The competition narrowed the gap to Jett Lawrence on the track in Round 21 at High Point Raceway in Mount Morris, Pennsylvania, but the points leader ultimately remained undefeated through another two motos and continues to head the NBC SuperMotocross Power Rankings.
Lawrence showed the first signs of being human last week on Lap 5 of the first moto. He had an awkward landing off one of the jumps, buried his front wheel and crashed. Handing the lead over to Ken Roczen for the next six trips around the track, this was the first time in 2023 that he failed to lead flag-to-flag. Lawrence continued to be less than perfect in Moto 2. After getting hung up behind another rider in the early laps, it took 10 of 16 laps to track down and pass Roczen.
With Roczen out of the lineup for the RedBud Nationals, and Chase Sexton’s status still uncertain following his early season crash, Lawrence won’t be challenged for supremacy in the Power Rankings anytime soon, but there is potential for someone in the field to win a moto in the coming weeks.
It wasn’t the smoothest of weekends, but in the final rundown Dylan Ferrandis scored his fourth consecutive top-five at High Point. He crashed early in the first moto and failed to crack the top five in that race, only to salvage significant points in Moto 2 by standing on the bottom rung of the podium in third,
MORE: Jett Lawrence bobbles, but ultimately remains perfect
Cooper Webb’s results at High Point were the opposite of Ferrandis. He stood on the podium in Moto 1 but was unable to back that up with a sixth-place finish in the second race. That performance was enough to give him sole possession of the No. 1 seed in the SuperMotocross World Championship standings, and Webb is a rider capable of seeing the big picture.
Adam Cianciarulo has been getting progressively better in the 2023 Motocross season. Beginning with a sixth-place overall finish in the opener at Fox Raceway, he has improved one position in each successive round and finally earned his first overall podium at High Point with a pair of fourth-place results in the motos.
Aaron Plessinger struggled at High Point with results of eighth in the first moto and fifth in the second. There are still several top riders who have not been able to mount up for the outdoor season, but the privateers are stepping up.
Two of the more productive privateers in recent weeks have been Ty Masterpool (ranked seventh) and Garrett Marchbanks (eighth). Between them, they have swept the top 10 and each have a season-best overall result of sixth. As their confidence grows, one of them is bound to crack the top five in the coming weeks.
| Rank/Rider (SMX rank) 1. Jett Lawrence (11) 2. Chase Sexton (2) 3. Dylan Ferrandis (10) 4. Cooper Webb (1) 5. Adam Cianciarulo (4) 6. Aaron Plessinger (3) 7. Ty Masterpool (22) 8. Garrett Marchbanks (30) 9. Ken Roczen (5) 10. Lorenzo Locurcio (24) 11. Grant Harlan (13) 12. Derek Drake (26) 13. Fredrik Noren (14) 14. Ryan Surratt (34) 15. Dante Oliveira (47) 16. Romain Pape (31) 17. Kyle Chisholm (15) 18. Jose Butron (33) 19. Marshal Weltin (35) 20. Jeremy Hand (38) | Power Average 93.33 92.80 87.42 86.50 84.86 83.50 81.67 81.33 71.60 71.42 71.00 67.00 66.21 65.50 65.00 62.83 61.73 60.17 58.88 58.83 | Last Week (gain/loss) 1 (0) 2 (0) 3 (0) 4 (0) 5 (0) 6 (0) 8 (+1) 9 (+1) 14 (+5) 12 (+2) 15 (+4) 20 (+8) 24 (+11) 19 (+5) 21 (+6) 23 (+7) 22 (+5) 18 (0) 25 (+6) 27 (+7) |
250 Rankings
Like his brother, Hunter Lawrence is still perfect in in regard to overall finishes. He narrowly kept a perfect record of podium finishes last week in High Point after he was forced to come from 11th after the end of the first lap of Moto 1. It took only five laps to get into the top five and another seven to secure the third position, but he was so far behind RJ Hampshire and Haiden Deegan by that point that challenging for the victory was out of the question.
Moto 2 went a little better. Lawrence was seventh at the end of the first lap and it was easier to get to the front, which he accomplished on Lap 7. It’s the finishing results that count in the NBC SuperMotocross Power Rankings and the pair of podiums at High Point allowed Lawrence to further stretch his advantage.
Justin Cooper took a hard fall in qualification at High Point and failed to make the lineup with a throat injury and bruised chest. His status for RedBud is uncertain.
