Round two of the SuperMotocross Playoffs are underway in St. Louis, Missouri. Friday marked free practice along with one gate drop for the SMX Next class who made up their main event from last weekend. Double points are on the line today and now its race day for the second of three Playoffs here at The Dome at America’s Center.
450 MOTO 1
Hunter Lawrence made things look easy to start the night in the 450 class. Something about the number-96 and the second round of the Playoffs always seems to work well and Hunter once again went wire to wire to start round two. He opted for the scoop tire which paid dividends with a good start.
Ken Roczen held on for second at the line. Roczen won here back in 2020 and is wearing the same gear to commemorate that night, and had a strong pace behind Lawrence in the early laps. He managed to keep Eli Tomac at bay at the end of the moto and barely crossed the line in the runner up spot.
Eli Tomac took third in the opening moto. Tomac also elected to run the scoop tire which gave him a good start along the early front runners. The number-three came under fire from Jett Lawrence late in the race but still held on for the final spot on the box.
Jett Lawrence tagged another rider off the start and crossed the first turn stripe way back in 21st. He began chipping away each lap and passed up to eighth by the halfway mark. Jett also chose the scoop tire which made it difficult to pass on the hard-packed sections. Still, he caught the podium duo of Roczen and Tomac with two laps to go and stayed glued to their rear wheels. At the checkers the trio were all separated by less than one second.
Chase Sexton held on for sixth ahead of Justin Cooper, RJ Hampshire, Cooper Webb, Justin Barcia, and Dylan Ferrandis.
450 MOTO 2
Jett Lawrence righted his wrongs from moto one and came out strong with the crucial holeshot while Eli Tomac and Hunter Lawrence were hot on his heels. Jett held a small advantage from start to finish despite heavy pressure from Tomac throughout the race. Lapped traffic diminished his lead on the final laps but Lawrence still crossed the line first. 4-1 finishes allowed him to break the tie with Tomac and take second overall. Jett still leads by six points going into the Vegas finale.
“I was pretty calm, and then in the sand section there was a lapper on the inside,” Jett said after the second moto. “And it’s just as bad following in the sand because it just goes everywhere, it blinds you, so you just like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna go outside.’ And there was another lapper there, and he was cruising; he was [heeding] the blue flags and getting out of the way. So, I got screwed in that. The two seconds I had [over Tomac] shrunk really quickly. And then that last, like lap or two, was hectic. I was gassing it, I was sliding out in certain spots, and it was a wild last two laps. But we’re happy to turn it around; I definitely wasn’t going to suck on the start then like I did the first one, so I was glad to execute a good start and I’m happy with P2 especially how the first [moto] went.”
Eli Tomac finished a close second right behind Jett Lawrence. The ebb and flow of the race saw Tomac get close multiple times but never allowed him to make a pass for the lead. Tomac said he rode better in race two and bettered his on-track position by one spot. 3-2 finishes gave him five points, the same as Jett, but Jett got the tiebreaker with the second moto win. Tomac sits third in points, 16 back from Jett.
“That was some good racing there, just good, fun racing,” said Tomac. “Of course I would like to finish up top. I did what I could. I felt like I rode better that moto, busted out some good lines, but once again not quite enough. So, we’ll keep pushing. Yes, I’m down 16 [points], which is a little unfortunate, but it is what it is now. We’re in the mix, we’re in the hunt, so we’ll take it to Vegas. Thank you to Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing for the day and yeah, it was good.”
Hunter Lawrence came out as the big winner with 1-3 scores. This is the third year now that Hunter has won the overall at round two and he did it again in 2025. He increased his pace in the final laps and finished just over two seconds behind his brother Jett in first. Hunter didn’t need to pass to clinch the overall and a third still granted him the win. He’s six points back in the series standings.
“Great night. [I’m] happy, though it’s weird, it’s like a coincidence, like we’re in the second round over and over,” Hunter Lawrence said. “But it’s nice, you know we’re trying to build a house so, fellas, if that bonus could hit Monday that would be wonderful. A little money always helps, so yeah we’d like some nice things and they cost money [laughs]. So, big thanks to the team, everyone that’s helped out, yeah, [I’m] stoked, what a good night.”
Cooper Webb held off Ken Roczen to the line but the two flip flopped in overall results to round out the top five.
