Thoughts and views from the World Supercross SX1 three title contenders as the 2025 championship chase narrows for Cape Town. WSX media guy, Adam Wheeler looks into what to expect from the big three.

Four rounds, four countries, four continents and just one single point: the 2025 World Supercross SX1 crown will be scooped by either Jason Anderson, Joey Savatgy (both tied in the standings with 126) or Christian Craig (on 125) this weekend in South Africa. Who will hold their nerve?

Anderson’s Long-Haul Gamble Pays Off

The dispute will go down to the final laps of the season but could already be decided by the efficiency of individual race starts in Cape Town and then each rider’s ability to ‘close the deal’. Anderson was the winner last time out in Sweden. The American is steering an RM-Z450 Suzuki and is still in an acclimatisation and set-up process with the motorcycle. He made a large international travel deviation in the pause between Australia and the trip to Stockholm to hone his competitiveness out of the gate and it seemed to work for round four.

“The biggest issue was the work on my clutch,” he said post-GP in Sweden. “I had some issues in Australia and needed to go back to the drawing board for a gameplan. This meant going back to Florida! So, it was a bit tough with the jetlag. It was also about problem solving…”

Despite the long jaunt through time zones, Anderson’s work with the Pipes Motorsport team seemed to pay-off as he made ground from the front of the field to relegate Savatgy to P2. “I was next to Joey and his starts were decent. [mine] could be better still but at least I was able to make a race and was not in the middle of the pack,” he assessed. “So, [the trip to the U.S.] it was worth it.”

Savatgy’s Frustration Fuels His Finale Ambition

Like most of his peers Anderson will be flying directly south to Cape Town this week. As a former premier class supercross champion in the U.S., he is the favourite to stamp his mark on 2025 and wear his first World Supercross gold medal. In Stockholm Anderson commented that his improving speed means that “luckily, I seem to be able to rise to the occasion”, and this resilience could create the difference over his countrymen in the southern hemisphere.

In contrast, Savatgy needs to sustain his bright form from the beginning of the sessions in Scandinavia and stretch that potential to the flag if he wants 2025 bragging rights. “I’ll be lying if I said I wasn’t annoyed…” the Quad Lock Honda rider said immediately after round four. “I felt good all day but got a bit impatient in the second moto. Then the track was the smoothest it had been in the third and I lost the advantage I had in the ruts and with how deep they were.”

Joey grabbed just one of the three races and surrendered three points to Anderson. “I’m bummed I did not capitalise because days like today don’t come that often, where things just seem to click and its easy in a sense but, it’s OK, and we made it exciting for the finale.”

Craig Counts on Hardpack and Big Whoops

One point is barely a separator; it’s a small mistake on track when the pressure is high and the stakes are elevated. Christian Craig, another former supercross champion, is not out of the mix but the veteran will be hoping the South African soil is harder and less rough compared to the European terrain. “I struggled in the ruts and wasn’t comfortable; I’m more of a hardpack guy! But we still had good pace,” he said from the third step of the podium in Sweden.

Savatgy’s teammate is close enough to not have to worry about team orders but while he’ll be hoping for a large, juicy set of whoops in Cape Town he also knows he must improve his getaways from the gate to really stand a chance. “If a big set of whoops shows up then that would be nice!” He smiled. “It helps me make passes or pull away but I struggled on the starts [in Sweden]; those guys have me every time so I really need to focus on this because it’s huge for these next three races. We need to clean that up.”

Who will clean up? Catch the grandstand finale HERE