Saturday, March 09, 2024, Birmingham, AL
Impact-Site-Verification: d2b2bb38-8586-4ec3-b933-a49e27e7911b
After a rainy week in preparation for the AMA's fist trip to Alabama in over 40 years and first time ever in the Magic City, the thoughts were on how the track would survive going into the weekend. The grounds crew worked diligently with the track designers to prepare for the worst. Fortunately, with a few minor alterations to the track design and covering the track for the imminent down pour on Friday, we woke up to a great track for the riders on Saturday morning.
With overcast skies, the riders were able to get out on the track for their practice runs at Protective Stadium, while taking the short ride back over to the paddock, located inside the North and East Exhibition Halls of the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC). During the practice runs, it was obvious that there were some features that they would have to get acclimated to. The red clay of the track, however, held up well through the abuse these machines inflicted upon it.
When it came time for the qualifiers, the racers did not disappoint. The competition was hot as points leader of the 250 East SX class, Max Anstie, was able to get the fastest qualifying run of his class, followed by Seth Hammacker, and last week's winner, Tom Vialle. In the 450 SX Class, points leader and last week's winner, went into the evening with the fastest qualifying time. He was followed by defending champ Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac.
As the crowd packed into Protective Stadium, the heat races began. In the 250 East SX class' first heat race, Coty Schock rode off with the win, while second place qualifier Seth Hammacker finished dead last after only completing one lap due to issues with his bike. The second heat race of the evening saw Tom Vialle take away the top position, with first place qualifier, Max Anste, finishing fourth. In the 450 SX class, the defending champ, Chase Sexton, took away the first heat win, while Eli Tomac won the second heat race, followed by Jett Lawrence, Ken Roczen, and Cooper Webb.
As the track got hotter, the stadium's atmosphere grew just as hot. Even through rain showers, the fans proved their dedication and passion, cheering on, as the night progressed to the main events. With this being AMA's first trip to the Birmingham, the city came out in support for these racers, which was one of the largest crowds the stadium has seen. The crowd support was not in vain as the riders left it all out on the track.
In the 250 East SX class, we saw Tom Vialle fight his way to the front through the first lap, then breaking away early to lead the pack the rest of the way. Cameron McAdoo battled up for the second place spot on the podium, and Seth Hammacker, who had to win the last chance qualifier to make this competition, finishing third. The Frenchman, Vialle, also mad history not only by being the first 250 winner in Birmingham, but getting his first and second supercross wins in consecutive weeks.
After the rush of the 250 main event, it was time to see what the big bikes had in store. Jett Lawrence took the holeshot and did lot let up. Cooper Webb followed close behind a majority of the race falling behind after wiping out around the halfway mark. That didn't seem to affect him much as he raced back to the front and finished in second place, while Ken Roczen closed out the podium in third.
After the race, the racers had nothing bud nice things to say about the Magic City, but their focus quickly shifted to next week as they get ready to head to Indy. As for Protective Stadium, the history doesn't end with this weekend, as the crews take this dirt and prepare for Monster Jam in two weeks, which is normally held in Legacy Arena. This will be a difficult clean-up to prepare for the USL and UFL seasons, for the Birmingham Legion and Birmingham Stallions respectively. Hopefully the city was able to prove that Birmingham is a place that is a must-book when planning events.