Denver, Colorado serves as round 16 of the Monster Energy SuperMotocross World Championship at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium. Today is the penultimate round of the Supercross Championship and things are coming down to the wire as Ken Roczen leads the championship by four points over Hunter Lawrence. In 250SX, the Western Divisional Championship is back on track with Haiden Deegan looking to close out his season on top. Let’s get into the action!
At the end of the night, Haiden Deegan and Hunter Lawrence scored wins in their respective main events. Another win for Deegan further solidifies his name in the 250 record books while Lawrence closes the 450SX points gap to just one going into the season finale next weekend.
450SX MAIN EVENT
Hunter Lawrence delivered when it mattered most. The Honda HRC Progressive absolutely dominated the 450SX main event on Saturday night as he led all but one lap en route to his fifth career victory. Lawrence barged his way to first around early leader Jorge Prado and made the pass for first on lap two. From there he proceeded to lay down the hurt on the rest of the field. When all was said and done Lawrence crossed the line 12-seconds clear of title rival Ken Roczen. Lawrence showed he means business and closed massive ground in the championship fight. He now sits just one point back from Roczen going into the finale where conditions will be similar.
“I felt good and the bike was working good, it was giving me what I needed.” Lawrence said. “It was a really tough track and there wasn’t much traction out there…Everyone knows what I need to do for these last two rounds and we checked the first box. Now we need to go to Salt Lake City and do the same thing.”
Ken Roczen took second on the night, finishing behind his title rival Lawrence. Technically Roczen didn’t need to win as he still holds a one point buffer but it is dangerously close now with one round to go. The Progressive Suzuki rider started fifth and seemed stuck outside a podium position while Lawrence moved to the lead early in the race. He quickly turned up the heat and passed into second but was unable to close the gap as Lawrence marched away up front. Roczen kept things under control and earned his 88th career 450SX podium, passing Ricky Carmichael for fifth all-time. Next week’s race will be a nail biter between these two as whoever wins will take home all the marbles.
Eli Tomac returned to action and scored third on the night. The hometown hero got off to a slow start and event stalled the bike early in the race through the sand section. He then found himself battling teammate Jorge Prado and eventually passed the Spaniard for the final spot on the box. Tomac looked to be catching Roczen for second but held tough through the final laps to take his best finish since round 10 in Birmingham. Another podium, his 111th, sees Tomac tie Jeremy McGrath for second on the all time podium list.
“I’m glad to land on this podium for the Colorado fans,” Tomac said. “I was so bummed when I stalled it in the sand. I just happened to stomp on my rear brake there and then, honestly, like double-stalled. Anyway, I was able to claw back there, had some fun on this track, and that was just a good bounce back. I’m happy to get back for these last two rounds, and love being on the West Coast, too of course, home state in Colorado. We’ll try to get another podium next week.”
Malcolm Stewart qualified through the LCQ and finished fourth after multiple riders crashed out of their top five positions.
“There was a lot going on in that race,” Stewart said. “You could’ve thrown a blanket over all of us! There was a lot of carnage, but at the end of the day, I guess Christmas came in May for me for a fourth! We’ve just got to continue moving forward. I struggled a little bit tonight and went to the LCQ, which I haven’t been to in a minute, but we just tried to ride our race [in the main] and get it done.”
Chase Sexton earned a top five finish for the third time in the last four races.
“I felt good in the heat race, but played it safe to finish in second place,” Sexton said. “I had a bad start in the main event. I had to work my way through the field and struggled to feel comfortable. The last few laps, I was able to capitalize on a few guys that went down, putting me fifth on the night.”
Jorge Prado led early on but later finished sixth ahead of Garrett Marchbanks, Justin Barcia, Dean Wilson, and Dylan Ferrandis.
450SX OVERALL RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 25 Laps |
| 2. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | 12.314 |
| 3. | Eli Tomac | (KTM) | 19.466 |
| 4. | Malcolm Stewart | (Hus) | 23.442 |
| 5. | Chase Sexton | (Kaw) | 26.148 |
| 6. | Jorge Prado | (KTM) | 28.406 |
| 7. | Garrett Marchbanks | (Kaw) | 30.897 |
| 8. | Justin Barcia | (Duc) | 33.887 |
| 9. | Dean Wilson | (Hon) | 36.810 |
| 10. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Duc) | 42.632 |
250SX MAIN EVENT
The 250SX Western Division Championship rejoined the action in the Mile High City with none other than Haiden Deegan leading the way. With this year’s title already in hand, the 1W is just padding his numbers at this point and topped everything there was to win on Saturday night. He led every lap of the 250SX main event and made things look easy on the hard packed track. Denver marked his seventh win of the year, tying him for the third most wins in a single 250SX season and moving him past Jett Lawrence on the all-time 250 wins list. The Salt Lake City Showdown is set to be Deegan’s final race aboard the 250.
“That was a good race,” Deegan said. “A perfect start and led it from the beginning. I got up to about a six second gap and just tried to pace myself and put on a show for the Colorado fans.”
Levi Kitchen matched his season best result with another second place finish in Denver. This comes as a bit of a surprise as Kitchen has been nursing a lingering back injury throughout the season and finished off the box in the last two 250SX West rounds. A brief stint off the bike saw him only start riding the week prior to Denver but the 47 looked right up to speed as he started third and quickly worked his way to second. Another podium finish keeps him in narrowly control for second in the championship.
“I’m actually really happy with this result,” Kitchen said. “I took quite a bit of time off the bike to recover and rode for the first time on Monday this week. I felt good, so Mitch [Payton] and I had a conversation and decided to race Denver. This was a pretty last-minute decision, so to come in and have a good weekend like this feels great. In the main event, I got into second and just focused on putting in solid laps. The track was really difficult and could catch you pretty quick, so it was all about staying consistent.”