450SMX OVERALL RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 1-3 |
| 2. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 4-1 |
| 3. | Eli Tomac | (Yam) | 3-2 |
| 4. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | 2-5 |
| 5. | Cooper Webb | (Yam) | 8-4 |
| 6. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 7-6 |
| 7. | Chase Sexton | (KTM) | 5-10 |
| 8. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 6-11 |
| 9. | Joey Savatgy | (Hon) | 11-7 |
| 10. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Hon) | 10-8 |
250 MOTO 1
Haiden Deegan dominated the first moto of the night. After setting the fastest lap in qualifying, the current points leader shot out to the early lead and led all 18 laps. By the halfway mark, he’d already opened up an eight second lead but a small tip over cut his gap in half. He remounted without issue and continued to pull away to an eventual moto win.
Jo Shimoda started second behind Deegan and held the spot through to the finish. While he had pace, Shimoda couldn’t get close enough to make a pass on Deegan. After the race Shimoda elected to not participate in a podium interview, citing an illness. This could play a factor later on in the night.
Seth Hammaker finished third in moto one. The Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider quickly passed Tom Vialle for a podium position early on but found himself battling with his teammate Ty Masterpool for most of the early laps. Hammaker eventually broke away from the others and clinched the final spot on the box.
250 MOTO 2
What a way to end the night in the 250 class. After a lackluster finish in the opening moto due to an issue with his front fork, Tom Vialle shot out to the early lead and held the top spot in the beginning laps. Vialle led from start to finish in a wild race that saw the points flip upside down. With 10-1 scores, Vialle finished fifth on the night and bumps himself to fourth in the championship points.
Jo Shimoda held on for second in race two, stringing together two second place finishes on the night to win the overall. The Japanese rider fought through a sickness and chased Vialle from start to finish. By winning the race Shimoda now leads the points by 10 going into the season finale.
“All I can say is we’ve been working so hard all year,” Shimoda said. “I think that was probably the toughest moto I ever felt, actually. Today, we had just enough. Any more laps, I mean – I got really sketchy [on the] last lap. But I’m proud of everyone, I’m proud of my team, the bike was dialed, and I’m excited for next weekend.”
Seth Hammaker finished third in race two, his second third place finish on the night. The Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider looked consistent all night and pushed his way to the back of Shimoda but was never able to make a pass stick. With two thirds, Hammaker claimed second overall on the night and jumps to third in the standings.
“Yeah, I set myself up going into the third and final SMX race in Las Vegas next weekend, so I’m super pumped about that,” Hammaker said. “It was just two solid [motos] tonight, nothing spectacular but I just put myself in good positions and didn’t panic, just rode what the track gave me. I felt better this week and I think that showed. I tried to put a push on Jo, there, like half-way to three-quarters of the way through that, but I just was getting a little sketchy and the track was really tearing down. I decided to play it smart, and Jo rode a great race, so congrats to him.”
Nate Thrasher landed on the box with 6-4 scores and earned third overall for the night. After a tough outdoor season this summer, this is Thrasher’s first podium of the SMX Playoffs. He’s now fifth in the championship.
So what happened to Haiden Deegan?! A first lap incident with Deegan and Levi Kitchen saw the two go down hard. The incident damaged Deegan’s bike and saw him remount nearly in last place. He battled back to 14th and used 1-14 finishes to take sixth on the night. He now trails Shimoda by 10 points going into the final round.
250SMX OVERALL RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Jo Shimoda | (Hon) | 2-2 |
| 2. | Seth Hammaker | (Kaw) | 3-3 |
| 3. | Nate Thrasher | (Yam) | 6-4 |
| 4. | Ty Masterpool | (Kaw) | 4-6 |
| 5. | Tom Vialle | (KTM) | 10-1 |
| 6. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 1-14 |
| 7. | Jordon Smith | (Tri) | 11-5 |
| 8. | Daxton Bennick | (Yam) | 9-7 |
| 9. | Max Anstie | (Yam) | 8-8 |
| 10. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 5-12 |
SMX NEXT
The SMX Next World All-Stars were back on the track for the SMX Next Class’ Finale. With double points, the single-race format saw Yamaha’s Ryder Malinoski win the main event in a wire-to-wire victory. Kayden Minear recovered from an eighth place start to take second place and earned enough points to clinch the SMX Next World All-Stars Championship. Yamaha’s Kade Johnson put together consistent laps to capture the final podium spot in front of the St. Louis fans.
