Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Levi Kitchen stood on the top step of the podium at last night’s first Triple Crown of the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season in Anaheim, California. It was a career-first for the young Washington rider who took the overall victory in the 250SX West class with a 4-2-2 score. Stilez Robertson also tasted victory, winning the second main event and joining his teammate on the podium with a third overall finish (6-1-3). In the 250SX Futures class, the young Daxton Bennick rode his YZ250F to victory, making for a stellar outing at the Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Teammate Haiden Deegan showed strength and fought his way back from a tip-over to salvage a top-five finish.
Kitchen qualified fifth to have a decent gate pick and then got a flying start in the first race of the three-main-event format but ultimately finished fourth. It was a war of attrition in the challenging conditions in race two, but Kitchen rode a smart race and made his way from fourth to the runner-up spot. Going into the final race of the night, he held a one-point lead and just needed to finish third overall to secure the win. Kitchen got another good start and slotted into the runner-up spot, maintaining the position to take the overall victory for a career-best result in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.
Robertson also had a solid start to the day, qualifying sixth. He got a good start in the first main event but was shuffled back to sixth on that first lap, where he would finish. In the second main event, the Californian came out swinging and rode his YZ250F to victory, putting him in the runner-up spot heading into the final race. Robertson had a solid start in fourth and advanced to third, ending the night third overall and moving him into the top five of the 250SX West points standings.
The third round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the inaugural season of the SuperMotocross World Championship also marked the first round of the 250SX Futures. Both Deegan and Bennick enjoyed a good start to the day, qualifying second and third, respectively. In the main event, Bennick was third after the start and made his way to the front after the halfway mark. He continued to ride his own race and crossed the line with a 7.5-second lead. Deegan didn’t get the start he was looking for and was sixth, and then, unfortunately, had a tip over. Undettered, he put his head down and fought back to fifth by the end of the seven-lap race.
Next weekend, the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250SX East team makes their 2023 debut at Round 4 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and SuperMotocross World Championship, on Saturday, February 4, at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
