayed put for this year. In 250, last year’s East champion Jett Lawrence will head back west for his final season before moving up, facing off with names like Cameron McAdoo, Austin Forkner, RJ Hampshire, Max Vohland, and Pierce Brown.