The 2025 SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) Playoffs kicked off at zMAX Dragway, with the rain-affected single-moto format marking the first of three decisive rounds to close out the season. Reaction dives into the commentary from around the paddock post race.

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Image: Octopi Media.

Chase Sexton (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – Second:
Round one of the Playoffs here in Charlotte was a good day. I qualified first, then finished second in moto one after getting a really good start – I just went too wide and had to come back from fifth or so. I had a good flow, even if the track was really sketchy today, so I’m happy to be leaving healthy. We go into the next race nine points down, and we have double and triple points upcoming. It’s time to shine and have some good upcoming weekends.

Jett Lawrence (Honda HRC Progressive) – First:
One moto down, and they called it because of the rain and lightning. Thank gosh we got a good start and executed our laps to get the overall. So I’m super pumped, and on to St. Louis. There should be good weather — we’ll be indoors — and some good racing. I’m looking forward to it. Everyone’s riding really well, so it should be good.

Hunter Lawrence (Honda HRC Progressive) – Fourth:
My day was alright. Honestly, I’m happy with my riding. I think if I could improve, it would’ve been in qualifying, to get a better gate pick – I think that would’ve changed the moto a little bit. I’m happy to be safe, first and foremost, there were a lot of guys unfortunately having big crashes, so I’m happy to be safe and in one piece. Top five, salvaged points, made points up on guys ahead of me. I’m ready for St. Louis.

Justin Barcia (Rockstar Energy GasGas Factory Racing) – 10th:
They were some super-tricky conditions out here – in SMX, they throw a lot of stuff at you with the spongey dirt, big jumps, and the motocross sections, so I really found it hard to get comfortable. I had a few close calls, that’s for sure, but we made it out of here, so that’s a positive. I’m fired up for next weekend in St. Louis, a little more supercross style, and we’ll try to post a strong result!

RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) – Fifth:
Charlotte was pretty good, I just felt as though I kept growing every time I hit the track. We were just steadily building, and today was even better than yesterday. The moto was solid, too. I didn’t get a great start, but I stuck to my game plan and clicked off consistent laps to earn a top-five – I’m stoked! That was the goal coming in, so I’m happy to be leaving here with a fifth place and looking forward to St Louis next weekend.

Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Third:
It was a good first moto. Of course, my tipover was unfortunate, but up until then, I had the holeshot on my side of the start on the split lane and then came out second on that second or third turn. I was riding really well. I was right there just behind Jett [Lawrence], and like I said, unfortunately I had a little fall, but I was able to get up quickly and stay in a podium position. So, that was good. It was a very tough track. This was one of the most interesting tracks I’ve ever ridden, and it was a true combination of conditions – with crazy deep motocross ruts, and we had to go back inside the stadium there and still get through those supercross rhythms. It was also one of the tougher dirt conditions that I’ve ever ridden in because of the way it was so soft and spongy. We’ll get out of here in third and try to do better next week.

Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 11th:
It was not the greatest of days and was a tough weekend all the way around. The track was definitely tough. I got a good start, but I just got pushed wide, went off the track, and went down. I got stuck under the bike and got burned a little bit. We only had one moto today, so that was unfortunate, but that’s racing. This was the one make-a-mistake round, with the single points. We’ll start looking forward to next weekend.

Cooper Webb (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Seventh:
Overall, it was an up and down day. We came in here a little bit underprepared from the knee injury, and I think it showed a little bit with our speed not being quite where we wanted it to be. But we turned it around in the race and got a great start and finished seventh, which I think was about where I was today. Yeah, it was a weird day not racing the second moto, but we’ll take it. We know what we need to work on. I think next weekend’s race being more supercrossy will really suit our style. I’m looking forward to bouncing back next week a little bit more prepared with another week under our belt.

Ken Roczen (Progressive Insurance Ecstar Suzuki) – Sixth:
Overall, I had a so-so weekend just getting back in the swing of things. These tracks are always a little bit unique, and we definitely got challenged – the dirt was soft, the jumps were kind of big, and it got really rutty, so it was very, very gnarly. I ended up sixth in the first moto after a good start. I know I can do better, but I’m also trying to just be better at every single race that I go to. And especially since the points are being doubled and tripled now, the races coming up are more important than this one. They canceled the second race due to lightning and too much rain, so we’ll leave here with a sixth place, and I hope to improve going into these next couple of rounds.

Kyle Chisholm (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – DNQ:
The day didn’t go how I wanted it to, but to be honest I only had about six or seven days of riding leading up to this since Salt Lake City, so not a lot of prep time like I normally would have. I didn’t have really high of expectations coming in, but I felt pretty good riding, and my lap times were good. I rode better than I thought I would. I was happy about that, and I just need to qualify better and make it happen in the race. We’ll get a little bit more work done this week and then try again in St. Louis.

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Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – Second:
We couldn’t ride the second moto here in Charlotte because of the weather, which is unfortunate. I had a great start in moto one, and I think I was in fourth, but I was struggling a little bit with getting comfortable on the track – it was really deep all weekend on both Friday and Saturday. I finished seventh and that was the result for today, as they canceled the second moto. We’ll get back to training and be ready for next weekend and then the final round, which will be very important with all the points on the line.

