Seeking the fastest lap-time possible before the track began to break down, Washington’s Levi Kitchen would explode onto the racing surface with authority as he barreled past the mechanic’s area. There was little that could stand in his way as he eventually resided inside the top-five for qualification, and would exit the raceway with a feeling of accomplishment prior to returning to the pit area. He was refueled and rehydrated in the down time prior to moto number one, and would walk to the line in the ours thereafter knowing that he could sustain a pace that was equivalent to a single digit overall. Immediately as the gate then fell for the opening outing of the 2023 tour, it would be Jo Shimoda and RJ Hampshire who were out front and aspiring to break away from the field. However, Kitchen was surging forward in the same regard and would be compelled to go even faster as they completed the first two laps of action. There were a few corners nearing the finish-line that would house rollers on the inside, but the majority of the inner-lane(s) would be filled with ruts that were rather erratic due to vast starting and stopping from those in the back of the pack. Therefore he would decide to sweep from outside to outside (more often than not) at what it appeared to be third gear, with the rev limiter engaged yet somehow managing to continue pulling forward in a positive manner. Throwing caution to the wind as he launched over the largest step-up on the track, he would defend positions inside the top-fifteen from Ty Masterpool and Caden Braswell for what seemed like an eternity. However, the resilience of Yamaha’s Kitchen was an imminent factor in clenching the tenth-place position as they neared the checkered flag, after a hard fought effort. All in all, his speed throughout this Southern California venue would equate to the aforementioned tenth, which would hopefully be replicated in the hours thereafter. Assembling a trio of strong laps together to begin the second round of action, he would nearly be involved in an incident regarding Kawasaki’s Ryder DiFrancesco in front of him, when the Kawasaki would divert to the inside (unexpectedly) in a corner before the finish-line and cause the Washington native to nearly slam into his rear tire. Luckily, he would evade the scenario and would manage to get into a series of pathways on his own, where he swayed the Yamaha chassis from side to side before launching past the halfway point. Executing the furthest corners away from the starting gate (where many would have an off-tapered angle), his distribution of weight and a higher(ed) gear were exceptional as he could sense that there were less than ten minutes to go. Steadily, he would chip away while monitoring the referee and his indicators of time left...which ultimately aided him in capturing seventh ahead of Carson Mumford and Maximus Vohland, to clench ninth overall on the day.