Webb Wins Dramatic Tampa Round

Cooper Webb collects first 450SX win of year, Hunter Lawrence continues hot start in 250SX class

February 13, 2023

By Keaton Maisano

With warm Florida weather and plenty of rain filling Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, the AMA Supercross title race heated up as a third rider — Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb — collected a 2023 win, tightening the race for the 450SX crown.

Despite snagging the holeshot, Webb squandered the early advantage and led for only 4-of-25 laps, but his late brilliance earned him 26 points and his first win of the season.

While it was ultimately Webb’s night, much of the main event was dominated by Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton, who led 84 percent of the laps until an unfortunate crash took him out of the lead. Sexton’s solid performance netted him a silver finish for the second straight week.

While Sexton missed out on the glory in Tampa, his performance put him three spots and 5 points ahead of Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac for the night, whose lead in the season standings has been cut down to just 2 points over Sexton and 4 points over Webb.

The final podium position in Tampa was held by Red Bull KTM’s Aaron Plessinger, who earned his first podium of the year.

In the 250SX East main event, the difference between first and second place was just 0.2 seconds in a dramatic finish straight out of a movie script.

Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Nate Thrasher led all 18 laps heading into the final corner of the event, but a spectacular move from Team Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence made all the difference as he passed Thrasher in the nick of time to light the torches for the second time this season.

The win gave Lawrence an 8-point advantage in the 250SX East standings after two events.

AMA Supercross returns to the West Coast on Saturday with the rescheduled Round 2 event in Oakland, Calif.