This year’s Supercross season has been marked by surprising upsets and devastating injuries, with one major upset taking place on Saturday. German racer Ken Roczen won his first 450SX race of the 2025 Supercross season during Round 8 in Daytona, winning by a generous margin over overall points leader Cooper Webb, who placed second.
This marks Roczen’s 23rd career main event win.
To start the main event, Jason Anderson claimed the hole shot, his first hole shot of the season, followed by Aaron Plessinger and Webb.
Plessinger passed Anderson to the roar of the crowd.
“The cowboy is back on his horse,” commentators said as the two racers rode side by side as Plessinger passed for first.
Roczen passed Webb for third place, setting his sights on Anderson. Sexton rode in fifth.
In the sand section, Roczen rode on the outside to pass Anderson for second and continue to cut down Plessinger’s lead. Around the same time, Webb passed Anderson.
Roczen, “relentless” in his pursuit for the lead, charged around a turn to pass Plessinger and claim first place around the nine-minute mark.
“His patience has been rewarded,” commentators said.
Soon, Webb passed Plessinger and attempted to put pressure on Roczen. Sexton moved into position behind Webb in a “methodical” pass.
As Webb continued to work down Roczen’s lead, his bike was briefly caught in a rut, giving Roczen “more breathing room.” By the final lap, Roczen had increased his lead to over five seconds ahead of second place Webb.
“There’s just something different about Kenny this year,” commentators noted.
Roczen won the main event, followed by Webb, Plessinger and Justin Cooper. Roczen is currently in third place for overall points behind Webb and Sexton.
In heat one, Shane McElrath claimed the hole shot, with Roczen close behind in second and Cooper in third. McElrath did his best to hold on to his lead, but was passed by Roczen not long later. McElrath placed second and Justin Hill third.
The second heat saw three crashes in the first lap, with Webb going down in the very beginning of the first lap while Sexton “just flew out” to take the hole shot.
Not long after Sexton’s commanding start, he and Justin Barcia suffered a crash that forced Sexton off the track because of a damaged front brake and throttle. Sexton, who had clocked the fastest qualifying lap, would have to fight for his place in the main event during the last chance qualifier later on in the evening.
Meanwhile, Malcolm Stewart moved to first, followed closely by Anderson and Grant Harlan in third. Webb, recovering from his crash, raced in 11th.
Plessinger passed Harlan for third as Webb quickly moved to fourth place. Stewart placed first with “another confident boost,” followed by Anderson, Plessinger and Webb.
In the last chance qualifier, Sexton won by a large margin, followed by Justin Starling in second, Fredrik Noren in third and Jerry Robin in fourth to round out the group heading to the main event.
Though updates on Cortez’s Eli Tomac have been few and far between since he suffered a broken leg, Tomac showed up briefly during the event’s broadcast. In a broadcast package, Tomac shared that he “hopes to return ... before season’s end.”
Round 9 of the 2025 Supercross season is at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday, March 8.
| 1. Cooper Webb | Yamaha | 168 |
| 2. Chase Sexton | KTM | 158 |
| 3. Ken Roczen | Suzuki | 152 |
| 4. Jason Anderson | Kawasaki | 125 |
| 5. Malcolm Stewart | Husqvarna | 124 |
| 6. Justin Cooper | Yamaha | 122 |
| 7. Justin Barcia | GasGas | 111 |
| 8. Justin Hill | KTM | 101 |
| 9. Aaron Plessinger | KTM | 88 |
| 10. Eli Tomac (injured) | Yamaha | 80 |
