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Jan 16, 2022

Monster Energy® Kawasaki Team Green's Ryder DiFrancesco Wins SX Futures Opener in Oakland

Oakland Supercross was home to the debut round of the new Supercross Futures AMA National Championship. For 2022, the Supercross Futures program has evolved to six distinct amateur supercross qualification events hosted on the very same supercross tracks that the professionals race. The top four finishers at each of those qualification events will go on to compete at the Supercross Futures AMA National Championship scheduled for Saturday, May 7 at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah.

 

Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green rising star DiFrancesco looked right at home on the track as he quickly started linking together the rhythm sections and blitzing across the two whoop sections in the opening practice session of the event. DiFrancesco’s prowess for supercross riding quickly separated him from the amateur field as he topped the leaderboards in each of the Supercross Futures qualifying sessions and logged an impressive 1:05.523, a time that would put him right with the top runners of the 250SX class.

 

When the gate dropped for the Supercross Futures Main Event, DiFrancesco got away to a clean start at the front of the pack. The No.23 Kawasaki rider matched his standout form from qualification as he ran away from the competition with fast and consistent laps. The race was led by DiFrancesco from start to finish as the Team Green rider proved to be the class of the field.

 

“The experience to race on the same track as the pros in front of a stadium of fans is amazing. I’m trying to gain as much as I can from these opportunities to better prepare me for when I take the next step in my racing career. The track was technical for sure, but I love the dirt here in Oakland and I had a great race from start to finish. I am looking forward to racing more Supercross Futures events in the next few weeks.”

- Ryder DiFrancesco