One point divided Jason Anderson, Joey Savatgy and Christian Craig in the run-up to the first-ever World Supercross South African GP and the pursuit of the 2025 SX1 World Championship. When the chequered flag fell on the third and final race Saturday evening it was Anderson who grasped the overall victory across the Cape Town hard-pack and therefore the bigger prize. The American went 1-1-1 in front of a determined Savatgy and the pair scraped plastics in a tight and tense outing.
Each of the protagonists had their own story coming into a tense closer. Savatgy is a seasoned World Supercross campaigner compared to his rivals. Anderson was the World Supercross rookie as well as a fresh recruit to the Pipes Motorsport team [as well as to Suzuki RM-Z450 machinery]. Craig was also a newcomer to World Supercross and still with a point to prove in SX1/450SX competition.
Anderson’s third win of the season came in the first Sprint and was backed-up by the fourth in the second, giving him a 2 point gap over Savatgy. The Quad Lock Honda man was unstoppable in the second Sprint to blast back from 6th to 2nd and drive the narrative to Race 3 as the 20,000+ fans were then rewarded with the ultimate showdown.
The South African air was thick with noise and expectation. The entertainment ramped-up as Savatgy led early on and Anderson chased; the Suzuki man loose, ragged and utterly watchable. The pair swapped positions and cut the track centimetres from disaster and glory. With four laps until the flag, Anderson seemed to have done enough but Savatgy managed one last but unsuccessful lunge into the penultimate corner.
“Man, that’s racing!” said Anderson. “Joey kept me on my toes. Two 8s [minutes] and a 12: that’s a lot of intense racing. I’m pretty exhausted but I just want to thank the team. It’s cool to win this for Suzuki and for Pipes Motorsports and all my guys. I’m excited.”
Man, that’s racing! Joey kept me on my toes. Two 8s [minutes] and a 12: that’s a lot of intense racing.
“We had an amazing crowd; it was definitely the loudest this year,” Savatgy reacted. “I’m glad we got to put on a show. It’s unfortunate … but I tried my best. I should have picked a better point to make a strike. The fact that we were as close as we were on a track that was not my favourite … I’m happy. We were good tonight but not quite good enough.”
We had an amazing crowd; it was definitely the loudest this year … I’m glad we got to put on a show. It’s unfortunate … but I tried my best.
Craig crashed in the first Sprint. He then tumbled on the first lap of the second, needing to trail through the pack and managed 9th. Craig redeemed himself with a P3 in Race 3 but Colt Nichols built the better scorecard to walk the third step of the last podium of the year.
In other news, Jorge Zaragoza and Vince Friese nailed starts in the second Sprint to run 2-3 on the Stark VARG; the Spaniard earned a noteworthy first top three for the team while Friese incurred a ‘energy tolerance’ penalty and was relegated to P10. The Teams Championship was signed and sealed with Australians Quad Lock Honda heading the table thanks to the accumulation of points throughout the season in both divisions.
