Smartop | MotoConcepts | Honda completed the opening stint of the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship with Mitchell Oldenburg and Anthony Rodriguez at the Anaheim Two Supercross. Another sold-out crowd packed Angels Stadium of Anaheim to see the first Triple Crown event of the season, a three-race battle with Mitchell Oldenburg finishing fourth overall and Anthony Rodriguez twelfth overall in the 250 West Coast Region.
Mitchell Oldenburg has cemented his status as a top-five contender in the small-bore division. The rider had a drama-free afternoon through the three practice sessions, laps that brought on a personal-best run of 59.884 and eighth place rank in the Timed Qualifying results. An excellent start in 250 Race One put Oldenburg among the lead group and into a race-long duel that ended with a fifth-place score. He pushed his way forward in 250 Race Two and, with a quick blast of passes in the opening laps, crossed the finish line in fourth place. A mediocre start in 250 Race Three put Oldenburg outside the top ten on the opening lap, but he charged back and crossed the line in sixth place. “It was steady-eddy tonight, which is what I’ve been trying to be for the last few years,” remarked Oldenburg of the fourth-place overall finish. “In the last race, I botched the start so badly and knew that if I finished that far back, the result would be blown, so I made some passes and got to where I needed to be. This is the closest I’ve ever been to the top three, so I’ll keep working.” Oldenburg is now ranked fourth in the 250 West Coast Region point standings.
Anthony Rodriguez made the most of the Triple Crown, overcoming a rough first race by finishing inside the top ten in races two and three. A technical track tested the rider during the afternoon practice sessions, and with a 1:00.942 lap time, he was ranked seventeenth overall in the Timed Qualifying results. The challenges continued in Race One, as Rodriguez scored in twentieth place after a chaotic opening lap, but he put in an honest effort and finished in eighteenth place. A much better start put him further up the running order in Race Two, and after the usual back and forth with the competition, he was credited with tenth place. Race Three was Rodriguez’s best, as a solid start put him in the middle of a multiple-rider battle for a spot in the top ten and ended with him in ninth place. “The first race was nothing great because I was pushed out at the start and was in dead last. I fought hard, but it was hard because all those guys were pushing,” Rodriguez explained the evening. “In the second race, I got a better start and finished well, but the third race was the highlight of the day. I got a better start and was able to hang there with the guys, partly because I didn’t get arm pump. It’s an improvement, and I know what to work on before Oakland.” Rodriguez is now ranked fourteenth in the 250 West Coast Region point standings.
The 250 West Coast Region will return to action when the Monster Energy Supercross Championship returns to California for the rescheduled 2023 Oakland Supercross, which will take place at RingCentral Coliseum on February 18.