2023 Charlotte SuperMotocross Recap

Supercross returned on Saturday in Concord, NC at zMax Dragway for the opening round of the inaugural SuperMotocross World Championship.

SuperMotocross or SMX combines riders' points earned for the regular Supercross and Motocross season which gives the Top 20 riders in total points an automatic entry into the three-round SMX playoff where the eventual champion in the 250 class goes home with $500,000 and the 450 class champion leaves with $1,000,000. In total, $10 million gets paid out to the racers.

Riders ranked 21 - 30 in total points and those who won a Supercross Main Event or a Moto in Motocross secure the opportunity to race a Last Chance Qualifier for the final two gate positions at each race. Injuries also came into play as riders who qualified in total points or eligible for the LCQ but unable to race allowed riders on the way outside of competing in SMX a chance to race.

And though Motocross makes up part of the name it was pretty much a Supercross track. So, for those looking for some type of Outdoorsy-ness to the racing, the two Moto format was just about the only thing taken from Motocross. SuperMotocross negates all points won in the Supercross and Motocross seasons and redistributes by giving the rider with the most points, 25 heading into the playoff series, the rider with the second most combined points enters with 22, third gets 20 and so on. Sort of like a Moto socialism! The three-round SMX playoff raises the stakes by offering 25 points for the Round 1 winner, 50 points for the Round 2 winner and 75 points for the final round winner. The winner with the most points after the third round takes the SuperMotocross Championship for their respective class. The Triple Crown Format scoring used in the regular Supercross season comes into play as well using Olympic style scoring for each of the two Motos to determine the overall winner of each SMX round.

OK, well enough of all that!

In the 450 class, Jett Lawrence, the undefeated 450 class Motocross Champion finally faced some stiff competition and not only didn't win but didn't make the podium. Instead, reigning 450 class Supercross Champion Chase Sexton who entered Round 1 of SMX seeded #1, swept. It wasn't all that close either. Sexton crossed the checkers nearly nine seconds in front of Dylan Ferrandis in Moto 1 and more than six seconds ahead of Lawrence in the second race.

Ken Roczen looked fresh after taking most of the summer off taking second overall thanks to finishing third in both Motos while Ferrandis finished third overall on a (2-4) day. Roczen and Ferrandis tied in points with 6 (using the Olympic scoring) but second went to Roczen based on his third-place in Moto 2. Lawrence took fourth overall finishing seventh in the first race and second in Moto 2. He took the tiebreaker over Jason Anderson who settled for fifth on a (4-5) day. Both scoring 9 points.

2023 SuperMotocross 450 Class Standings after Round 1

  1. Chase Sexton
  2. Ken Roczen
  3. Dylan Ferrandis
  4. Jett Lawrence
  5. Jason Anderson

In the 250 class, Jo Shimoda got the overall on the tiebreaker over Tom Vialle. Shimoda finished fourth in the first raced and killed it with a win in Moto 2. Vialle went (3-2) on the day. Shimoda and Vialle both finished with 5 points, Shimoda taking the win thanks to the first-place in Moto 2. Haiden Deegan rounded out the podium in third with a win in the first race but fifth in Moto 2. Hunter Lawrence who just wrapped the 250 class Motocross Championship finished eighth overall on a (9-7) day.

2023 SuperMotocross 250 Class Standings after Round 1

  1. Jo Shimoda
  2. Tom Vialle
  3. Haiden Deegan
  4. Ryder DiFrancisco
  5. Jordon Smith

SMX Round 2 takes place at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday in Joliet, IL.

2023 Charlotte SuperMotocross