Text and Images courtesy Gizmo Mods – Rock River Yamaha
The Gizmo Mods/Rock River/Yamaha team was prepared to excel as the action began on Saturday in Anaheim, California. Each member of the unit had worked tirelessly in the off-season and aspired for incredible heights as the green flag waved in each of the divisions for the opening round of the 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.
Michigan’s Marshal Weltin was outstanding through each stage of practice, adapting to the West Coast track condition(s) before advancing into the heat race(s) that followed. Once there, the Yamaha rider soared amongst thousands of fans, racing his way to eighteenth before entering the 450SX Last Chance Qualifier. The aforementioned segment of sprint laps was intense, but Weltin displayed tremendous courage en route to gathering a standing of eighth at the checkered flag.
Austin Politelli had continuously furthered his craft in recent months and immediately displayed confident circuits throughout afternoon qualifying sessions. From there, his expertise led to a notable finish of twelfth in heat one. Shortly thereafter, he and numerous other top-tier competitors sprinted from the starting line within the 450SX Last Chance Qualifier – and from start to finish, Politelli would charge forward, earning twenty-first on the final leaderboard, respectively.
The number forty-three of Grant Harlan was exceptional on the Anaheim layout, and established countless strong circuits throughout qualifying before advancing to the opening heat race of the evening. Though the competition was tough at this stage of the night show, Harlan’s sense of self-belief never wavered – propelling him to a finish of fourteenth prior to moving into the 450SX LCQ. Once there, Harlan’s race-craft and line selection solidified his standing at the front of the field – and in the end, his final result of eleventh, was applauded by the crowd.
New York’s TJ Albright was a veteran of the 250SX division and proved that his speed was at an elite level throughout practice. His momentum was maintained throughout heat two as well, where he accelerated through the whoop section with tremendous technique to claim twelfth at the checkered flag. For the Last Chance Qualifier, Albright’s pathways around the circuit were superb – and through the final moments, he would put forth one hundred percent effort, earning fourth place, respectively. His admirable result preceded the main event, where the East Coast native excelled on a path to the finish line – scoring fourteenth for round one.
The West Coast native, Kyle Wise, rode incredibly well throughout the afternoon in Anaheim. His rhythm around the technical circuit was outstanding, and led to a gate choice within heat two, for 250SX competition, within the night show. Once there, Wise continued to attack the circuit – generating as much power as possible, to eventually capture a final standing of fifteenth. In the LCQ, Wise would battle for every position throughout the top-twenty – creating passing lanes that weren’t analyzed by other riders, which led to a notable position of tenth, being finalized at the checkered flag.
With round two of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship now on the horizon, the Gizmo Mods/Rock River/Yamaha team will once again prepare to compete among the highest tier within this genre of two-wheel racing. Every member of the unit displayed the utmost dedication while stationed in Anaheim, and will certainly do the same for the upcoming round in San Diego.
