2023 AMA National Grand Prix Championship (NGPC) SoCal GP American MX in Delano California

The 2023 AMA National Grand Prix Championship (NGPC) took off with the SoCal GP at American MX in Delano, California, over the weekend and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Austin Walton opened his campaign with a hard-fought eighth position in the Pro class.

Current series number two Walton entered this season with high hopes riding the FX 450 and, despite challenging conditions following ongoing rainfall in the area, his race started in a convincing fashion. He completed the opening lap in sixth and moved into fourth on lap three, however, a mishap on lap four cost him any chance of the podium. After briefly dropping to 10th, Walton managed to climb to eighth by the race’s end to earn valuable points.

“It was a little muddy today and didn’t go as planned for me, but I’ve got to stay positive after this first race,” Walton reflected. “We’ve got plenty more races to go and this was an odd one, very technical in the conditions. I had one decent crash out there, took me a second to get up and once I did, I was like, ‘alright, I’ve got to be smart’ and that was the plan from there. We had to be as smart as possible and as the race went on the track got a little more tacky, so there was a whole lot to think about. We have to take what we can, we’re healthy going into the rest of the season, and I’m definitely excited to turn things around at the next one.”

Next Round (2): Taft, California – February 5, 2023

Pro Results – Round 1
1. Ryan Surratt (Honda)
2. Dare Demartile (Beta)
3. Dante Oliveira (KTM)
…
8. Austin Walton – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing

Pro Championship Standings
1. Ryan Surratt – 30 points
2. Dare Demartile – 25 points
3. Dante Oliveira – 21 points
…
8. Austin Walton – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, 13 points