There was some question of whether Deegan lost his momentum after finishing outside the top five at Thunder Valley. The answer is “no” as he led Moto 1 last week and finished second. He crashed on Lap 1 of Moto 2 and recovered to only sixth, but that was enough to give him the final spot on the podium at High Point. In four rounds, he has three podium finishes and is anxious to get that first overall win.
Hampshire had every reason to believe High Point would be a turning point. He won his second moto of the season in Race 1 and did not have to deal with Lawrence for the entire event. After getting tangled up with his teammate Jalek Swoll on the opening lap, he was unable to get back to the top five and finished seventh. Moto finishes factor into the Power Rankings and results like that are keeping Hampshire from making a determined charge at Lawrence.
Jo Shimoda is quietly improving. He finished seventh in Round 1 at Fox Raceway and sixth at Hangtown. His last two overall finishes are a pair of fourth-place results at Thunder Valley and High Point, which gives him five top-fives in eight rounds since he returned from injury in Supercross Round 13 at Atlanta.
Chance Hymas was the biggest mover inside the top 10. With solid results of eight in Moto 1 last week and fifth in the second race, he jumped up four positions from 13th to land ninth.
| Rider (SMX points rank) 1. Hunter Lawrence (1) 2. Justin Cooper (16) 3. Haiden Deegan (3) 4. RJ Hampshire (2) 5. Jo Shimoda (9) 6. Levi Kitchen (4) 7. Max Vohland (6) 8. Ryder DiFrancesco (25) 9. Chance Hymas (11) 10. Jordon Smith (5) 11. Carson Mumford (19) 12. Tom Vialle (8) 13. Jalek Swoll (32) 14. Guillem Farres (35) 14. Ty Masterpool (69) 16. Caden Braswell (23) 17. Talon Hawkins (20) 18. Dilan Schwartz (26) 19. Garrett Marchbanks (57) 20. Maxwell Sanford (56) | Power average 90.64 89.50 86.15 85.08 83.92 80.31 74.33 74.18 73.09 69.69 69.63 68.54 64.09 61.25 61.25 59.55 56.58 56.00 55.00 53.00 | Last week (gain/loss) 1 (0) 2 (0) 3 (0) 4 (0) 5 (0) 6 (0) 8 (+1) 10 (+2) 13 (+4) 12 (+2) 11 (0) 14 (+2) 17 (+4) 15 (+1) 15 (+1) 18 (+2) 20 (+3) 21 (+3) 19 (0) NA |
* The NBC Power Rankings assign 100 points to a Main event winner in Supercross and overall winner in Motocross. It awards 90 points for each Moto, Heat and Triple Crown win. The points decrement by a percentage equal to the number of starters in the field until the last place rider in each event receives three points, (five in fields of 22 riders). The Power Ranking is the average of these percentage points over the past 45 days.
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 20 THUNDER VALLEY: Lawrence brothers dominance continues
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 19 HANGTOWN: Jett Lawrence pulls away from the field
POWER RANKINGS AFTER MX OPENER AT FOX RACEWAY: Jett Lawrence debuts in first place
POWER RANKINGS AFTER SX FINALE AT SALT LAKE CITY: Chase Sexton ends with win
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 15 AT NASHVILLE: Eli Tomac back on top
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 14 AT NEW JERSEY: The top 20 settle in
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 13 AT ATLANTA: Justin Barcia leapfrogs the Big 3
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 12 AT GLENDALE: Eli Tomac gains momentum
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 11 AT SEATTLE: Cooper Webb, Eli Tomac overtake Chase Sexton
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 10 AT DETROIT: Chase Sexton narrowly leads Webb
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 8 AT DAYTONA: Chase Sexton unseats Eli Tomac
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 7 AT ARLINGTON: Jason Anderson narrowly trails Eli Tomac
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 6 AT OAKLAND: Perfect night keeps Eli Tomac first
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 5 AT TAMPA: Chase Sexton, Cooper Webb close in
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 4 AT HOUSTON: Eli Tomac rebounds from A2 crash, retakes lead
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 3 AT ANAHEIM 2: Consistency makes Ken Roczen king
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 2 AT SAN DIEGO: Ken Roczen moves up, Chase Sexton falls
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 1 AT ANAHEIM 1: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence gain an early advantage
