The 55th running of the Daytona Supercross delivered a night of intense racing as Ken Roczen and RJ Hampshire etched their names into the prestigious winner’s column.
With all-time Daytona SX record holder Eli Tomac and rising star Jett Lawrence sidelined due to injury and former winners Justin Brayton and Ryan Dungey retired, the event was primed for a new champion.
Designed by five-time Daytona winner Ricky Carmichael, the unique track once again lived up to its reputation as one of the toughest circuits on the Supercross calendar.
450SX
In Heat 1, Roczen took control early, overcoming holeshot winner Shane McElrath to lead every lap to the checkered flag. McElrath put in his best ride of the season, holding onto second, while Joey Savatgy continued to find his Australian Championship-winning form, finishing third.
Chase Sexton delivered a stunning last-lap effort in 450SX qualifying, setting a blistering 1:17.983 to edge out Justin Cooper by just 0.1 seconds. Ken Roczen briefly held the top spot, but Sexton’s earlier time from the first session remained the fastest overall. Jason Anderson secured third, with Roczen in fourth and Cooper Webb rounding out the top five. One of the standout performances came from Coty Schock, who put his 250 Club MX Yamaha into 19th against the stacked 450 field.
Heat 2 was full of drama, with Cooper Webb going down in the first corner while Sexton—his main championship rival—grabbed the holeshot. However, Sexton crashed hard in the rhythm section while leading, opening the door for Malcolm Stewart to take advantage of the chaos. Stewart led every lap for the win, followed by Aaron Plessinger in second and Anderson in third. Webb remounted to salvage fourth, while Sexton did not rejoin the race, raising concerns about whether he would be fit for the Main Event.
Despite his heavy crash, Sexton was cleared to race and fought his way into the Main Event by winning the LCQ.
When the 450SX Main Event got underway, Anderson grabbed the holeshot, leading the early laps with Plessinger and Webb hot on his heels. Plessinger kept the pressure on and eventually made his way to the front, but Roczen was on the move, methodically picking off riders.
By lap eight, Roczen dropped his fastest lap of the race, using it to power into the lead. Webb soon made his move on Plessinger for second and set his sights on Roczen, but the German was riding flawlessly, leaving no opportunity for Webb to strike.
In the end, Roczen controlled the race to take a commanding five-second victory—his first-ever Daytona SX win. Webb overcame a stall to secure second place, while Plessinger rounded out the podium in third. Justin Cooper and Sexton completed the top five. After a tough start, Sexton looked poised for a podium charge, but his earlier heat race crash seemed to take its toll, causing him to fade in the closing laps
“I still can’t believe it,” Roczen said on the podium. “I put my head down, had some really good lines, and was just charging the whole time trying to build a gap. Justin Brayton has been giving me crap for a long time because he has one of these (Daytona wins) and I don’t. This is a dream come true. We’re going to enjoy tonight!”
Webb was gracious in defeat, saying, “Yeah, it was. You can’t make mistakes, as many as I did, and expect to win, but Kenny rode great. He made a pass on me, got around AP, and that put the urgency in me, but I made too many mistakes. Yeah, another second place for me here. Hate to say it! But a good night for points. We’ll regroup and try to get it going again at Indy, and try not to be so complacent next weekend.”
Aaron Plessinger was happy to find form and podium at one of his favourite tracks. “Yeah I’m pretty satisfied after the start of the season,” Plessinger said. “I gotta give it up to the whole team, they’ve been behind me and believing in me, it’s been a ride but we pulled it off. I love this track, it’s a good night and I’m gonna go celebrate.”
Fastest qualifier Sexton displayed good pace once again throughout the Main Event despite riding battered and bruised, steadily climbing his way up toward the front and salvaging a fifth result, as well as invaluable championship points. He is still ranked second in the standings following Daytona.
