Let’s do this Daytona! The 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross and SuperMotocross World Championship take to the World Center of Racing at the Daytona International Speedway for round eight of this year’s campaign. Let’s get to the action.
MAIN EVENTS
450SX
Ken Roczen is finally a Daytona winner! After starting fourth, the Progressive Ecstar Suzuki rider continued to pass towards the front and battled for the lead with Aaron Plessinger.
Roczen’s technical prowess showed through as he navigated the rutted track late in the race. Cooper Webb applied pressure throughout but two late-race mistakes made the gap to Roczen insurmountable. This is Roczen’s first win of the season and his first at Daytona.
“I was really patient and just taking it section by section,” Roczen said. “I had some really good lines and I knew I had the speed to stay up front. I just trusted and believed that I could pull it off.”
“This is definitely up there on the single best main event wins,” Roczen said. “I’ve been wanting to do this for 10 years and never been able to pull it off…I’ve been pretty far from getting a win here but to finally put it off is a dream come true.”
Cooper Webb finished second. He followed Roczen for most of the race but could never get close enough to make a pass. Late in the race he stalled the bike and tucked the front end, which allowed Roczen to get away with the win. Even with the second place result, Webb further extends his points lead to 10 over Sexton.
“I put myself in an awesome position,” Webb said. “You can’t make mistakes, as many as I did, and expect to win. I’m a little bit bummed. Kenny rode great. He was charging through, he got around me, he made the pass stick on AP, and he pulled away. That put the urgency on me, and I just made too many mistakes after that. So, I’m a bit bummed, but overall, from a points perspective, it was a great night.”
Aaron Plessinger took the final spot on the box in third. AP led the race early on and battled for multiple laps with Roczen at the front. Plessinger lost the tow to the lead and dropped off the podium but later re-passed his KTM teammate, Chase Sexton, for the third. Third place is Plessinger’s best finish of the season.
“I just got a good start and was able to execute,” Plessinger said. “It’s been a while since we’ve been out front like that, so just having that clean air and being in the battle was really good. The track was fun tonight, it was awesome to be up there battling these guys, to come out of here with a podium is really cool.”
Justin Cooper fought his way to fourth after rounding lap one in ninth. “I just didn’t get off the gate very well tonight,” Cooper said. “It was tough. I battled all night and ate a lot of roost. I think I started around 10th in the main. I worked my way up, charged all the way to the end, and made a run at the podium but just came up short.”
Sexton rounded out the top five. After crashing in the heat Sexton was forced to qualify through the LCQ. He started outside the top five but charged to third just after the halfway mark. He was riding well and started pressing Webb for second. However, after a slight bobble, Sexton appeared to have lost all the air from his sails and uncharacteristically faded back to fifth, handing more valuable points to Webb.
Sexton had no definitive answer for his surprising fade at the end. “It definitely was not my best night,” he said. “In the end, I did what I could tonight, but just didn’t have enough in the tank.”
450SX MAIN EVENT (Top 10)
| 1. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | 16 Laps |
| 2. | Cooper Webb | (Yam) | 5.049 |
| 3. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 9.111 |
| 4. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 9.478 |
| 5. | Chase Sexton | (KTM) | 19.035 |
| 6. | Malcolm Stewart | (Hus) | 19.914 |
| 7. | Justin Hill | (KTM) | 33.507 |
| 8. | Jason Anderson | (Kaw) | 36.500 |
| 9. | Joey Savatgy | (Hon) | 37.383 |
| 10. | Justin Barcia | (GG) | 48.247 |
250SX EAST
RJ Hampshire emerged as the big winner in the 250SX East Coast main event. The Husqvarna rider had the perfect night, qualifying first, winning the heat race, and finishing first in the main event.
He pushed to the lead early in the main but the race was cut short due to a red flag restart after Levi Kitchen crashed out. Hampshire started up front again and ran away with the win. This marks his first win of the season.
