A1 brought a lot of surprises and here is what many of the riders thought of their night. More rider comments to come, so keep checking back. Victory for Chase Sexton and Jo Shimoda and bad luck for defending champions, Jett Lawrence and Haiden Deegan.

Chase Sexton: “I kind of knew where I was at coming in here. I knew I had good speed. I feel more like myself in 2023 when I was fast, but I feel like I'm a little more mature now and I can get out front and kind of run my own laps and not make mistakes, so it was a fun race. [I] had Kenny behind me, and also Jason, and it was just a good ride. Honestly, I had so much fun on this track tonight. I can't give it up to the team enough. They put in so much hard work this off-season to get me comfortable, knowing that I wasn’t comfortable last year; and coming in now we're back where we need to be. We still have lots to improve; it's only one race in and there's 16 left, but we're off to a good start and first time winning A1 feels pretty good.”

Ken Roczen: “My practices have been terrible, and then [in] the last one I was 13th. And It’s not like I'm stoked about it, but I told Larry [Brooks, Team Manager], I said, ‘I'm so not worried about that, you know? Because I know: I just was calm. Like, I had the calmness inside of me. I've done this a lot now and it showed. Again, we executed tonight. It was a little bit of mayhem on the start; I locked bars with a bunch of people and then I just rode such a solid race. And I know this sounds stupid, but in the bus earlier, in my head, I said, ‘I really want to get a second tonight. I think that's perfect because first, you know, I don't know, not on the first one. But second is like the perfect spot.’ And I made that happen; so, this is probably going to be the only race where I'm hoping for a second. What a night! Awesome night, bike worked great, I had a solid Main Event and I couldn't be more stoked about the second place.”

Jett Lawrence: “Wasn’t ideal. At least now the only way to go is up for me! We are going to go back and do some testing, we still have to figure out the bike it’s still making some troubles for us in the whoops and stuff like that and yeah, we tried skimming and it was sketchy, we tried jumping and I was sketchy just jumping. So gotta go back and work hard and we will come back we will come back and be better. We always do, people say we left but we didn’t leave, we never left in the first place. We are going to come back and hit them harder…no more Mr nice guy!”

Jason Anderson: The whole Monster Energy Kawasaki team, we've been putting in a lot of work. I'm thankful to have them behind me and, yeah, that Main Event was crazy. That first corner, I went in there and I tangled with about everyone. I don't know how I survived. [The contact] ripped some spokes out and I could just see them, like, ticking on my fork. And I'm so lucky that it [the wheel] survived the Main. Yeah, felt pretty good out there, had a lot of moments, and hoping to clean it up and see if we can stay up here on the podium. So, excited for the season.”

Eli Tomac: Talk about a high and a low; I mean, oh my gosh, I just couldn't believe it, you know?... [I] made the pass for the lead over the triple there. I'm like, ‘Okay, you know, here we go! Let’s put this great 20 minutes in…’ And just like that, it ended. I just tucked my front end there in that 90 degree corner. Good Ol’ Anaheim, gets slick in the evening, and didn't respect it. So all these years I've done it and just, you know, barely made that mistake. I had a good come back, getting to that fifth. I’m excited [about] the way I rode the rest of the main there, so thank you… I was feeling just like I should, and what I know I can do, the whole day there. So great qualifying and a good quarter lap, but we’re going to come back. [laughs]”

Jo Shimoda: This is the start I was looking for every single year. And I think I was honestly sleeping on the gate [in previous seasons]. [Laughs] But we came out with a good start and just put in some consistent laps, you know, and never looked back. All this happened because of my team behind it. I’d just like to thank everyone at Honda, my trainer, mechanic and everybody… Thank you so much. Thank you, I love you guys.”

Julien Beaumer: “I think obviously I was fast in the off-season, but I haven’t translated that to a race yet. So, I had to show myself that tonight, and I think I did that. I believe I can be in the hunt for this championship and win these races. So, I’m going to get back to work this week and be ready for next weekend.” –

Jordon Smith: “I’m really happy with my riding tonight. I caught a [Tuff Blox] in that lefthander over there with my clutch and tipped over. I was feeling really good in the Main. I’ve just got to give it up to the whole Triumph Racing team… Going from the Star Yamaha team that I was on last year then moving over to the Triumph team, there’s so many question marks, right? But I have full belief in everyone over there. We put in the work this off-season. It was every day we had a better part, or a better this, or a better suspension setting. I mean, we couldn’t do it without all the guys that are there… It’s just a full team effort and it’s awesome to give them their first Supercross podium. Hopefully we can put it on top of the box here soon.”

Stilez Robertson: "The day started off okay. I hit a tuff block in the main event, got going from last and climbed to around 13th. I made some mistakes after that – I have not raced supercross in a long time. No excuses though. We will keep building and be better."

Haiden Deegan: “Not really happy to get interviewed for fifth, but better than last year. We’ll take the positive. Obviously not a great start. It happens, [I] went down, [then] fought my heart out and made my way back up to fifth and that’s all I could do. But congrats to the boys, obviously the light should be shined on them and all we can do is come out swinging at the next race.”

Aaron Plessinger: "Anaheim 1 didn't go the way I wanted it to, but we’re walking out healthy. I was kind of sluggish all day, and I didn’t get off to a very good start in the Main Event, which made things harder for me. I’m going to go back and do some more testing this week, do some work, and come into San Diego with an improved feeling and aim to get back on the box."

Jason Anderson: “We have done a lot of testing in the offseason and it was awesome to see it all pay off by starting the year off with a podium. Finishing second in the heat race gave me the confidence for the main event. Off the start, I got very sideways and was leaning on everyone, but was able to muscle my way to the front pack. Battling with my Monster Energy Kawasaki teammate up front in the first few laps was incredible, but I was able to make the pass lead some laps. Overall it was a great opening night for the 2025 season and I am excited to line up next weekend in San Diego.”

Jorge Prado: “Anaheim 1 is done and there are so many positives to take from the night. I placed second in my heat race, grabbed a holeshot in the main event and even led some laps. This shows that I mean business and I can fight for the top spot any night. I cannot ask for more in my first race with the Monster Energy Kawasaki team and they worked so hard to put me in a position to battle up front. I am looking forward to getting redemption next weekend in San Diego.”

Malcolm Stewart: "A1 was a mystery for me. I honestly felt good all day, in the Heat Race I was sitting third and made a mistake in the sand, and the next thing you know I got whipped and went flying. I hit the ground pretty hard and beat myself up, but when you hit the ground like that it’s to be expected that you don’t bounce back the way you want. I got checked out and I got the green light to go racing, so I went into the LCQ and salvaged what we had. In the Main Event I thought if I could top 10, that’d feel like a win. Sure enough, we got 10th, so we leave on a really high note due to the circumstances and how I feel. I’ll take a couple of days off now to regroup and get ready for San Diego."

Justin Barcia: “A1 was a bit of a stressful day. I think this was the 12th or 13th time I’ve lined up for Anaheim, but the nerves never go away. I was riding like a goon in practice and qualifying, but I had a good heat race and rode really well. I didn’t get the greatest start in the Main Event, but I got myself up to fifth with a really good ride. Unfortunately, I got passed at the end of the race and brought it home in sixth. All in all, we turned the day around. I’m not happy with sixth, but to get out of Anaheim healthy and with the bike working well, I’m looking forward to San Diego.”

Ryder DiFrancesco: “I had good qualifying sessions and I was near the top of the board in every session. My Heat race was good and in the Main Event I ran third until a lap and a half to go. We’re close! This was a huge confidence gain tonight and I’m excited for San Diego.”