LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Jett Lawrence swept the motos in Round 3 of the SuperMotocross World Championship and won his second consecutive SMX League title on a tiebreaker.
Jett entered the race nine points behind his brother Hunter Lawrence and knew he could clinch the title with a win. Benefiting from winning two rounds to Hunter’s one, Jett kept his perfect record of championships alive when he has raced the entire season.
“I want to start out by saying it sucks that we didn’t have Chase out there,” Jett told Peacock’s Will Christien. “I don’t know what happened, but I hope he has a speedy recovery. I [saw] the video and it looked like just a bummer of a racing incident.
"[...] I sat out the outdoors series and it sucked but it’s still good to come back and start where I left off.”
After a modest first moto and third-place finish, Hunter did not let Jett get much of an advantage in the second race but Jett is a master of managing a two- or three-second gap. Hunter lost some time early while he was being pressured by Eli Tomac and was unable to make up the difference.
For a rider who started the 2024 SuperMotocross campaign by missing the featured in Anaheim in January, the fact that he entered this round as the points leader and was in contention was an example in grit.
“Hopefully we gave the fans what they wanted to see and a good battle all the way down to the wire,” Hunter told Jason Thomas. “It was a fun race regardless of the outcome.”
With Jett’s championship win and Hunter’s second place, the Lawrence family leaves Las Vegas with $1.5 million from the points fund.
Tomac led most of Moto 1 before losing the position to Jett in the closing laps. With a third-place result in Moto 2, he easily finished third overall. It was a victory of sorts as Tomac spent most of the Pro Motocross season sidelined by a thumb injury.
Aaron Plessinger finished fourth overall with fourth-place results in both motos. Plessinger was carrying the banner for KTM after Sexton was eliminated in an early crash in Moto 1. Sexton’s hopes of winning the title evaporated when he rode into Justin Barcia’s line while that rider was mid-air. Barcia landed on Sexton and damaged his bike. It remains to be seen if Sexton suffered any major injuries.
Cooper Webb was sixth in Moto 1 and fifth in the second race to round out the top five overall.
Click here for 450 Overall results
In 250s, Pierce Brown won his first professional dirt bike race in Round 3 of the SuperMotocross Championship final race but Haiden Deegan won his second title in the new playoff league.
Brown got strong starts in both motos but he followed Deegan in Moto 1 allowing Deegan to win his fifth consecutive moto. The teenaged rider wanted the playoff sweep, but a poor start that put him outside the top five on the first lap of Moto 2 forced him to ride through the field as Brown had the early lead.
Deegan rode flat out when he first got into second-place but realized he could not maintain that pace without risking a crash. Discretion dictated he back down and settle for the championship and $500,000 that went with it.
In the Olympic-style scoring, Brown and Deegan had the same points but Brown won on the tiebreaker.
“All I can say is I’m speechless right now,” Brown said. “I feel like this win has been long overdue.”
With the overall win and triple points, Brown jumped to third in championship points and added $132,000 in prize money.
For Deegan, the 2024 season has been 180 degrees different than his first SuperMotocross championship. Deegan won the overall race in the 2023 season finale at Los Angeles Coliseum but failed to win a moto in six races. That added to his determination to sweep the motos in 2024. He came close, failing by one position.
“It feels good,” Deegan said from the second rung of the podium. “Back to back is definitely a dream come true. I worked my butt off ever since I was a kid to get here.”
Jordon Smith finished third overall with results of fifth in Moto 1 and third in Moto 2.
Jo Shimoda finished fourth and fifth in the two races for fourth overall.
Tom Vialle pressured Brown early, but finished eighth in Moto 2 after falling midway through the race. Combined with a third in Moto 1, he was fifth overall. Vialle finished 34 points behind Deegan and finished second in the championship.
Click Here for 250 Overall results
In-Race Notes
It’s a warm, sunny day in Las Vegas but there is relief in sight as Round 3 of the SuperMotocross World Championship heads into darkness. The only night show in the three playoff rounds, this long track meanders in and out of the track.
Race Day Live will showcase qualification and tonight’s race program begins at 9:30 p.m. ET, so settle in for a full day of racing.
