Colt Nichols will join the H.E.P. Motorsports Twisted Tea Suzuki team beginning with Round 9 of the Pro Motocross season at Unadilla MX Park in New Berlin, New York, as a teammate to Kyle Chisholm and Shane McElrath.
The deal is for the remainder of the outdoor season and the 2024 SuperMotocross World Championship with a mutual extension option for 2025.
“I’m very excited to be joining the H.E.P. Suzuki team,” Nichols said in a release. “It’s pretty cool to get to sign in 2024, get some races under our belt this year, iron out a few things, and hopefully come into 2025 swinging. I’m very happy to be a part of the team and am grateful for the opportunity to get to work with the staff and the bike to get this whole thing figured out.”
Nichols was scheduled to debut with the factory Beta team at the beginning of the 2024 Monster Energy Supercross season but was sidelined by a rotator cuff injury. His first start came in Birmingham, where he qualified for the Feature and finished 13th. He failed to crack the top 10 with the new manufacturer in six feature appearances since then but earned enough points to finish 20th in the 450 championship standings.
“The team is thrilled to have an athlete of Colt’s caliber join the team,” said Dustin Pipes, Team Principal of Twisted Tea / H.E.P. Motorsports. “Being a former Lites Champion, Colt has the talent and pedigree to race his Suzuki RM-Z450 to great results. In the short time we have worked together, Colt has been very insightful and contributory on how to improve the motorcycle as we progress throughout this partnership. I look forward to seeing Colt on the starting line.”
Nichols has not made a Pro Motocross start this season and currently sits 26th in the combined SuperMotocross standings, 43 points out of 20th, which Grant Harlan inhabits. Nichols announced he would leave Beta Motorcycles in late June.
The top 20 riders in SMX points earn a guaranteed start in the three playoff race features.
Beginning with Unadilla, Nichols will have three rounds (six motos) to earn enough points to get into the top 20.
Three of the five riders ahead of him in the standings are not competing in the Motocross series, and two riders just inside the cutline are currently inactive. Effectively, Nichols will be embroiled in a five-rider contest with Harri Kullas, Chisholm, Harlan, and Marshal Weltin for the two positions that will be vacated by Dean Wilson and Justin Hill, which means he needs to finish, on average, at least seven positions ahead of those riders in the final six motos, dependent on how many points each of them score in this week’s race in Washougal, Washington.
Should Nichols not make his way into the top 20, he will qualify for the Last Chance Qualifiers in the playoff races so long as he remains in the top 30 in SMX points.
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