Kitchen qualified fourth, giving him a good gate pick for his heat race, but he got caught up in a first-turn incident. Way back in 16th, he put his head down and executed an impressive charge through the pack to finish fourth. In the main event, he didn’t get off the gate as he had hoped but quickly made his way to the top 10. Kitchen threw down some fast times early and made his way to sixth by the third lap, closing the gap to fifth and breaking the top five right before the finish line a few laps later. As the battle intensified towards the end of the race, Kitchen was able to advance to fourth as a rider ahead went down. He continued to fight to the end and rode a smart race to cross the line fourth on a demanding track, advancing a couple of spots in the point standings to fifth.
Robertson had a solid start to the day inside of the top 10 in the first qualifying session, but unfortunately, his day would end early with a big crash in the whoops when a rider went down in front of him. The Californian sat out of the night show, shifting his focus to the next 250SX West round in Seattle, Washington, on March 25.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250SX East team returns to action next weekend at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas, on February 25, for Round 3 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX East Championship.
2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX Oakland Results
2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX West Championship Standings
Kitchen Charges Back to Fourth in Oakland
Kitchen Charges Back to Fourth in Oakland
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Levi Kitchen came back from a difficult start to climb his way back to a fourth-place finish last night at the RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland, California. The Washington State rider made championship gains, breaking into the top five in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX West points standings before they head into the break. Unfortunately, his teammate Stilez Robertson had a big crash in qualifying and did not line up for the race.
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
“It was a decent day for me. My starts were poor, but we managed to leave here healthy and with a fourth-place finish. We’ll keep working and come back stronger for my home race in Washington.”
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team Manager
“The day started out well here in Oakland. Levi was obviously pretty good in the whoops, and the track was extremely difficult tonight, but he learned the track pretty well and qualified fourth, which was solid. Stilez was also looking really good but had a rider go down in front of him in the whoops. He was feeling pretty banged up after the crash, and we decided to sit the night out with Stilez.
“Levi was in the first heat race and ended up with a terrible start and had to work his way from way back. He fought hard and ended up fourth, which is fantastic. In the main event, he found himself way back again but was able to fight his way back and had some really good whoops speed and some good lines. The track was so difficult, and he ended up fourth, so it was a solid night for Levi.
“I’m looking forward to seeing our West Coast guys get back to racing in Seattle. I think with Levi’s hometown advantage, we will see him fight for that top step of the podium. We know it’s in there, so we’ll keep working for that.”