Supercross Statistics | 2024 San Francisco 1

Monster Energy Supercross fans around the world were left to ponder unanswered questions in the seven days between rounds one and two: Anaheim 1 shed little light on an array of topics. The event inside of San Francisco's Oracle Park was unorthodox, thanks to consistent rainfall, and so most remain in the dark as the next fixture beckons. There were still points of interest that emerged from the quagmire.

This 'Supercross Statistics' feature on Vital MX is designed to pave over the cracks and draw attention to points of interest that would have been missed. The two thousand words below will add additional layers to the viewing experience as the travelling circus that is 2024 Monster Energy Supercross marches on to the delight of the extensive fanbase.

• Aaron Plessinger has not mastered the art of one quick lap in timed qualification, for whatever reason, but the adverse weather in San Francisco's Bay Area offered a window of opportunity for him to reach a career milestone – he took pole position for the first time. '7' had never achieved that in 250SX or Pro Motocross. Given his championship pedigree in both disciplines, it is quite the shock that such an accolade has eluded him. San Francisco was his one hundred and fourth attempt.

• The mud caused Eli Tomac to falter in qualification, on the other hand, as he notched the tenth-fastest time in the one session that was run. Tomac had not qualified in such a subpar spot since round four of 2018's Monster Energy Supercross season in Glendale – he went on to win that round and rebounded in a similar fashion in San Francisco via a runner-up spot. '3' has qualified outside of the top ten just four times as a 450SX athlete: that number is inclusive of round two of 2018 where he withdrew prematurely.

• In a similar vein, Malcolm Stewart has not qualified out of the top eight on successive weekends since rounds fifteen and sixteen of 2020's Monster Energy Supercross season. Stewart is often heralded as one of the best qualifiers in off-road sport and yet he has qualified eighth, on average, since his move to the premier division. Six pole positions have been secured by '27' in that time – his first came just twenty-four months ago (round one of 2022 Monster Energy Supercross).

• The sodden San Francisco soil did not derail Chase Sexton's run of top three rankings in qualification: he extended that to twenty-three with second in the one session that was held on Saturday. There is no other rider with a streak of top-three results in timed qualification, which places the magnitude of this Sexton achievement into perspective. The way that he performed in the daytime is, of course, not the dominant narrative.

• Sexton pulled his tally of premier class wins to eight in San Francisco – his career total's now fourteen. It took him forty-six starts to reach that milestone of eight. It took Eli Tomac fifty-four starts to reach eight: Cooper Webb did it in forty-eight starts. Ken Roczen hit eight three starts sooner than his training partner and friend, Sexton, as it took him forty-three starts. Now, when will Jett Lawrence jump up to eight?

• Unsurprisingly, a win at Oracle Park was a tremendous aid to Sexton and his career numbers. Saturday marked his twenty-sixth podium on the bigger bike (forty-third inclusive of all classes) and thirty-sixth finish in the top five (fifty-ninth of his career). Sexton's win percentage shot up from sixteen to eighteen percent too – his podium percentage is now at fifty-nine percent. All of those numbers are impressive and indicative of his underrated excellence.

• A brace of podiums across the first two events has helped Sexton amass a lead of seven points in the championship standings. The last time that there was a lead as large as that after two rounds was in the 2018 Monster Energy Supercross series: Jason Anderson led Ken Roczen by seven points after a couple of rounds. When was the last time that there was a lead bigger than seven at this point in the season? Roczen led by nine points after round two of 2015 Monster Energy Supercross.

• Sexton led all twelve laps of San Francisco's main event and therefore boosted his number of laps led to three hundred and seventy-four (two hundred and seventy-six as a premier class athlete). Saturday was the thirtieth time that he has led one lap of a main in either division – he has obviously converted that into a win on fourteen occasions. '1' must lead thirty-six more laps to pass Cooper Webb's career total of four hundred and ten.

• Webb was somewhat of a slow starter across his tenure at the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing squad – he has never won one of the first two rounds. With that in mind, Sexton's victory marked the first time that KTM's won one of the first two races since Blake Baggett's triumph at the second round of 2019's Monster Energy Supercross season. KTM's factory squad has not won this early since Marvin Musquin's win at 2018's Monster Energy Supercross opener.