If Deegan and Jett weren’t the favorites already, their speed in Friday’s practice made them so.
Hunter and Sexton hold their fate in hand and can dethrone the defending champion with a win.
In 250s, Vialle needs a little help. He can pocket the half million dollar prize for the Championship if he wins and Deegan finishes off the podium.
Features
450 Moto 2
Sexton does not make the gate after getting landed on by Barcia in Moto 1. Colt Nichols takes his place.
Jett doesn’t want to leave anything to chance. He gets the holeshot.
Hunter settles into second, but he has to finish ahead of Jett by at least two positions.
Tomac completes Lap 1 in third but he needs help in the form of bad races for the Lawrence brothers if he is going to have a chance at the title.
On Lap 2, Plessinger joins the fight in fourth.
Webb rounds out the top five as we near the halfway point.
Hunter is two seconds behind Jett with Tomac another 1.5 seconds behind.
Jett slowly draws away from Hunter at the halfway point.
Jason Anderson retires just after the 10-minute mark.
Jett settles into a comfortable pace and manages his two-second gap.
If they end this way, Jett will win the championship via a tiebreaker of who has the most 2024 SMX wins.
Click here for complete 450 Moto 2 results
250 Moto 2
Ty Masterpool gets the holeshot and Deegan is relegated to fifth.
Vialle and Smith round out the podium at the end of Lap 1.
Deegan slips to sixth and as they run, he has the lead by four points. If Vialle moves up or Deegan loses a spot, the French rider wild take the title.
Vialle is pressuring Masterpool.
Max Anstie jumps off course from fifth, hands the position to Deegan, and the points shift. Deegan can clinch from this position even if Vialle takes the top spot.
Vialle hits the ground at the seven-minute mark. That should hand the title to Deegan. Vialle ran into the back of Masterpool.
Deegan also takes a spot from Smith as Vialle drops to sixth.
Deegan doesn’t need the win, but he desperately wants to complete the SuperMotocross sweep. He’s caught Brown and Masterpool.
Brown takes the lead from Masterpool at the halfway mark.
Masterpool is aggressive in keeping Deegan behind him.
As they battle hard, Brown slipped off to a three-second lead.
With eight minutes to go, Deegan gets into second.
Smith grabs third from Masterpool with four minutes on the clock.
Brown wins Moto 2 and scores his first dirt bike overall.
Deegan finishes seven seconds behind and takes the championship.
Smith finishes third in the moto and overall.
Click here for complete 250 Moto 2 results
450 Moto 1
Tomac doesn’t want to be forgotten. He gets the holeshot.
Jett is the highest among the three likeliest championship contenders. He rides second.
Catastrophe strikes Sexton. He crashes on Lap 1 and will retire. He was landed on by Barcia.
Hunter is third and this changes the points scenario if Tomac plays the role of spoiler and wins the overall.
At the halfway point, it remains Tomac, Jett, and Hunter. at the front
Anderson and Plessinger round out the top five.
Jett is closing in on Tomac inch by inch. It’s less than a second with two and half minutes remaining.
Tomac bobbles slightly and Jett gets the spot with a minute on the clock.
Hunter remain third but is more than five seconds behind.
Anderson crashes from fourth as time runs off the clock.
Jett wins and takes control of the championship.
“This track is very difficult to pass,” Jett said from the podium. “When I was behind him I was kind of thinking for a bit that I would have to stick with second because there was never really an opening to find. You just had to rely on a mistake or breathing down his neck.”
Tomac holds onto second and Hunter remains third.
Plessinger climbs to fourth with Anderson’s fall and Justin Cooper moves up to fifth.
Click here for complete 450 Moto 1 results
250 Moto 1
The first goal is accomplished; Deegan gets the holeshot.
Brown got a great start also and rides second in the opening laps.
Masterpool rounds out the top three.
Vialle did not get the start he wanted. He needs to win the overall, but will have to overcome a fourth-place launch.
Levi Kitchen is a distant sixth on Lap 4. He’s 11 seconds back.
Vialle moves up to third on Lap 5 but he has Jo Shimoda tracking him down.
Brown is keeping pace with Deegan. He could make a race of Moto 1 if he can close the three-second distance.
