For the first time in 40 years, the SuperMotocross World Championship came to Pittsburgh on Saturday, and the large crowd at Acrisure Stadium and those watching at home on Peacock got to see the top title contenders in key races.
This was the 15th race of a 17-round Supercross championship, featuring the 450, 250 East, and 250 SMX Next classes. The 450 class race on Saturday featured two racers who could win the championship: Cooper Webb, the points leader, and Chase Sexton.
Coming into this weekend, Sexton was only nine points out of the championship lead. But Webb finished first on Saturday, pushing Sexton back another three points.
Webb is competing for the third 450 Supercross title of his career. After the race, he said this time feels different, given the close points battle with Sexton.
“The situation we’re in right now, that we’ve seen in the past few weekends, has been very (head-to-head) between me and Chase,” Webb said at the post-race press conference. “It is a little bit unique and I don’t want to say it’s not normal, but since coming back from break, we have been going back and forth. It has been more one-on-one compared to the others.”
Justin Cooper, meanwhile, finished third to round out the podium for the 450 racers.
With just two rounds to go, Sexton will need nearly perfect races, and Webb would have to make multiple costly mistakes, for the championship to shift in Sexton’s hands.
In the 250 East class, Seth Hammaker came into this weekend with the points lead. In an interview with the Purbalite on Friday, he said he was looking forward to racing as the leader.
“It is really cool for my first time having the red plate and having the points lead in this position. A lot of things have gone really well this season,” Hammaker said.
On Saturday, though, Hammaker had a poor start, forcing him to play catch up for the entire race. He was able to salvage a fifth-place finish, but he lost the points lead to Tom Vialle, who won his first main event of the season.
Throughout the season, Vialle has had some struggles competing for wins. After the race, he said it felt good to get the victory.
“I feel like I had to win tonight to get a good chance at winning the title at Salt Lake City, to get closer in points,” Vialle said at the post-race press conference. “I have the red plate, so now I have a good chance to win the title. I had to make it up tonight.”
Nate Thrasher and Max Vohland finished second and third in the 250 East class. For Vohland, it was the best finish of his career.
The 250 East class has one more race, in two weeks, at Salt Lake City, which will be an East/West Shootout. For the East racers, it will be a winner-takes-all situation at their final round of Supercross racing.
Racers in the third class that raced on Saturday, the 250 SMX Next class, are in the high-school age range. These teenagers are racing to showcase their skills to the professional teams, with hopes of becoming a professional racer in the upcoming years.
When the gate dropped for the 250 SMX Next National Championship, one racer dominated: Alexander Fedortsov, who led every lap of the race.
“The SMX Next racing has been good,” Fedortsov said in a Friday interview with the Purbalite. “Learning new conditions on the tracks and learning the different schedules has been really good.”
After the race on Saturday evening, Fedortsov said he is ready to move on to outdoor SMX Next motocross racing, which starts later this summer.
“This was definitely a good confidence booster for me, and I proved I could ride well so I can battle with those guys,” Fedortsov said at the post-race press conference. “I can ride and be out front, so I am really confident going outdoors.”
Kawasaki riders Landen Gordon and Enzo Temmerman finished in second and third place in the SMX Next National Championship.
This was the final round of racing for the 250 Next class before they shift over to motocross racing in the upcoming months.
For the 450 and 250 West classes, racing moves on to Denver this weekend. Race Day Live starts at 1:30 p.m. and the races start at 7 p.m., live on Peacock. The title fights are getting closer, and championship winners will be crowned shortly.
