Webb toasted his first race with Rick Ware Racing with a victory in Calgary but a thunderstorm midway through the final race followed by a heavy downpour brought an early end to the celebrations.
Webb, who raced as a wildcard in the 2025 Australian GP, has committed to the full season in what promises to be an exciting season. Webb, powered by Star Racing, emerged victorious through a tough field that saw some thrilling battles.
He was leading in the Main Event when strong gusts caused tough blocks to blow across the track, bringing out the yellow flags, but as the wind intensified the race was stopped by the FIM with rider, spectator and staff safety in mind.
Speaking before a torrential then storm lashed the McMahon Stadium, Webb said: “It was sick, honestly it was beautiful to get in the win. It was pretty gnarly and as we see, the weather’s coming in, so we had a red flag, unfortunately, but I was really feeling good.”
His Rick Ware Racing teammate Justin Hill, who had set the pace in practice and qualifying, won the opening Sprint Race 1 and finished third on the night.
Hill came through a frantic few opening laps which saw defending SX1 world champion Jason Anderson crash out on the opening lap, while Vince Friese, who had set the early pace before his challenge faded, coming home in sixth place.
Webb battled past and into second place while he held off Dean Wilson, who was third to bring the Calgary crowd to their feet.
Having missed out on a win in the opening race, Webb produced a textbook ride in Sprint Race 2, as he oozed class, powering his way through the field with a controlled ride.
He jumped the whoops, kept the turns tight and make his moves stick. It was an eventful race for Christian Craig, who had a fall while Hill also fell on the opening lap.
The Rick Ware Racing rider was making his way back into contention for a top three finish when he was sandwiched by Wilson and Mitchell Harrison and dropped him to fifth place, while Jorge Zaragoza was second and Wilson in third.
As the Main Event was red flagged, the results from the opening two sprint races combined mean that Webb was crowned the winner of the event. Wilson was credited with second place due to him being classified higher in the second sprint race than Hill, who was level on 16 points.
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In SX2 Max Anstie made it 3 wins out of 3 after he had to pass the Stark Vargs every moto as Brian Hsu put his name on the map leading all three motos! A bike issue late in the final moto cost him a podium shot but his teammate Michael Hicks was second.
Anstie, 33, made it a clean sweep with three victories after overcoming a surprise from the Stark riders, who both made excellent starts all night, benefitting from the high altitude in Calgary, which sits 3,500 ft above sea level.
The Stark bikes, which are powered by electric motors, were not hampered with the same performance deficit of their fuel-powered rivals, who struggled to reach their regular performance levels.
It was evident at the start, as both Brian Hsu, who was making his debut in the series, and his teammate Michael Hicks, who were explosive out of the gate, with Hsu leading the opening laps on all three races.
In the SX2 Sprint Race 1, Hsu started pulling a gap to the chasing pack before he was slowly reeled in by Anstie, who made his move on lap four. Devin Simonson also cut through the pack to pass the Stark rider and took second place.
Hicks took a credible third place and held off a late surge from Cameron McAdoo, who beat Hsu to fourth place.
The Starks again proved competitive off the line as both riders were quick out the gate for Sprint Race 2. Again it was Hsu who was leading from his teammate Hicks.
But just as in the opening sprint race, they were both caught by Anstie, who excelled over the whoops and made up a massive amount of ground before he was able to power past Hsu on the penultimate lap. The German rider was also passed by Hicks on the final lap, as the two Starks finished in second and third place.
In the Main Event, which carries the most points over a 12-lap battle to the line, it was Anstie, who crossed the line in first place to complete a memorable win for his new team, while McAdoo was second and Hicks was in third.
Anstie was quick to pay tribute to his new team and said he was caught by surprise by his electric-powered rivals.
He said: “It was tough. The track was gnarly and the electric bikes. I think they were maybe the toughest obstacle! “At the start, they were gone and it was a really tricky track to make up time, but anyway, I can’t give it up enough to the whole Rick Ware crew.
“Everyone there has been so, so good. Like, honestly, these last few weeks, how this has all happened, how this has come around, I can’t give it up to them and to Club MX, my crew chief, to Greg, my mechanic – it’s been a lot these last few weeks and I can’t give it up enough to those guys.”