“Daytona was up and down. I qualified fastest but crashed in my Heat, forcing me to qualify through to the Main via the LCQ, so it definitely was not my best night. In the end, I did what I could tonight, but just didn’t have enough in the tank,” Sexton said.
With his second-place finish, Webb extended his championship lead over Sexton to 10 points, while Roczen climbed to third in the standings, now just six points behind Sexton and 16 off the top spot.
250SX East
RJ Hampshire was on form from the start in 250SX East Coast qualifying, posting the fastest overall time with a 1:19.454. The defending West Coast champ was followed closely by Levi Kitchen at 1:19.809, while Seth Hammaker clocked a 1:20.016 to secure third. Max Anstie, who had been strong in the whoops earlier, struggled slightly with the smaller whoops in Q2, but still posted the fourth-fastest time at 1:20.199.
In Heat 1, defending champion Tom Vialle was untouchable, leading start to finish. Anstie charged from fourth to second, while previous round winner Kitchen rounded out the top three. Heat 2 saw fastest qualifier Hampshire grab the holeshot and go unchallenged, cruising to a 2.5-second win over Hammaker. Chance Hymas finished third, while Austin Forkner trailed another 14 seconds back in fourth.
When the 250SX Main Event got underway, Vialle grabbed the holeshot, but chaos struck behind him as championship leader Anstie went down at the first obstacle after a small touch with Vialle while Kitchen and Hymas battled over third place.
Vialle held the early lead, fending off Hammaker until Hampshire made his charge into second and set his sights on the front. By lap three, the Florida native powered into the lead, going toe-to-toe with Vialle before breaking away to take a dominant victory—his first-ever at Daytona.
Vialle rode a smart race, staying close and waiting for any mistake, ultimately securing a season-best second-place finish, while Hammaker made his first podium appearance of the season in third.
The race saw a scary crash for championship contender Levi Kitchen, who went over the bars mid race, ending his night with the medics. A red flag brought a staggered restart mid-race for the second time this season, which helped Anstie recover from his disastrous start and fight back to sixth, salvaging his championship lead despite lacking podium pace.
Hampshire dedicated his win to his late father, saying:
“I lost my dad a few months ago—this was the only Supercross we ever came to together. That one was for him, for sure.”
After charging to the Main Event holeshot, Tom Vialle pieced together a measured ride throughout the race to claim second
“I was close with the leaders tonight, we were going back and forth, but the track was super-tricky – if you missed a rhythm, you’d lose a second or two pretty easily,” the Frenchman explained. “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 fought his way through the top five, overcoming a red-flag restart and was satisfied with third place.
“I’m really pumped to be back on the podium–two years in a row here at Daytona,” said Hammaker. “This track is always a battle, and tonight was no different. I fought hard all the way to the finish and feel great about this one. Big shoutout to my entire team and all the people who support me. It feels good to build on this and keep growing my confidence. Thanks to everyone behind me–let’s keep it going.”
Despite his setbacks, Anstie retains his championship lead by six points, with Vialle moving into second. Chance Hymas now sits third, just a single point ahead of round winner Hampshire.
With Round 9 set for March 8 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the championship battle remains wide open in both classes.
