The strong keep on getting stronger as the top three riders in the NBC SuperMotocross Power Rankings swept the podium for the fourth time in the six rounds they have competed head-to-head led by Jett Lawrence, who extended his perfect record of moto wins to 18 consecutive. At the Unadilla Nationals, in New Berlin, New York Lawrence put in a perfect performance by posting the fastest time in qualification, winning the holeshot in both motos and leading every lap.
It was the icing on the cake of his rookie Motocross campaign, and equally important, he was unchallenged for most of both motos. In Moto 1, Chase Sexton challenged him briefly in the middle stages and Dylan Ferrandis closed the gap at the end, but it is still unclear if Lawrence is truly pushing himself for the entire the 30 minutes plus two laps. Until someone passes him on the track and manages to gain some distance, that question will go unanswered.
For the fourth straight week and the fifth time in six rounds, Sexton finished second in the overall standings to his teammate Lawrence. The only weakness he showed, if one can use that term for a podium finish, is that he finished third for only the second time this season in Moto 1. With each passing defeat, Sexton gets hungrier.
MORE: Jett Lawrence clinches the 250 title with perfect day
Dylan Ferrandis swept the podium for the fifth time this season with a second-place finish in Moto 1 and a third in the second race. He’s been outside the top five for only two motos in the first nine rounds and the last of these was at High Point. With Lawrence claiming the title and Sexton likely to clinch the No. 1 seed in the SuperMotocross playoffs, there is not a lot to race for other than pride and momentum.
Aaron Plessinger finished fifth in both motos last week in Unadilla, rewarding the confidence of the Red Bull KTM team after they renewed his contract for 2024. Finishing fifth overall, this was the eighth time this season that he was in the top-five, but there is still a little more work to do since only one of these was a podium. Plessinger finished second at Thunder Valley.
Adam Cianciarulo advanced two positions in this week’s SuperMotocross Power Rankings on the strength of a fourth-place finish in the overall standings. He started the season strong with three top-fives and a sixth in the first four rounds before struggling at RedBud and Southwick with a 10th- and eighth-place results respectively. His last three efforts have been sixth or better.
When the motos were tallied, Garrett Marchbanks finished seventh overall last week, but a 10th-place finish in Moto 2 hurt his power average ranking just enough to drop him a position in the standings.
This Week Rider (SMX points rank) 1. Jett Lawrence (5) 2. Chase Sexton (1) 3. Dylan Ferrandis (6) 4. Aaron Plessinger (2) 5. Adam Cianciarulo (3) 6. Garrett Marchbanks (16) 7. Ty Masterpool (13) 8. Jason Anderson (7) 9. Fredrik Noren (11) 10. Jose Butron (22) 11. Grant Harlan (12) 12. Phil Nicoletti (25) 13. Kyle Chisholm (15) 14. Shane McElrath (18) 15. Anton Gole (52) 16. Romain Pape (30) 16. Luke Renzland (75) 18. Jeremy Hand (35) 19. Luca Marsalisi (36) 20. John Adamson (76) | Power Avg. 93.33 91.17 88.17 85.17 81.92 79.33 77.92 73.25 70.92 66.83 66.08 63.92 62.00 54.50 50.64 47.67 47.67 46.89 45.33 40.44 | Last Week (gain/loss) 1 (0) 2 (0) 3 (0) 4 (0) 7 (2) 5 (-1) 9 (2) 8 (0) 11 (2) 15 (5) 14 (3) 13 (1) 16 (3) 18 (4) 23 (8) 31 (15) 21 (5) 24 (6) 20 (1) 28 (8) |
250 Rankings
With the dominance Hunter Lawrence showed at the beginning of the season, (by winning five of the first nine motos), there was not a lot of room for other riders to win. It took seven races before anyone except Lawrence posted multiple moto victories. Justin Cooper had to wait until Spring Creek three rounds ago to get his second moto win but it didn’t take nearly as long to get a third. With Lawrence failing to win either moto last week, Cooper joined Haiden Deegan as the rider with the second-most wins at three.
The points were tight at the top of the order last week. In the closing laps of Moto 2 at Unadilla, Jo Shimoda still had an opportunity to win the overall. Instead, a pair of third-place moto finishes relegated him to fourth. That pair of podiums in the motos nevertheless contributed positively to his Power Rankings average and Shimoda launched two positions up the standings as Haiden Deegan and RJ Hampshire both experienced problems in New York.
Levi Kitchen won Moto 1 of the Unadilla Nationals and also had an opportunity to take the overall win. His fourth-place finish in the second race was not sufficient to get him to the top of the order, but it contributed to his third consecutive top-five overall finish. Momentum is hard to quantify, but with two rounds before the SuperMotocross championship, Kitchen has it nonetheless.
Hunter Lawrence is making his way back up the NBC SuperMotocross Power Rankings after disastrous results in back-to-back Nationals at RedBud and Southwick. Partly aided by Deegan and Hampshire, Lawrence improved four positions and reassumed a spot among the top five. It would seem likely that he could move all the way back to the top before the season is over, but he’s going to have to win motos in order to do so. He finished second in both last week.
Max Vohland scored his first top-five of the season last week at Unadilla after finishing between sixth and 11th in the previous eight rounds. It remains to be seen if he can back up this performance in the next two rounds, but a strong run last week has to feel great regardless of the future.
Deegan had a terrible week at Unadilla. A mechanical failure just as time was running off the clock in Moto 1 cost him significantly in the points and will make it difficult to make another run at the 250 championship unless something happens to Lawrence, but the bulk of his performances in the past 45 days have been the thing of rookies’ dreams. Athletes have a way of focusing on the positive and Deegan’s sweep of Washougal is still fresh in his mind. Deegan fell to eighth in the Power Rankings.
Things were worse for RJ Hampshire. He crashed hard in Moto 2 last week and finished at the back of the pack. The good news is that he was able to walk to the medical cart under his own power; the bad news is that he is likely to miss a couple of rounds. Rest assured, if Hampshire is healthy enough to mount up for the SuperMotocross World Championship, he will.
This Week Rider (SMX points rank) 1. Justin Cooper (8) 2. Jo Shimoda (5) 3. Levi Kitchen (4) 4. Hunter Lawrence (1) 5. Max Vohland (6) 6. RJ Hampshire (3) 7. Tom Vialle (7) 8. Haiden Deegan (2) 9. Jalek Swoll (14) 10. Seth Hammaker (27) 11. Carson Mumford (18) 12. Pierce Brown (16) 13. Daxton Bennick (34) 14. Ryder DiFrancesco (13) 15. Austin Forkner (45) 16. Talon Hawkins (11) 17. Caden Braswell (15) 18. Preston Kilroy (38) 19. Dilan Schwartz (20) 20. Joshua Varize (44) | Power Avg. 90.17 86.50 83.83 83.25 79.92 77.67 76.50 74.92 71.33 71.00 69.67 69.11 67.56 67.09 66.56 64.50 60.42 59.56 52.42 46.89 | Last Week (gain/loss) 1 (0) 4 (2) 5 (2) 8 (4) 7 (2) 3 (-3) 6 (-1) 2 (-6) 15 (6) 9 (-1) 10 (-1) 12 (0) 13 (0) 13 (-1) 17 (2) 18 (2) 19 (2) 20 (2) 22 (3) 27 (7) |
* 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 25 WASHOUGAL: Haiden Deegan improves two spots in 250
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 24 SPRING CREEK: Chase Sexton closes competitive gap
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 23 SOUTHWICK: Halfway home and Jett Lawrence is still undefeated
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 21 HIGH POINT: Lawrence brothers still perfect in overall finishes
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