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MONSTER ENERGY® PRO CIRCUIT KAWASAKI RIDER SETH HAMMAKER DOMINATES THE 250SX EAST/WEST SHOWDOWN
Foothill Ranch, Calif. (March 9, 2025) - Nearly four years to the day since he stood on the top step of the 250SX class podium, Monster Energy® Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Seth Hammaker dominated the 250SX class with a commanding win at the first East/West Showdown of the Monster Energy® AMA Supercross season at Round 9 in Indianapolis. His teammate, Garrett Marchbanks battled against the stacked class to secure ninth place, while Monster Energy® Kawasaki rider Jason Anderson worked his way through the field after two tip-overs in the 450SX Main Event to take home 11th place.
Round 9 marked the first East/West Showdown race for the 250SX class where riders from both Regional divisions would line up against each other. Hammaker set the tone for the day, qualifying fastest in the second qualifying session and second overall, while Marchbanks claimed ninth. The West Region 250SX Class Heat Race saw Marchbanks get off to a strong start in the Top 5 and made a late race pass to take fourth place and a valuable gate pick for the showdown. In the East Region 250SX Class Heat Race, the No. 56 of Hammaker came off the gate in fourth place and quickly made a pass for third where he would finish the race. In the Showdown Main Event, Hammaker shot off the gate into the first turn, claiming the holeshot aboard his Monster Energy® Pro Circuit KX™250. From there, he took control of the race and never looked back, maintaining a sizeable gap on his competition. Marchbanks got a strong start in the Top 10 and maneuvered himself around the stiff competition. Hammaker showed dominant speed leading the race from start to finish in a soft and deeply rutted race track, claiming a well-deserved second win of his 250SX career. He moved himself up to third in the 250SX Eastern Regional points standings, only 11 points back from the leader. The No. 36 of Marchbanks fought hard to take home ninth place and maintain eighth in points in the Western Regional 250SX Class.
In the 450SX class, Anderson started the day by showing competitive speed by qualifying fifth overall. In the Heat Race, the No. 21 had a strong jump off the gate, passing his competitors on the inside of the first turn and running it in on the leader into the first rhythm section. Anderson continued to click off consistent laps and finished the race in fifth place. In the Main Event, Anderson came off the gate mid-pack and was caught up with a couple of other riders, going down in the first turn and setting himself back to 21st by the time he remounted his KX™450SR. The tacky and rutty track that proved treacherous for riders all day caught Anderson early as he went down once again on Lap 2 under the over/under bridge. Determined to rebound from the small mistake, he began to work his way through the field looking for creative lines to pass his competitors. Anderson posted his fastest lap times of the night late in the Main Event, most impressively earning the fastest sector time of the field through the challenging sand section on Lap 16. His hard work and late push allowed him to pass half the pack to finish 11th on the night.
“It feels really unreal to get this win at the East/West Showdown. It has been a while since I’ve stood on the top step of the podium, so it feels amazing to finally do it again. I got myself off to an excellent start and tried to sprint away in those first couple of laps. It was a tough track out there, you had to be really focused, and I feel like I did a pretty good job with that. When you’re out there in the lead with a little bit of a gap, it’s a little challenging to stay focused. I’ve made a lot of changes and sacrifices this year with moving to Florida and training at the Dog Pound. I’m very grateful that I have people around me that have stuck with me from Mich Payton and the whole Kawasaki crew to my family. This one feels really good and I’m super excited.”
-Seth Hammaker
“The day started off a little slow in free practice and the first qualifier, I was trying to get used to the track and struggled a little bit. I found a good setting for Qualifying 2 and put a good lap time in to get P5. I started to feel a little more comfortable as the day went on and in the heat race, I had a good battle with Jo [Shimoda] and started to feel more comfortable again getting P4. I went into the main and was feeling good, but I struggled a little bit, I didn’t get the best start and I’m still just trying to figure things out with arm pump on my right arm. The East/West Showdown is difficult because the competition is stacked, and the Heat Races are basically a full Main Event for six minutes and the intensity is very high. I need to work on some things with myself and the bike, the team has been great so I can’t thank them enough, just moving forward I have more things to work on.”
-Garrett Marchbanks
“My day started off good, in qualifying I ended up fifth and in the Heat Race I was fifth. In the Main Event I had a crash in the first corner and another crash early on. I came through the pack and ended up P11. The track was difficult with how tacky it was and how it broke down, it felt like it was pulling my bike around as I rode. I’m frustrated with how the night went, but I did the best I could after going down. We look to make some improvements and I’m aiming for better results after the break.”
-Jason Anderson
