Justin Barcia won his third consecutive Supercross season opener, taking an early lead in the points by leading start to finish to top the Round 1 results Saturday night in Houston.
Ken Roczen finished second at NRG stadium, and Marvin Musquin, who took the holeshot but quickly lost the lead on Lap 1 to Barcia, rounded out the 450 podium.
Adam Cianciarulo finished fourth, followed by Malcolm Stewart, who took fifth in his Star Racing Yahama debut.
RESULTS: Click here for 450; click here for 250
Justin Brayton, Dylan Ferrandis, Aaron Plessinger, Cooper Webb and Zach Osborne (who won the second heat but had a fall in the main event) rounded out the top 10.
Impressive riding by @JustinBarcia to hold off a charging @KenRoczen94 👀
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) January 17, 2021
🎥: 450 Main Event LIVE fueled by @7Eleven #SupercrossLIVE #DropTheGate pic.twitter.com/RqSolm3i5C
Rookie Chase Sexton was fastest in qualifying Saturday but placed 14th in the main event after getting caught in a crash by another rider.
It also was a tough opener for defending series champion Eli Tomac, who fell three minutes into the main event and finished 13th.
Other notables: Joey Savatgy (11th), Dean Wilson (12th) Jason Anderson (15th).
It was a dominant night for Barcia, who also took the holeshot and cruised to victory in the first heat. Barcia moved to the new GasGas MC 450F team this season. He will try to avoid the dropoff last season when his opening victory was his only Supercross triumph of 2020.
Click here for Round 1 450 main results | 450 points standings | 450 Manufacturer points
In the 250 division, Christian Craig won his first outing for the Monster Energy Star Racing Yahama team.
Austin Forkner hung on for second ahead of Colt Nichols and Jo Shimoda.
RJ Hampshire finished fifth after falling while running third with a minute left. Jett Lawrence took sixth after a fall while pushing for third on the last lap.
Hear from your 250SX Main Event winner, @_ChristianCraig 🗣#SupercrossLIVE #DropTheGate pic.twitter.com/VIiJ9eoEvE
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) January 17, 2021
Michael Mosiman, Mitchell Oldenburg, Max Vohland and Joshua Osby rounded out the top 10.
Click here for Round 1 250 main results | 250 East points standings | 250 Manufacturer points
The Supercross series will return to Houston for Round 2 on Tuesday night.