Round 1 of World Supercross is done, we are now focused on Round 2!

The Fire Power Froth Honda Racing quartet tackled the opening round of the 2023 FIM World Supercross Championship in Birmingham, in the United Kingdom, on Saturday night. Max Anstie put his CRF250R on the podium and reinforced his position as a title favorite.

Anstie was the star of the show in his homeland. ’99’ got pulled in a lot of different directions for fan and media opportunities but focused on the task at hand once the lights turned on. The three-moto format is incredibly hectic, and consistency is crucial. Consistency is indeed what Anstie delivered in the night show via 2-1-2 scores that put him second overall. The win in the second moto was a brilliant showing and a highlight for the thousands of fans in attendance. Such a scorecard means that he exited round one three points adrift of the reigning champion and current championship leader.

It was a harder experience for his SX2 teammate, Gage Linville, as he got to grips with international racing for the first time. The second stint was where he really shined as well – he posted a thirteenth and showed some of that top-ten potential that lies within him. Thirteenth is his career-best ranking in AMA Supercross too, so he is edging closer to a maiden top ten.

Experience is a significant advantage in such a tricky format that tests a rider both mentally and physically. Unsurprisingly, Dean Wilson thrived in that environment and got better with each race that passed. It was a brilliant showing as Dean, who is fresh from arm pump surgery, was two points adrift of the podium at the end of the night, thanks to 6-5-3 scorecard. Fifth is the position that he occupies in the standings as round two beckons.

Justin Brayton joined Wilson in the WSX division and got his campaign off to a very consistent start. 5-8-9 was not a true representation of his speed as he posted lap times that were worthy of a position in the top five in the overall classification. Still, he sits in seventh in the championship standings and is in a spot to climb up the leaderboard when gates fall in Singapore.

Yes, Singapore is next for the Fire Power Froth Honda Racing squad. The Grand Prix of France, which was scheduled for July 22, has been postponed and therefore the second round will be held in Singapore on September 30.

Max Anstie: “This may have been the busiest week of my career. There was so much going on, but I was happy to get my season started with some solid results. It would have been nice to win, of course, and I believe that we had the pace to be on top. It is only round one though and there is a lot of racing to do.”

Gage Linville: “This was a valuable learning opportunity for me. I would have liked to be closer to the top ten overall, but it was a solid start and there is more to come. We have plenty of free time before round two, so we will get to work!”

Dean Wilson: “Two points from the podium stings a little bit, but I am happy with a top five. The goal was to leave Birmingham in the hunt – we did that despite my limited preparation. I have got some time to knuckle down now, so we will come out swinging when we get to Singapore.”

Justin Brayton: “Obviously I want to be further up then this.  I came in injured and didnt get the the time I wanted to test with the team. We have a great plan going into round 2”

Martin Davalos: “Round 1 of any championship is hard. We have solid points going into round 2 and a plan we will attack hard to get everyone further up in the standings”

Images by – Thibault (Thibaultphotography)