Blow by blow reports from AMA SX Round Five – Tampa

2025 AMA Supercross Championship

Round Five – Tampa

250 Main Race Report

The first bout of the season for 250 East competitors got underway in Florida on Saturday night and it was Heat winner Max Anstie that got the jump on Pierce Brown, Daxton Bennick, Tom Vialle and Chance Hymas. An ill Austin Forkner down in seventh-place early on ahead of Cameron McAdoo.

The Monster Energy Yamaha 1-2-3 continued as Seth Hammaker moved up to fourth place and Brown took the lead from Anstie.

Levi Kitchen had not started well and his problems were compounded when he went down in the deep sand. Another to suffer early misfortune was RJ Hampshire. The Husqvarna rider was just inside the top 10 before getting a tough-block hooked up in his machine which refused to come out, even with the help of two determined marshals trying to free him. Hampshire lost more than a full lap in that tangle.

Brown then held the lead until just before the halfway point of the contest. The 22-year-old then made a mistake in the whoops that cost him dearly. The Utah native was left stricken on the track and in need of medical attention which forced officials to bring out the red flag and halt the race.

The red flag restart when more than three laps have been completed, but less than 90 per cent of the total race distance, is a ten-minute delay followed by a staggered start for the remainder of the scheduled laps.

As the race leader when the red flag came out, Max Anstie was away first ahead of Daxton Bennick. The Monster Energy Yamaha riders 1-2 ahead of the Kawasaki pairing of McAdoo and Hammaker, who were then followed away by KTM’s Tom Vialle. Austin Forkner went down from eighth place after being brushed by Cullin Park as he made a pass on the Triumph rider.

Anstie went on to win with a three-second buffer over Bennick at the flag while Kawasaki’s McAdoo rounded out the podium ahead of team-mate Hammaker. Tom Vialle fifth after holding a charging Chance Hymas at bay over the final laps.

250 Main Results

250 East Championship Points

450 Main Report

The brutal track had already claimed a high-profile victim during practice when Eli Tomac hurt his leg in an incident not all that dissimilar to that which ruled out defending champ Jett Lawrence last weekend in Glendale. Everyone feared the worst but the Coloradan fronted up to the start gates after an x-ray cleared him of any breaks! The early verdict suggesting that it was just some extreme bruising of the calf, time will tell…

Hunter Lawrence had qualified fourth quickest and got away well in the opening Heat race but the 25-year-old Australian went down hard on the opening lap. He looked to land heavily on his shoulder into an up-ramp after clipping a tough-block and took no further part in the nights proceedings. He also perhaps took a knock to the head in the incident.

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Championship leader Chase Sexton scored the holeshot ahead of Justin Cooper, Jason Anderson and Ken Roczen. Anderson wasted little time getting the better of Cooper, railing around the outside of a sandy berm to get the better of the Yamaha man.  Roczen then pushed Cooper back to third. Meanwhile up front Sexton already had 2.5-seconds on the field after two laps after making the most of clear air.  Cooper Webb was working his way steadily forward, up to sixth after three laps. Tomac was rolling around at the back of the field in a quest to pick up the crumbs of a few points should misfortune strike other riders in the field.

Ken Roczen chased down Jason Anderson and took that second place from the Kawasaki man at the five-minute mark.  Moments later Malcolm Stewart pushed Anderson back to fourth with an awesome move through the whoops. Cooper Webb than then also got the better of Anderson as he moved up to fourth.  Chase Sexton had a lead of five-seconds and was running by himself up front.

Malcolm Stewart had the afterburners lit and started to reel in Roczen. The 32-year-old impressing on home soil and looking very much at home in the sand. Mookie made short work of Roczen and looked sensational on track.

By the ten-minute mark Stewart had trimmed Sexton’s lead to just over two-seconds as they all negotiated lapped traffic. Further back Cooper Webb had managed to get the better of Roczen for third when they were in the thick of lapped traffic.

The German then had a massive off as he collided with two lapped riders in mid-air, Tristan Lane and Jeremy Hand both getting impacts from Roczen but it was the Suzuki rider that came off second best with the chain coming off the RM-Z450 which saw him take no further part in the contest. A massive blow to his championship hopes, but there were more twists and turns still to unfold in the Tampa sand…

Chase Sexton had been running up front and looked to have it all his own way but disaster struck the championship leader. Stewart had reeled Sexton in and was piling on the pressure and that forced a mistake from the KTM man towards the end of a whoop section that ended with him on the deck!

The Florida crowd went absolutely mental as Stewart swept through to the lead.

Sexton was back up and running second later but his rhythm was ruined and he quickly succumbed to Cooper Webb and then Jason Anderson. In the closing stages Justin Cooper pushed Sexton further back to fifth. After the fall Sexton was struggling with some damage to his brake lever and throttle tube.

Malcolm Stewart kept his composure over the final laps to take his maiden 450 win.

The victory a clear seven-second win over Cooper Webb, who in-turn had five-seconds over Jason Anderson, the Kawasaki man rounding out the podium.

Stewart’s win was very much deserved as he was clearly the fastest rider on what was a very tough track, but he made it look easy.  Raymond James Stadium erupted on the back of what was a very popular victory amongst just about everyone in the house as he was celebrated by all and sundry. So much joy contrasting with the disappointment for Roczen, Tomac and Hunter Lawrence, and to a lesser extent Sexton.

The Supercross show moves on to Detroit next weekend for round six with Chase Sexton still in the lead. Cooper Webb leapfrogs both Eli Tomac and Ken Roczen on the ladder to move up to second, five-points behind Sexton. Anderson moves from sixth in the championship chase all the way up to third, 17-points behind the points leader, a single point ahead of Roczen and four-points ahead of Tomac. Malcolm Stewart’s victory promoted him from ninth to fifth on the leaderboard, 24-points away from the series leader. And there is a whole lot of racing still to go in this championship…

450 Main Results

450 Championship Points

450 Heat One

450 Heat Two

450 LCQ Results

250 Heat One Results

250 Heat Two Results

250 LCQ Results

Images by KardyPhoto