This past weekend, the SuperMotocross World Championship had its fourth race in the championship series in Glendale, Ariz., at State Farm Stadium.
This day of racing was in the Triple Crown format. This means the racers compete in three races and are scored in the Olympic style, as opposed to the traditional heat, last chance qualifier, and main event format. Essentially, viewers get to watch the 250 and 450 racers in three main events in one night.
The 250 class races for 10 minutes, and the 450 class races for 12 minutes for each of the three races.
In race one for the 250 class, rookie Cole Davies of New Zealand won in an impressive fashion for his first career win. Jordan Smith took second place, and Haiden Deegan finished third. Notably, the championship points leader, Julian “Juju” Beaumer, was leading the first lap and ended up wrecking. He ended up working his way through the racers and was able to finish in fourth.
In race two for the 250 class, Beaumer was leading again and wrecked on the first lap. He had to charge again, and he was only able to finish in seventh. Davies won the second race, and Smith finished second, with Deegan finishing close behind him in third.
In the third and final race for the 250 class, Beaumer had another good start and was able to not wreck and finish in second place. However, Davies wrecked on the first lap and had to finish in the eighth place position. Michael Mosiman had a good start and finished third on the podium for this race. Ultimately, Smith won the third race and was able to win the overall for the night.
The 250 overall podium had Smith in first place, which was newcomer Triumph Racing’s first win for the new team and dirt bike. Deegan finished second, and Davies finished third to round out the podium.
The 450 class has generated a lot of excitement since the first round, with Ken Roczen being the new points leader and doing some of the best Supercross racing of his career.
In race one, Cooper Webb took the win with Jett Lawrence not far behind him. Chase Sexton was able to pull out a third place finish.
In race two, Roczen got his win, with Lawrence not far behind him. Sexton was able to finish in third place.
In race three, everything changed. Lawrence was buried off the start and he jammed his leg up in the first corner. He immediately pulled off the track, pointing to his knee. After a MRI on Monday, it has been determined that he has a complete ACL tear and a partial tear to his meniscus.
Lawrence said that he will hopefully only be out for the Supercross championship, and his goal is to be back for round one of the Pro Motocross championship, the second half of the SMX season. The first round is on May 24.
On a more positive note, fan favorite Eli Tomac was able to win the third 450 race, with Sexton spaced out behind him. Webb was able to finish third after a mediocre start.
For the 450 class overall, Sexton was able to take the win for the night, with Webb second on the podium and Roczen in third. Sexton left Glendale with the championship points lead.
This weekend, the SMX Championship goes east to Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium. The 250 West riders will get a few weeks off, and the 250 East riders will start their championship season in Tampa. Another great night of racing will be broadcast live at 8 p.m. Saturday on Peacock.