Jo Shimoda (Honda HRC Progressive) – Third:
They just called the race — the first moto was hectic, the second moto didn’t exist! I was ready, really ready to do it, but the track gave up on me. See you next weekend!

Ryder DiFrancesco (Rockstar Energy GasGas Factory Racing) – Sixth:
Charlotte was a good weekend overall! Every time I hit the track, I was on the board, which was my goal in practice. My start in moto one wasn’t that bad, but I got shuffled back in the first couple of laps, then made a strong charge forward all the way to sixth. Bummed we only got to race one moto today, but I am looking forward to these next two rounds.

Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – First:
It was a good day. The first qualifying was good, and the second qualifying wasn’t as great as we would’ve liked, but we ended up winning the first moto. I kind of got buried in the pack on the first lap, so we had to fight for that win. Even though it was one of the easiest days because there was a rain cancellation and we didn’t have the second motos, that was one of the hardest races, digging through the pack.

Nate Thrasher (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Ninth:
We’ve got a little bit to work on, but I think my speed overall was really good in the moto. I just wasn’t quite aggressive enough. I couldn’t get around some of the guys there and got stuck. I was looking forward to another chance in the next one. I feel like I really had some speed there and would’ve been able to fight up front, so that was a bummer. We’ll go back to work and be more aggressive next weekend. Next weekend is more of a supercross track in the stadium, which is a little bit more my style, so hopefully we’ll get on the podium.

Cole Davies (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Eighth:
The track was wild out there in Charlotte. I felt good in moto one. I had myself up front, but went down while running second, which was a tough one. I was ready to go again in moto two, so it’s a shame the weather didn’t let that happen. The good news is I’m healthy, I know where my speed’s at, and I’m already looking forward to St. Louis.

Max Anstie (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 13th:
One moto today, which was a bit random. I’m just happy to be back. It was one of those things where that was a really tricky track for me to come back to. I’ve had five months off the bike and three weeks now, where I’ve had no pain. When I’m riding, I feel good, but that was definitely a test out there. I’m happy that we made it through. I’m definitely a bit rusty, but I think there’s a place we can build on. I’m looking forward to next weekend.

Daxton Bennick (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 15th:
It was an alright day. Coming in here unseeded, I qualified fifth overall in the combined times, so I was really happy with that. I went a little deep on the start of the LCQ, so we need to work on that, and we finished fourth. Then the first moto, it was really tough to get a good start from that far outside gate. I tried my best, but it was so hard. I dug through the pack up to 15th, and then they canceled the second moto. I really wanted to race, but it happens. We’ve always got next weekend.

Garrett Marchbanks (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – 22nd:
I’m bummed with how today turned out. I was excited to show what I could do in SMX after coming off my best outdoor season and coming into the series third overall in SMX points. The track was pretty loose and unpredictable in a lot of areas, making it difficult to ride. I’m a bit banged up after my crash, but I’m going to head home and get checked out on Monday and go from there.

Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Fourth:
My day was pretty good. I only got to race once, but ended up fourth after I got docked a position. Overall, I’m feeling a lot better on the bike. We went back to my Daytona setup for this race with the hybrid style track. I feel like I showed good speed today, and I feel like I have a pretty good chance of getting some wins these next few races. My goal is to end the year on a high note with my results, and we’re going to stay positive going into these last two rounds.

Seth Hammaker (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Second:
I’m happy to start the SMX playoffs on the podium. I was really looking to grab that win, but happy with how I rode. I’m pretty frustrated with getting docked the championship points. I was looking to go back out in the second moto and fight for another podium finish, but the weather put a halt to finishing up the day. All we can do now is look to St. Louis and push for better results there.

Drew Adams (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – 11th:
It was a pretty mediocre day for me. Qualifying wasn’t the best, but I turned it around a bit during the race. In Moto 1, I got a decent start and was running around seventh when Garrett [Marchbanks] went down, and during his red cross flag, I made a simple mistake and fell over. I ended the moto in 11th. I know I can do better, but I’ll take the result and focus on St. Louis next week.

Ty Masterpool (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – 10th:
The day started out well with getting first overall in qualifying. First moto, I had a terrible gate pick because I was unseeded and had to get in through the wildcard. I’m bummed that being fastest in qualifying didn’t go towards my gate pick. In moto one, I got a bad jump off the gate, and someone went down in front of me, then I almost went down in the second corner, which put me in the back of the pack. I worked my way through the field and did the best I could with where I started. Unfortunately, they canceled the second moto. I was really looking forward to getting back out there and showing them what I got, but we just focus on next weekend now.

Austin Forkner (Triumph Racing) – Fifth:
I felt good as soon as practice started, despite deep ruts that made some people hesitant. I nailed the start in our only race, started second and then slowly dropped back to fifth. There was a lot of waiting around in the weather delay, but I’m happy to take fifth overall! It was a good and productive day. I’m keen to carry this momentum into my hometown race, St. Louis.

Jordon Smith (Triumph Racing) – 17th:
It was a rough day for me. I had a decent jump in the first moto but slid out in the first turn, then I crashed again after charging all of the way to 12th. It’s unfortunate that they cancelled the second moto – I was keen to rebound and secure a better overall result.