As always, the Daytona Supercross provided an action-packed night of racing, with two riders picking up their first wins for the season. We’ve gathered the direct takes from riders for this Reaction feature from round eight of the 2025 Monster Energy Supercross Championship.

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Image: Octopi Media.

Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – Third:
I had a lot of fun out there tonight! It’s been a while since we’ve been out front like that, so just having that clean air and being in the battle was really good! The track was fun tonight, it was awesome to be up there battling these guys, to come out of here with a podium is really cool. I’m stoked to turn a bit of my luck around and excited to keep this momentum rolling.

Chase Sexton (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – Fifth:
Daytona was up and down. I qualified fastest, but crashed in my heat, forcing me to qualify through to the main via the LCQ, so it definitely was not my best night. In the end, I did what I could tonight, but just didn’t have enough in the tank.

Justin Barcia (Rockstar Energy GASGAS Factory Racing) – 10th:
Daytona is always tough, no matter where you finish. I wasn’t able to find comfort today, we were searching a little bit, which is a bit frustrating given I rode super-good last weekend. Daytona is a different beast altogether, so I am keen to get back indoors, get to Indy, and put the bike back up front.

Jason Anderson (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Eighth:
I’m happy with how my day started, I did well with second in qualifying and third in my Heat Race. In the main event I got the holeshot and was feeling really good, but started to get arm pump and that really affected how much I could charge and hang on. I’m frustrated, but can’t complain about the bike because the setup is great and I’m not looking for changes with it. I’ll continue to work on myself and tonight showed I can run with the championship leaders.

Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) – Sixth:
Daytona is always fun, a crazy event for me. First heat race win of the year was awesome and a special moment, especially in front of the hometown fans. I rode well in the main for P6, we charged hard, although I want to be on the box, so moving forward that’s what we’re aiming at. I’m having so much fun right now, probably the most fun I’ve ever had in my career, and am keen to keep it rolling. Congrats to RJ [Hampshire] on his win – the Husqvarna boys are doing well right now!

Cooper Webb (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Second:
It was a good night, points-wise. It was just a bit of a bummer because I felt like I could’ve had the win tonight and wasn’t able to. Other than that, it was a great night for the team and a great night for the points. We’ll keep the ball rolling.

Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Fourth:
It was a good day in Daytona. Practice went well, I qualified second. I just didn’t get off the gate well tonight, and I think that was pretty much my only downfall. It was tough. I battled all night and ate a lot of roost. I think I started around 10th in the main. I worked my way up, charged all the way to the end, and made a run at the podium but just came up short. It’s a little bit frustrating. My speed was there today, and everything was good. I just needed to put myself in a better position off the gate.

Ken Roczen (Progressive Insurance Ecstar Suzuki) – First:
I honestly can’t believe it. I put my head down, and I had some really good lines. When you make those passes, you have to put your head down or they will retaliate and come back. This is definitely up there as one of my best main event wins ever, it’s pretty surreal, because I’ve actually been pretty far away from it in the past. This is round eight and I’ve never really done that well at Daytona, but I have nothing to lose. I just keep doing my thing and I trust in my decisions and for now it’s paying off.

Colt Nichols (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – 15th:
I really struggled in the main event. I rode not even close to my ability, so I was very disappointed in that. But I’ve never actually raced this race before, so it’s a small win for me to make it this far into the season. But I’ve got to be a lot better than I was tonight. We’ll try again next weekend.

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Image: Octopi Media.

Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – Second:
I was close with the leaders tonight, we were going back and forth, but the track was super-tricky – if you missed a rhythm, you’d lose a second or two pretty easily. I think second place is the best that we had tonight, although I am happy with that. I’m happy to stay close in the championship, because that is the goal.

Chance Hymas (Honda HRC Progressive) – Fourth:
Daytona was another step in the right direction. Qualifying was a little bit better, I ended up fifth overall. The track was pretty rutty and super gnarly, but honestly, I was having a good time on the bike, it was a lot of fun. My heat race was good – P3 – just some little mistakes here and there, and same thing with the main. I got a good start in the main, but overall, I need to clean some stuff up, I was close to a podium. With two laps to go, I made a couple of mistakes and dropped back to fourth. We’ll keep building from here and hopefully get back up front and on the box in Indy.

Seth Hammaker (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Third:
I’m really pumped to be back on the podium–two years in a row here at Daytona. This track is always a battle, and tonight was no different. I fought hard all the way to the finish and feel great about this one. Big shoutout to my entire team and all the people who support me. It feels good to build on this and keep growing my confidence. Thanks to everyone behind me–let’s keep it going.

Cameron McAdoo (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – DNF:
My knee has just not been strong enough today to safely race and my safety along with other riders on the track is the most important. As everyone knows I will always do everything I can to race, but it was not in the cards for us today.

RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) – First:
Coming in this year, I didn’t have much of an off-season. I knew I would get stronger as the season progressed, we worked hard with the team over the last two weeks and found a setting that made me really comfortable. I felt good as soon as my wheels hit the dirt here in Daytona, gelled with the track all day, and led 90 percent of the main event, which was awesome for us. We’re back on track and I’m stoked on the whole day and to finally add this trophy to the cabinet.

Max Anstie (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Sixth:
It was a tough night in Daytona, but I made the best out of the cards I was dealt and we’re still in a solid position championship-wise. We’ll focus on recovery and getting ready for Indy.

Daxton Bennick (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Seventh:
Daytona was a gnarly one. Obviously, coming back after not riding for a few weeks was tough. I was running fifth until the restart, so we will take it and come back ready to go at Indy.

Austin Forkner (Triumph Racing) – 17th:
I qualified seventh, which was the best that I have qualified so far. I lined up pretty far inside in the main and did not come out too bad. It was just chaos in the first turn and somehow my front brake lever got bent up among the chaos. I was trying to figure that out and settle in a little bit, but then we got another red flag. I went down after that restart. It was super slick, but I was trying to make a quick pass and slid out. I then went down in the sand and my bars were buried – it took me forever to get my bike up. That was kind of the end of it for me. The positive thing is that we are leaving healthy. We have some things to work on, so on to the next race.