Britain’s Max Anstie made his 2021 Supercross debut at the weekend’s eighth-round Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship in Orlando, Florida, with a points-scoring ride aboard his Suzuki RM-Z450.
Grand Prix motocross winner and Motocross of Nations team rider for Great Britain, Anstie made his much-anticipated 450 Supercross debut and showed speed and track skills as if he’d grown up racing the discipline.
The British rider hails from the World GP circuit and after GP victories, as well as winning the 2017 individual title overall at the Motocross of Nations, is adapting to 450 Supercross racing.
After missing the first seven rounds with a pre-season injury, Anstie topped both of his qualifying sessions as the fastest rider on the track. During the night racing, he battled up from outside the top 10 to a qualifying position in his heat race.
Though his main event finish didn’t fulfil the promise displayed earlier in the night, Anstie showed incredible comfort and potential for a great season on his RM-Z450 race bike.
Anstie finished 18th in the main event at Orlando’s round eight, placing him 27th overall after his entering and completing just this one event.
Said Anstie: “It was nice to be under the lights racing my first ever 450SX event. It was a dream to ride into the stadium with the best supercross riders in the world. I came into this race without much preparation time so to leave with some points on the board and laps under my belt was all I could ask for. The team and I will get to work and make progress and I’m looking forward to Daytona in two weeks!”
Round nine at the Daytona International Speedway infield should suit the British sand specialist.
It’s interesting to note Anstie’s international credentials. He was the top individual at the 2017 Motocross of Nations at Matterley Basin, near Winchester, in England, finishing 1-1 in his two outings that muddy weekend in October.
Racing as Britain’s MXGP class rider, Anstie finished ahead of Slovenia’s Tim Gajser in the MXGP/MX2 race and ahead of Dutchman Jeffery Herlings in the MXGP/MX Open race.
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450SX Class Championship Standings after 8 of 17 rounds:
- Ken Roczen, Honda (180)
- Cooper Webb, KTM (174)
- Eli Tomac, Kawasaki (149)
- Justin Barcia, GASGAS (136)
- Marvin Musquin KTM (133)
- Malcolm Stewart, Yamaha (125)
- Zach Osborne, Husqvarna (123)
- Adam Cianciarulo, Kawasaki (120)
- Aaron Plessinger, Yamaha (113)
- Dylan Ferrandis, Yamaha (109)