Ryan Nitzen | September 23, 2023
It all comes down to this! The final round of the SuperMotocross playoffs takes place tonight inside the LA Coliseum. There hasn’t been a race here in well over 20 years and we’re here to cover all the action.
450SMX
450 Moto 1
Adam Cianciarulo grabbed the early lead in the first 450 moto with Justin Barcia and Jason Anderson closely in tow. Barcia went for the lead on the following lap but crashed spectacularly in the next section. His crash was so violent that they red flagged the race in order to get Barcia off the track.
On the staggered restart, Jason Anderson led the way with Ken Roczen, Chase Sexton and Jett Lawrence right behind. Roczen made his way around Anderson by standing him up in a bowl turn. The two made contact but both stayed up.
Lawrence uncorked a risky quad onto the table which allowed him to make up time on the top three. He got right up on Roczen and made several attempts before completing the pass.
Once Roczen and Sexton picked up on the tricky quad they were able to stay in the top three podium spots. Roczen stayed close to Lawrence and chipped away at the lead but couldn’t seal the deal. Sexton finished a lonely third.
450 Moto 2
Chase Sexton grabbed the holeshot in the final race of the night. The Honda rider led the way but with Lawrence behind him, he would still fall short of the overall championship. Sexton led nearly the entire race before a massive crash in the sand section put him out of the moto.
Lawrence stayed in second with the title in hand. As long as he kept Roczen behind him, the championship was his.
He inherited the lead when Sexton crashed but Roczen was still hot on his heels. Jett held the spot for the rest of the race as Roczen fought with lappers and lost the wheel. With the win, Lawrence goes 1-1 and takes the SMX Championship.
Cooper Webb finished third in race two and took third overall on the night with 5-3 results.
450 SMX Overall Results (Top 10)
1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
1-1 |
2. |
Ken Roczen |
(Suz) |
2-2 |
3. |
Cooper Webb |
(Yam) |
5-3 |
4. |
Adam Cianciarulo |
(Kaw) |
7-4 |
5. |
Colt Nichols |
(Kaw) |
8-5 |
6. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Yam) |
6-7 |
7. |
Ty Masterpool |
(Kaw) |
9-9 |
8. |
Fredrik Noren |
(Suz) |
11-8 |
9. |
Phillip Nicoletti |
(Yam) |
12-10 |
10. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
3-20 |
250SMX
250 Moto 1
Jalek Swoll started things off in the first 250 moto with a holeshot over Tom Vialle and the rest of the field. Haiden Deegan stayed close in third while rival Jo Shimoda started back in eighth.
Vialle quickly moved to the lead and held it over deegan for the next few laps. Deegan stayed close but couldn’t make a pass happen on the Frenchman. Meanwhile, Jordan Smith and RJ Hampshire battled in fourth and pushed their way up to the back of Deegan.
Smith pushed to the front, passing Deegan and making his way around Vialle up the peristyle. With the top spot in hand, he held the lead through to the finish. Hampshire followed suit into second and made a number of pass attempts but never sealed the deal.
Early leader Vialle got shuffled back to third but held on to the final podium position. He came under fire from Shimoda but fended off every effort.
Shimoda finished fourth after making contact with Deegan for the spot. Deegan dropped down to fifth despite starting the race up front. Whoever finishes in front of the other in moto two will take all the marbles.
250 Moto 2
A winner take all situation came down to the final 250 moto of the night. Levi Kitchen grabbed the holeshot ahead of both Star Racing Yamaha teammates, Deegan and Justin Cooper and led every lap of the 20 minute main event. Kitchen finished the season with a fifth overall.
Haiden Deegan finished second but became the big winner as he finished ahead of Jo Shimoda. Deegan ran second for the full race and kept it consistent to take the overall win along with the SuperMotocross championship.
Justin Cooper ran third for the entirety of the main event and buffered Deegan from Shimoda back in fourth. Cooper might earn the teammate of the year award as he kept Shimoda behind which sealed the deal for Deegan to win. Cooper finished fourth overall.
Shimoda put on a charge late in the race but it was too little too late. He stayed fourth for the entire race and finished second overall on the night.
250 SMX Overall Results (Top 10)
1. |
Haiden Deegan |
(Yam) |
5-2 |
2. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Kaw) |
4-4 |
3. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
2-6 |
4. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
7-3 |
5. |
Levi Kitchen |
(Yam) |
10-1 |
6. |
Jordon Smith |
(Yam) |
1-10 |
7. |
Pierce Brown |
(GG) |
8-5 |
8. |
Jalek Swoll |
(Hus) |
6-8 |
9. |
Maximus Vohland |
(KTM) |
9-7 |
10. |
Tom Vialle |
(KTM) |
3-13 |
QUALIFYING
450SMX
Chase Sexton carries the red plate into the final round of SMX. He set the fastest time of the day with a 1:07.9, the only rider in the 1:07 range. Jason Anderson and Cooper Webb nabbed second and third. Jett Lawrence was fourth with Ken Roczen in sixth.
450 SMX Qualifying (Top 10)
1. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
1:07.986 |
2. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
1:08.025 |
3. |
Cooper Webb |
(Yam) |
1:08.423 |
4. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
1:08.762 |
5. |
Adam Cianciarulo |
(Kaw) |
1:08.825 |
6. |
Ken Roczen |
(Suz) |
1:08.869 |
7. |
Dylan Ferrandis |
(Yam) |
1:09.409 |
8. |
Ty Masterpool |
(Kaw) |
1:09.429 |
9. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Yam) |
1:09.764 |
10. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(KTM) |
1:09.909 |
250SMX
The three favorites for the 250SMX title weren’t in the top spots of SMX qualifying. Instead, Justin Cooper grabbed the best time with a 1:08.5. RJ Hampshire and Pierce Brown rounded out the top three spots. Haiden Deegan was fourth with Jo Shimoda seventh. Hunter Lawrence crashed and pulled off the track early. Update- he’s out for the night with a aggravated neck/back injury. He’s 14th overall.
250 SMX Qualifying (Top 10)
1. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
1:08.512 |
2. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
1:08.529 |
3. |
Pierce Brown |
(GG) |
1:08.802 |
4. |
Haiden Deegan |
(Yam) |
1:08.887 |
5. |
Max Vohland |
(KTM) |
1:08.938 |
6. |
Jordon Smith |
(Yam) |
1:09.171 |
7. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Kaw) |
1:09.179 |
8. |
Jalek Swoll |
(Hus) |
1:09.250 |
9. |
Ryder DiFrancesco |
(Kaw) |
1:09.572 |
10. |
Levi Kitchen |
(Yam) |
1:09.638 |