Chance Hymas reinjured his knee in Round 1 of the SuperMotocross World Championship at Concord, North Carolina, and made the difficult decision, after practicing poorly on Friday, to retire from the SMX playoffs.
The decision was made Saturday morning after Hymas landed 24th on the combined 250 divisional chart among 25 riders on Friday.
“After aggravating a previous injury to his left knee in the SuperMotocross opener, Chance Hymas and Team Honda HRC Progressive have made the difficult decision to have him to sit out the remainder of the SMX series,” the team reported in a statement. “Hymas has been riding with a torn ACL all season but he has been able to compete at a high level.
“However, he suffered a bone bruise in the second moto at Charlotte and experienced discomfort during yesterday’s practice sessions. Based on past experience, the team is confident Hymas will be ready to compete at a high level in a matter of weeks. The focus is to be totally prepared to race for Team USA at the Motocross of Nations on October 6.”
Hymas tried to ride through the pain last week at zMax Dragway. He finished 13th in Moto 1 and 20th in Moto 2 for 16th overall.
He entered Texas ninth, 27 points behind the leader Deegan. With very little upside to riding in the final two SMX rounds, the logical decision was to attempt to put in his best effort toward rehabilitating before the Motocross of Nations (MXoN), which will be held at Matterley Basin in the United Kingdom.
“This isn’t what I wanted be sharing with you guys,” Hymas said in a social media post. “The team and I made a decision to sit out the next two rounds to do everything I can to get my knee in the best shape possible to represent my country. I have been fighting through this and I will continue to fight.”
If Hymas is unable to ride for the United States in the MXoN, Team America will have to find another rider. It won’t be Haiden Deegan, who announced in a post-race news conference after sweeping the Texas motos for his second overall victory of the 2024 SMX playoffs.
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