Ryder DiFrancesco rounded out the podium in third. The Rockstar Husqvarna pilot worked his way up from a fifth place start and passed his championship rival Max Anstie for the final spot on the box. For DiFrancesco, this pass earned him his third podium of the season and puts him just one point out of third overall in the championship standings. With one round to go the race for second in points is separated by only eight points with Kitchen, Anstie, and DiFrancesco all vying for a spot on the podium.
“It was a good night in Denver,” said DiFrancesco. “The main goal these last couple of weeks is to get to P2 [in points]. Obviously the championship is wrapped up, so second would be ideal. Tonight, once I got into third, there wasn’t much more that I could do, so I just brought it home from there.”
Max Anstie claimed a heat race win and the main event holeshot but finished fourth at the line while teammate Kayden Minear rounded out the top five in his debut Supercross race. Lux Turner earned a career-best sixth ahead of Hunter Yoder, Robbie Wageman, Joshua Varize, and Max Vohland.
250SX OVERALL RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 19 Laps |
| 2. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 3.529 |
| 3. | Ryder DiFrancesco | (Hus) | 19.299 |
| 4. | Max Anstie | (Yam) | 32.014 |
| 5. | Kayden Minear | (Yam) | 44.213 |
| 6. | Lux Turner | (Yam) | 51.116 |
| 7. | Hunter Yoder | (Yam) | 54.634 |
| 8. | Robbie Wageman | (Yam) | 1:01.976 |
| 9. | Joshua Varize | (Kaw) | 1 Lap |
| 10. | Max Vohland | (Yam) | 1 Lap |
Penalty Report
No racing penalties were issued in this week’s main event, only in qualifying and heat races. Race Direction reviewed video evidence of a rider interference situation where the mechanic of Crockett Myers contacted another rider with a pit board during the race. A fine was issued to the mechanic.
Webb Out of Points
A late-race fall in the 450SX main event saw Cooper Webb take an 11th place finish, his worst result of the year. This is Webb’s only non top 10 finish and it mathematically drops him out of the championship running.
Savatgy Sidelined
Joey Savatgy earned a season-best fourth one week ago but took a big fall this week during the 450SX qualifying session which ultimately forced a red flag. The crash resulted in a dislocated wrist and the QuadLock Honda rider did not line up for the night show.
“Tough day at the office yesterday,” Savatgy said. “Had a big one in qualifying that left me with a dislocated wrist. Scans at the medical unit and hospital showed nothing broken. I’ll have another scan this week, fingers crossed everything checks out.”
Notes
Ken Roczen became the sixth athlete in SMX history to hit 175 podiums – Tomac, Carmichael, Dungey, Reed, & McGrath are the others…Tomac’s start in the Salt Lake City finale will mark his 199 career 450SX starts. Only three athletes have 200+ 450SX Class starts: Chad Reed, Mike LaRocco, and Kevin Windham…If Deegan wins the finale, he’ll miss tying James Stewart for most 250SX wins by one…Yamaha now holds the winningest season in 250SX history with two Championships and 15 victories, surpassing Honda’s previous clip of 14 set in 2023.
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450 QUALIFYING
Ken Roczen is turning up the heat late as he leads the 450SX points for the first time ever in the second-half of the season. The Progressive Suzuki rider set the fastest lap in the 450’s and posted the fastest time of anyone on track with a 50.103. He was only two-tenths quicker than Hunter Lawrence who took second overall with a 50.314. Chase Sexton looked fast all morning and clocked the time to beat in Q1 before taking third overall.
450SX OVERALL QUALIFYING RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | 50.103 |
| 2. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 50.314 |
| 3. | Chase Sexton | (Kaw) | 50.392 |
| 4. | Justin Hill | (KTM) | 50.532 |
| 5. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Duc) | 50.771 |
| 6. | Eli Tomac | (KTM) | 51.010 |
| 7. | Jorge Prado | (KTM) | 51.039 |
| 8. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 51.054 |
| 9. | Garrett Marchbanks | (Kaw) | 51.350 |
| 10. | Christian Craig | (Hon) | 51.524 |
250 QUALIFYING
With 250SX West back on track today, it’s no surprise to see Haiden Deegan as the fastest qualifier. He’s already clinched the 250 title so there’s no real pressure other than closing out his 250 career with a win. Deegan heads to the line first going into the night show and was the only 250 rider in the 50-second range. Levi Kitchen was a close second and looks up to speed after a mid-season back injury. Ryder DiFrancesco rounded out the top three after setting the time to beat in the first qualifying session.
250SX OVERALL QUALIFYING RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 50.981 |
| 2. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 51.348 |
| 3. | Ryder DiFrancesco | (Hus) | 51.562 |
| 4. | Max Anstie | (Yam) | 51.750 |
| 5. | Lux Turner | (Yam) | 52.196 |
| 6. | Max Vohland | (Yam) | 52.692 |
| 7. | Joshua Varize | (Kaw) | 52.696 |
| 8. | Cameron McAdoo | (Kaw) | 52.759 |
| 9. | Carson Mumford | (KTM) | 52.829 |
| 10. | Hunter Yoder | (Yam) | 52.939 |
Denver Notes
- Eli Tomac returns to action today after crashing in Cleveland and missing the last two rounds
- Joey Savatgy crashed in 450 Q1 and injured his wrist. He’s out for tonight’s racing
- Cameron McAdoo is back on track after recovering from a fractured humerus in Seattle
- Kayden Minear makes his pro debut today with the Star Racing Yamaha team
- Gage Linville starts his time with the Triumph Factory Racing Team today