| 450SX Class Results – Daytona | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | # | Rider | Bike | Interval | Hometown | Team |
| 1 | 94 | Ken Roczen | Suzuki | 16 Laps | Mattstedt, Germany | Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki |
| 2 | 2 | Cooper Webb | Yamaha | 5.049 | Newport, NC | Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha |
| 3 | 7 | Aaron Plessinger | KTM | 9.111 | Hamilton, OH | Redbull KTM Factory Racing |
| 4 | 32 | Justin Cooper | Yamaha | 9.478 | Cold Spring Harbor, NY | Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing |
| 5 | 4 | Chase Sexton | KTM | 19.035 | La Moille, IL | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing |
| 6 | 27 | Malcolm Stewart | Husqvarna | 19.914 | Haines City, FL | Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing |
| 7 | 46 | Justin Hill | Yamaha | 33.507 | Yoncalla, OR | Team Tedder Racing |
| 8 | 21 | Jason Anderson | Kawasaki | 36.500 | Edgewood, NM | Monster Energy Kawasaki |
| 9 | 17 | Joey Savatgy | Honda | 37.383 | Clermont, FL | Quadlock Honda Racing |
| 10 | 51 | Justin Barcia | GASGAS | 48.247 | Monroe NY | Rockstar Energy GASGAS Factory Racing |
| 11 | 12 | Shane McElrath | Honda | 55.202 | Oakland, FL | Quadlock Honda Racing |
| 12 | 14 | Dylan Ferrandis | Honda | 1:01.166 | Avignon, France | Phoenix Racing Honda |
| 13 | 49 | Mitchell Oldenburg | Beta | 1:09.605 | Alvord, TX | Liqui Moly Beta Factory Racing |
| 14 | 37 | Coty Schock | Yamaha | 1:13.378 | Dover, DE | Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha |
| 15 | 45 | Colt Nichols | Suzuki | 1:21.836 | Muskogee, OK | Twisted Tea Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance |
| 16 | 57 | Benny Bloss | Beta | 1 Lap | Oak Grove, MO | Factory Liqui Moly Beta Racing |
| 17 | 86 | Mitchell Harrison | PRMX | 1 Lap | Brighton, MI | Partzilla Blaster PRMX Racing |
| 18 | 77 | Jerry Robin | Racing | 1 Lap | Hamel, MN | Estenson Racing / McGinley Clinic Privateer Support Program |
| 19 | 11 | Kyle Chisholm | Suzuki | 1 Lap | Valrico, FL | Twisted Tea HEP Suzuki |
| 20 | 122 | Justin Starling | Racing | 1 Lap | De Land, FL | MotoWhips Racing Team |
| 21 | 146 | Kevin Moranz | KTM | 1 Lap | Topeka, KS | Champion Tool Storage Geebo KMR KTM |
| 22 | 33 | Freddie Noren | Kawasaki | 1 Lap | Lidköping, Sweden | ISRT/MX4Christ Kawasaki |
| 450SX Standings After Round 8 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | No | Rider Name | Points |
| 1 | 2 | Cooper Webb | 168 |
| 2 | 4 | Chase Sexton | 158 |
| 3 | 94 | Ken Roczen | 152 |
| 4 | 21 | Jason Anderson | 125 |
| 5 | 27 | Malcolm Stewart | 124 |
| 6 | 32 | Justin Cooper | 122 |
| 7 | 51 | Justin Barcia | 111 |
| 8 | 46 | Justin Hill | 101 |
| 9 | 7 | Aaron Plessinger | 88 |
| 10 | 3 | Eli Tomac | 80 |
| 11 | 17 | Joey Savatgy | 80 |
| 12 | 1 | Jett Lawrence | 71 |
| 13 | 12 | Shane McElrath | 70 |
| 14 | 14 | Dylan Ferrandis | 68 |
| 15 | 96 | Hunter Lawrence | 62 |
| 16 | 49 | Mitchell Oldenburg | 61 |
| 17 | 45 | Colt Nichols | 53 |
| 18 | 57 | Benny Bloss | 39 |
| 19 | 86 | Mitchell Harrison | 28 |
| 20 | 11 | Kyle Chisholm | 25 |
| 21 | 77 | Jerry Robin | 23 |
| 22 | 70 | Jorge Prado | 18 |
| 23 | 72 | Anthony Rodriguez | 16 |
| 24 | 66 | Vince Friese | 14 |