• It was in the opening two laps of San Francisco's main event that Sexton made a sizeable impact. The launch that he had into the first turn set him up for success and he capitalized well. Compare his lap times across the first two laps to that of Tomac, the athlete in second, and it is obvious that the race was won at the start, as is so often the case in adverse weather conditions. What is quite powerful is the fact that Tomac was faster than Sexton on five of the seven laps that followed the first two.

• There was one rider comparable to Sexton in the first quarter of the main event, Roczen, and his raw pace should not be understated. Compare those two in the same time period and it is clear that '94' was capable of winning the main – track position is so vital in the mud though. Note the fact that he had the second-best average time of the race: his average was 00.278 faster than the one that Tomac ended up with.

• If Sexton did not win the race with his first two laps, it was with the way that he leaped onto the table in the second rhythm section. '1' was the only one to nail it more often than not. Unfortunately, there was not a sector that covered that. The obstacle was a part of sector three, which stretched from the start of that rhythm to the finish, and so there is little indication of how effective that was. Know that it was advantageous and brilliant, however.

• Speaking of sectors, Jason Anderson was the best athlete in sector two with a time that is rather suspect. Anderson, according to the official records, had a time that was 01.189 quicker than his peers. Even more of a shock is the fact that he had the three fastest times on that portion of the track. '21' only had the eighth-best lap time, despite his sheer brilliance there, which only adds to the intrigue. The math is odd – this data does not corollate.

• The table below illustrates the power that a positive start has on a rain-battered circuit. Jett Lawrence was sixth on the first lap – it was by no means an awful start. Compare his lap times to Sexton in the aforementioned period and it becomes apparent that it is near impossible to contend without a clear track. Lawrence fell on lap five, of course, so that piece of data is somewhat skewed. '18' ended with an average time that was 05.286 slower than his title foe.

• Tomac is inching towards some monumental statistics. San Francisco marked his ninety-sixth podium in the premier class: the moment that he hits triple digits will be quite the occasion. Saturday was his one hundred and forty-ninth top ten in the class as well, so it's likely that he will hit one hundred and fifty in San Diego. Finally, he's just eight mains away from a two hundredth Monster Energy Supercross showing.

• Shane McElrath pulled a career-best result via a fourth in the main event and ensured that Suzuki had two machines in the top four for the first time since round seven of 2015's Monster Energy Supercross in Arlington. Three thousand two hundred and fifty-six days have passed since that race, where Roczen (second) and Blake Baggett (fourth) painted the top four in yellow. Remember that there were a couple of RM-Z450 bikes in the top five in East Rutherford last term.

• A nod to Dylan Ferrandis, who has had a brilliant start to his 'red' chapter. Ferrandis was sixth in the San Francisco Bay Area and that was his fiftieth top ten as a Monster Energy Supercross rider (number inclusive of both classes). Consider that he has only started sixty-four main events and that total is of note. It is a surprise that he has not started more races. It feels like he has operated within the United States for a lot longer than that.

• Stewart has had a horrid time of it in 2024 Monster Energy Supercross. There has been little to shout about, but he did reach a milestone of sorts in San Francisco. '27' started his one hundred and fortieth main event in Monster Energy Supercross! Eighty-nine of those have happened in the premier division. Next on the priority list will be adding to his tally of top ten finishes, a number that has been dormant since the final round of 2022's Monster Energy Supercross series.

• It would be irresponsible to give Stewart kudos and ignore the fact that Justin Barcia started his one hundredth main event in the premier class. Unfortunately, a sickness meant that he secured his worst finish since the sixth race of 2021's Monster Energy Supercross season. Barcia has missed thirty-nine mains since he debuted on a CRF450R, which sheds light on how long he has been operational. How much longer will that remain the case?

• The following riders have been in both main events thus far and secured season-best results at round two in Northern California: Sexton (first), Tomac (second), Roczen (third), McElrath (fourth), Jorge Prado (seventh), Adam Cianciarulo (eighth), Derek Drake (thirteenth), Christian Craig (fourteenth) and Fredrik Noren (twentieth). In a similar breath, eighteen stars have qualified for both main events thus far. The situation was no different after two rounds last year.