SMX NEXT OVERALL RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Ryder Malinoski | (Yam) | 8 Laps |
| 2. | Kayden Minear | (Yam) | 2.182 |
| 3. | Kade Johnson | (Yam) | 5.674 |
| 4. | Caden Dudney | (Yam) | 6.614 |
| 5. | Enzo Temmerman | (Kaw) | 7.906 |
| 6. | Tiger Wood | (Hon) | 15.083 |
| 7. | Wyatt Thurman | (KTM) | 17.727 |
| 8. | Landon Hartz | (Yam) | 22.368 |
| 9. | Landon Gibson | (Hus) | 16.732 |
| 10. | Diesel Thomas | (Hus) | 24.464 |
QUALIFYING
Jett Lawrence did it again by setting the fastest time of anyone in the 450 qualifying session. The points leader and current number one was a half-second quicker than anyone on track and the only rider in the 1:09 range. Hunter Lawrence clocked second with Chase Sexton a close third.
Note that Malcolm Stewart will not line up for tonight’s action after crashing in qualifying.
450SMX QUALIFYING RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 1:09.703 |
| 2. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 1:10.353 |
| 3. | Chase Sexton | (KTM) | 1:10.558 |
| 4. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 1:11.022 |
| 5. | Eli Tomac | (Yam) | 1:11.302 |
| 6. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 1:11.494 |
| 7. | Cooper Webb | (Yam) | 1:11.717 |
| 8. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | 1:11.911 |
| 9. | Justin Barcia | (GG) | 1:12.065 |
| 10. | Joey Savatgy | (Hon) | 1:12.462 |
250SMX
Haiden Deegan is back on track with the fastest lap time in the 250 division. After winning round one, the Star Racing Yamaha rider grabbed his best time on the final lap of the second session. Levi Kitchen held the top time for most of the session – despite a brutal fall on the start – but still held on for second. Ryder Difrancesco was third with Seth Hammaker and Tom Vialle rounding out the top 10. Times were close as nine of the top 10 riders were all on the same second!
Both Austin Forkner and Max Vohland are out for the main events after suffering injuries during practice.
250SMX QUALIFYING RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 1:12.070 |
| 2. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 1:12.239 |
| 3. | Ryder Difrancesco | (GG) | 1:12.317 |
| 4. | Seth Hammaker | (Kaw) | 1:12.333 |
| 5. | Tom Vialle | (KTM) | 1:12.450 |
| 6. | Daxton Bennick | (Yam) | 1:12.508 |
| 7. | Cole Davies | (Yam) | 1:12.512 |
| 8. | Nate Thrasher | (Yam) | 1:12.732 |
| 9. | Max Anstie | (Yam) | 1:12.986 |
| 10. | Ty Masterpool | (Kaw) | 1:13.166 |
SMX NEXT
Kayden Minear is fresh off a win on Friday’s main event and he carried that momentum straight into Saturday’s qualifying. The Aussie native was flanked by his Star Racing Yamaha teammate Caden Dudney in second along with Ryder Malinoski in third.
SMX NEXT QUALIFYING RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Kayden Minear | (Yam) | 1:14.350 |
| 2. | Caden Dudney | (Yam) | 1:14.742 |
| 3. | Ryder Malinoski | (Yam) | 1:15.060 |
| 4. | Carson Wood | (Yam) | 1:15.684 |
| 5. | Mckayden Fitch | (Yam) | 1:15.775 |
| 6. | Enzo Temmerman | (Kaw) | 1:16.024 |
| 7. | Kade Johnson | (Yam) | 1:16.025 |
| 8. | Max Shane | (Hus) | 1:16.061 |
| 9. | Brennon Harrison | (GG) | 1:16.072 |
| 10. | Tiger Wood | (Hon) | 1:16.238 |
SMX Next (Friday)
Australian hot-shot Kayden Minear led all eight laps of the SMX Next main event which served as a make up round due to round one being rained out. His Star Racing Yamaha teammate Carson Wood finished second, with fellow Australian Tiger Wood rounding out the podium. These riders will race again tomorrow for the already-scheduled round two.
SMX Video Replay
SMX NEXT ROUND 1 RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Kayden Minear | (Yam) | 8 Laps |
| 2. | Carson Wood | (Yam) | 9.259 |
| 3. | Tiger Wood | (Hon) | 11.585 |
| 4. | Diesel Thomas | (Hus) | 12.629 |
| 5. | Owen Covell | (Yam) | 17.084 |
| 6. | Kade Johnson | (Yam) | 23.405 |
| 7. | Riley Busse | (Yam) | 27.186 |
| 8. | Landon Gibson | (Hus) | 28.884 |
| 9. | Caden Dudney | (Yam) | 29.462 |
| 10. | Mckayden Fitch | (Yam) | 30.251 |