| 25 | 146 | Kevin Moranz | 11 |
| 250SX East Coast Results – Daytona | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | # | Rider | Bike | Interval | Hometown | Team |
| 1 | 24 | R.J. Hampshire | Husqvarna | 12 Laps | Hudson, Florida | Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing |
| 2 | 1 | Tom Vialle | KTM | 2.356 | France | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing |
| 3 | 56 | Seth Hammaker | Kawasaki | 7.004 | Bainbridge, PA | Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki |
| 4 | 10 | Chance Hymas | Honda | 10.648 | Pocatello, ID | Honda HRC Progressive |
| 5 | 92 | Maximus Vohland | Yamaha | 15.957 | Temecula, CA | Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha |
| 6 | 31 | Max Anstie | Yamaha | 18.875 | United Kingdom | Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha |
| 7 | 34 | Daxton Bennick | Yamaha | 25.922 | Morganton, NC | Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha |
| 8 | 41 | Nate Thrasher | Yamaha | 32.263 | Livingston, TN | Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha |
| 9 | 59 | Cullin Park | Honda | 38.091 | Clermont, FL | Phoenix Racing Honda |
| 10 | 87 | Hardy Munoz | Honda | 41.387 | Temuco, Chile | Munoz Racing |
| 11 | 60 | Carson Mumford | Honda | 20.043 | Simi Valley, CA | Quadlock Honda Racing |
| 12 | 55 | Henry Miller | Honda | 44.153 | Rochester, MN | Storm Lake Honda Buddy Brooks Racing |
| 13 | 192 | Jack Chambers | Kawasaki | 51.653 | Auburndale, FL | Partzilla Blaster Power PRMX |
| 14 | 350 | Chandler Baker | Husqvarna | 54.678 | Oklahoma City, OK | Turn One Powersports, Galaxy Cloaking Husqvarna |
| 15 | 682 | Izaih Clark | Honda | 55.600 | Fort Dodge, IA | Storm Lake Honda Buddy Brooks Racing |
| 16 | 89 | Trevor Colip | Honda | 1:14.777 | Bowling Green, IN | TiLUBE Honda |
| 17 | 83 | Austin Forkner | Triumph | 1:17.660 | Richards, MO | Triumph Factory Racing |
| 18 | 128 | Chase Marquier | Husqvarna | 1:20.658 | Newcastle, OK | Dirt Bike Depot Racing WMR Racing |
| 19 | 468 | Michael Hicks | Yamaha | 1 Lap | Fenton, Missouri | Noowell All Balls Racing EBR Yamaha |
| 20 | 75 | Gage Linville | Kawasaki | 4 Laps | Lake Park, GA | The Dirt Bike Depot |
| 21 | 47 | Levi Kitchen | Kawasaki | 8 Laps | Washougal, WA | Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki |
| 22 | 50 | Cameron McAdoo | Kawasaki | DNS | Sioux City, IA | Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki |
| 250SX East Championship Standings | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | No | Rider Name | Points |
| 1 | 31 | Max Anstie | 63 |
| 2 | 1 | Tom Vialle | 57 |
| 3 | 10 | Chance Hymas | 50 |
| 4 | 24 | R.J. Hampshire | 49 |
| 5 | 41 | Nate Thrasher | 45 |
| 6 | 56 | Seth Hammaker | 43 |
| 7 | 47 | Levi Kitchen | 39 |
| 8 | 59 | Cullin Park | 39 |
| 9 | 60 | Carson Mumford | 37 |
| 10 | 55 | Henry Miller | 33 |
| 11 | 34 | Daxton Bennick | 32 |
| 12 | 87 | Hardy Munoz | 31 |
| 13 | 92 | Maximus Vohland | 28 |
| 14 | 83 | Austin Forkner | 25 |
| 15 | 89 | Trevor Colip | 21 |
| 16 | 50 | Cameron Mcadoo | 20 |
| 17 | 75 | Gage Linville | 20 |
| 18 | 192 | Jack Chambers | 19 |
| 19 | 195 | Lance Kobusch | 8 |
| 20 | 350 | Chandler Baker | 8 |
| 21 | 682 | Izaih Clark | 8 |