“I knew I would get stronger as the season progressed,” Hampshire said. “We worked hard with the team over the last two weeks and found a setting that made me really comfortable. I felt good as soon as my wheels hit the dirt. I gelled with the track all day and led 90-percent of the main event, which was awesome for us.”
Tom Vialle crossed the line second. The defending East Coast champ started up front early but was quickly passed by Hampshire. Vialle stayed close but lost the tow until the race was red flagged. At the restart, Vialle stayed close to Hampshire and finished two seconds back. This is Vialle’s best finish of the year.
“I was close with the leaders tonight, we were going back and forth, but the track was super-tricky,” Vialle said. “If you missed a rhythm, you’d lose a second or two pretty easily. I think second place is the best that we had tonight, although I am happy with that. I’m happy to stay close in the championship, because that is the goal.”
Seth Hammaker landed on the podium in third. The Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider battled with Chance Hymas for nearly the entire main event but got the upper hand late in the race. A third in Daytona marks Hammaker’s best result of the 2025 season.
“It definitely felt pretty close but it was then or never,” Hammaker said regarding his pass for third. “He [Hymas] was riding really well and not making many mistakes. Had to thread the needle. Me and Chance ride all the time together and we seem to always find each other at the races too.”
Chance Hymas earned his best finish of the year in fourth after barely losing the spot to Hammaker. Max Vohland scored a season-best result of fifth ahead of points leader Max Anstie. Daxton Bennick, Nate Thrasher, Cullin Park, and Hardy Munoz rounded out the top 10.
250SX MAIN EVENT (Top 10)
| 1. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 12 Laps |
| 2. | Tom Vialle | (KTM) | 2.356 |
| 3. | Seth Hammaker | (Kaw) | 7.004 |
| 4. | Chance Hymas | (Hon) | 10.648 |
| 5. | Max Vohland | (Yam) | 15.957 |
| 6. | Max Anstie | (Yam) | 18.875 |
| 7. | Daxton Bennick | (Yam) | 25.922 |
| 8. | Nate Thrasher | (Yam) | 32.263 |
| 9. | Cullin Park | (Hon) | 38.091 |
| 10. | Hardy Munoz | (Yam) | 41.387 |
QUALIFYING
450SX
Chase Sexton is on a heater today. The Red Bull KTM rider turned in two fast laps in both qualifiers and uncorked a big double over the wall jump late in the second session. He was the only rider in the 1:17 range. Justin Cooper’s time was a close second with Jason Anderson in third.
450SX OVERALL QUALIFYING (Top 10)
| 1. | Chase Sexton | (KTM) | 1:17.938 |
| 2. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 1:18.058 |
| 3. | Jason Anderson | (Kaw) | 1:18.977 |
| 4. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | 1:19.041 |
| 5. | Cooper Webb | (Yam) | 1:19.288 |
| 6. | Justin Hill | (KTM) | 1:19.293 |
| 7. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 1:19.829 |
| 8. | Joey Savatgy | (Hon) | 1:19.841 |
| 9. | Justin Barcia | (GG) | 1:20.234 |
| 10. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Hon) | 1:20.268 |
250SX EAST
The 250SX East Coast riders are back in action this weekend with RJ Hampshire setting the fastest qualifying time in overall ranks. The defending West Coast champ looked arguably his best during the morning sessions and leads the way into the night show. The two Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s of Levi Kitchen and Seth Hammaker were second and third, respectively.
250SX EAST OVERALL QUALIFYING (Top 10)
| 1. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 1:19.454 |
| 2. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 1:19.809 |
| 3. | Seth Hammaker | (Kaw) | 1:20.016 |
| 4. | Max Anstie | (Yam) | 1:20.199 |
| 5. | Chance Hymas | (Hon) | 1:20.940 |
| 6. | Daxton Bennick | (Yam) | 1:21.479 |
| 7. | Austin Forkner | (Tri) | 1:21.480 |
| 8. | Max Vohland | (Yam) | 1:21.732 |
| 9. | Carson Mumford | (Hon) | 1:21.851 |
| 10. | Tom Vialle | (KTM) | 1:22.059 |
Press Day Video
