Tampa, Fla., (February 8, 2025) Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Malcolm Stewart earned his career-first 450SX Class victory with a brilliant charge from a mid-pack start at Round 5 of the 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship inside Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The 32-year-old Florida native was pure joy after reaching the top step of the podium in his 109th race start.
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb followed Stewart forward in the early laps and reached second place by the time the checkered flag flew. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson, after losing some positions early, recovered to score a third-place finish. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Chase Sexton led most of the Tampa Supercross, but just as Stewart made a drive for the lead, Sexton crashed hard in the whoops. Sexton recovered quickly, still in second, but was off the pace and dropped back to fifth in the final laps. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac injured his foot in qualifying and raced only to salvage points; he finished in 17th position. Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki’s Ken Roczen reached second place early and was in fourth when he suffered a nasty collision with lapped riders in the track’s difficult sand section.
Defending champion Team Honda HRC Progressive’s Jett Lawrence did not race; mid-week updates revealed an injury at the previous round will likely keep him out for the remainder of the season. Adding to the rough news for both the Honda team and the Lawrence family, Team Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence crashed hard in his heat race and sat out the remainder of the night’s racing. In the 250SX Class, the Tampa Supercross kicked off the Eastern Divisional 250SX Class Championship, and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Max Anstie took the win and with it the early points lead.
“Big bro, you know. You’ve done this a long time, racing Daytona and Jacksonville, and you know there’s something about that hometown crowd, buddy. I don’t know if they were twisting the throttle for me, because, for a split second, I was like, ‘Alright I need to get this done.’ I was feeling really good, and you know what, Stewart is back in the whoops, Y’all!” – Malcolm Stewart, being interviewed by his brother and former Supercross champion James Stewart from the broadcast booth.
Second place 450SX Class
“I ended up spinning out of the gate and that was all she wrote. I made a good charge through the pack. I’m a little bummed on myself. I was right there with Malcolm coming through the pack and he got around guys and I wasn’t able to [as quickly]. And as you saw with me and Kenny [Roczen], the lappers were really bad… With that being said, Malcolm was crushing the whoops, he deserved that win, and I got a little bit of a gift with Chase going down. But just gotta be better… We’ll take a hard-charge second tonight.” – Cooper Webb, who moved into second place in points.
Third place 450SX Class
“To be honest, tonight I was more likely to be a fifth place guy, but I hung in there. It was a bummer for what happened to Ken, it was out of his control, and I was able to pass Chase at the end, so that was nice. This class is tough, and you never know what can happen. Congrats to Malcolm, it’s pretty cool to watch him win his first one after so many tries. It’s cool.” – Jason Anderson, who moved into third place in points.
Max Anstie Starts 250SX East Championship with a Victory
In 250SX Class racing, Anstie grabbed the holeshot but Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Pierce Brown quickly took over the lead. Brown crashed hard while leading, handing the lead to Anstie and requiring a red flag stop to the race. The staggered re-start tightened up the racing with eight minutes left. Anstie quickly broke away from the pack for the win with his teammate Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Daxton Bennick holding on to earn a career-best second-place finish. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Cameron McAdoo, after a race-long battle with teammate Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker finished third; the performance was especially remarkable because McAdoo was racing with a torn ACL. Defending champion Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle finished in fifth place. Defending 250SX West Champion Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire, contesting the 250SX East season, landed on a track obstacle and his bike became stuck. Hampshire recovered to finish 18th.
“Pierce [Brown] went down. I hate to see that. He was riding so well and just spun and ended up going over the bars… After that, it kind of took the wind out of my sails. They red-flagged it, me and [teammate] Dax were up front and it was like a day at the Goat Farm [Training Facility]. And honestly, I was like, ‘Let’s not do anything silly right now.’ The whoops were really tricky and it’s round one so you’re always a little more nervous.” – Max Anstie
Next Up:
Round 6 lines up the racers again next Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan for a daytime race. Tickets are available now for the Detroit Supercross as well as each remaining round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season and the SMX World Championship events. For highlight videos, race news, full results, live timing, and more, go to SupercrossLIVE.com.
Supercross Media | Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports
