Shane McElrath came agonisingly close to victory at the FIM World Supercross Championship opener in Buenos Aires, finishing runner-up to British rival Max Anstie after a night of fierce racing under the lights.
The 2025 championship kicked off in spectacular fashion at the Autódromo Oscar y Juan Gálvez, where the SX2 class delivered a thrilling display for the packed Argentinian crowd. Anstie set the tone early by topping Superpole and sweeping all three motos to take the overall victory, while McElrath kept the pressure on throughout to secure second and signal his intent for the season ahead.
Reflecting on the race, McElrath was open about his frustration at finishing second, but also optimistic about what lies ahead. “Max and I, we’ve raced this series a lot, and we’ve traded wins a lot. He could probably tell you the same thing—it sucks coming in second and we want to win,” he said. “You always want to be in that position, and when you’re not in that position, it’s like, all right, what do we need to do to get there? And so that’s sports.”
Despite narrowly missing out, McElrath took plenty of positives from his weekend in Buenos Aires and the incredible fan turnout that welcomed the series’ return to South America. “It’s definitely a good way to start the season here. Literally, the fans, every time we’re out on the track, the stands were full,” he said. “Then you see everybody migrate over to the freestyle show and then they’re back over here for practice. So, it was a lot of fun.”
The American admitted that while he was ready to pounce if the chance arose, Anstie’s early pace made it difficult to stay within striking distance. “I was ready to make a move if the opportunity came,” McElrath said. “But by lap three or four, Max had pulled away, and just like that, the chance was gone.”
With the second round set for Vancouver this weekend, McElrath is already focused on refining his approach. “We don’t have a lot of time to work this week,” he explained. “We’re used to being pretty wide open, week to week. It’s super structured. With the lengthy travel, this is a little different, and we have to take that into consideration. It really cuts into our bike time. But we’re still training, still recovering, and still working towards the next one. We’re ready for Canada.”
Looking ahead, McElrath made it clear that the goal is simple—improvement. “Ultimately, recovery is not so much of a priority because we have a little more time,” he said. “But nonetheless, we still have to try to improve and take care of the things we learned and make sure we don’t make the same mistakes in Vancouver.”
After a strong start to his 2025 SX2 campaign, McElrath now turns his attention to Canada, aiming to turn the lessons learned in Buenos Aires into redemption at the Vancouver GP.