With six minutes remaining, Deegan stretches the advantage to 4.3 seconds.
Cameron McAdoo falls from a top-10 position to 13th.
Brown starts to close and is less than three seconds back but NBC’s Ricky Carmichael thinks Deegan is on cruise control.
Deegan wins his fifth consecutive moto. He has one to go for the sweep.
Brown kept him honest but ends up 2.9 seconds behind.
Vialle got to third, but he will need a lot of help to win the overall.
Shimoda and Smith round out the top five.
Third in points entering this round, Kitchen is just outside the top five in sixth.
Click here for complete 250 Moto 1 results
Last Chace Qualifiers
450s
Jerry Robin won the 450 LCQ to make his second playoff feature of 2024.
Dean Wilson also advances and makes his third playoff feature.
Despite showing speed in qualification, Nichols fails to make the night show after finishing third. This ends his championship hopes.
Click here for 450 LCQ results
250s
McAdoo entered the playoffs nervous about making the features each round. He’s done so after winning the LCQ in Las Vegas.
McAdoo finished four seconds ahead of Talon Hawkins.
Robbie Wageman and Ryder Floyd are the two riders who will not race tonight.
Click here for 250 LCQ results
Qualification
450 Qualification 2
Jett is the first rider to get down in the 1:34-second range on Lap 4.
Hunter joins Jett two laps later at the end of the session.
The Lawrence brothers ended up on top with Jett 1:34.629 and Hunter 1:34.957.
Sexton lost some pace compared to his closest rivals with a lap of 1:36.076, which was sixth-fast.
Tomac (1:35.725) rounded out the top three.
Webb and Anderson complete the top five.
Click here for 450 Seeded Qualification 2 results
Cullin Park and Nichols were the fastest in Unseeded Qualification 2.
Click here for 450 Unseeded Qualification 2 results
Click here for 450 combined qualification times
250 Qualification 2
Deegan swept qualification with the fastest time in both sessions. His time of 1:37.208 was more than a second fastest than his Q1 time.
But it was barely faster than Julien Beaumer (1:37.259) as the rookie looks to keep his late-season momentum alive.
Ryder DiFrancesco continues to mix it up with the third fastest time of 1:38.416.
Masterpool and Vialle rounded out the top five.
Click here for 250 Seeded Qualification 2
In Unseeded Qualification 2, McAdoo (1:41.353) tipped over early in the session but rebounded to land second on the chart.
Jett Reynolds was fastest at 1:40.860.
Click here for Unseeded Qualification 2 results
Click here for 250 combined qualification results
450 Qualification 1
The cream rises to the top. The three riders in control of their fate, Hunter (1:35.572), Sexton (1:36.116), and Jett (1:36.344) settle into first through third. That is how they sit in the standings as well.
Anderson is fourth.
Webb is still getting his pace after returning from a thumb injury and he rounds out the top five.
Tomac crashed early in the session, but rebounded to finish sixth in Seeded Q1.
Click here for Seeded Qualification 1 results
Click here for Unseeded Qualification 1 results
250s Qualification 1
Smith and DiFrancesco set the pace early in Seeded Qualification 1.
Halfway through this session, Deegan backs up his practice speed and takes the top spot on the leaderboard.
Deegan ends Q1 with the fastest time of 1:39.061.
DiFrancesco kept his pace throughout the session and is second at 1:39.275. Notably, DiFrancesco had a faster second lap of 1:40.573 to Deegan’s 1:51.394.
Shimoda is third at 1:39.404.
Masterpool and Vialle round out the top five.
Click here for Seeded Qualification 1 results
In unseeded qualification, the two riders most in jeopardy of failing to make the night show are Floyd and Wageman.
Reynolds won the session with a time of 1:42.576.
Click here for Unseeded Qualification 1 results
More SuperMotocross News
While we wait for the featured races, catch up on some of the stories you may have missed.
Jett Lawrence, Haiden Deegan win SMX Round 3 practice
RJ Hampshire will miss SMX Round 3
SuperMotocross season finale by the numbers
Cooper Webb joins Team USA for MXoN on a 250
Justin Cooper re-signs to one-year deal with Star Racing
Cameron McAdoo renews with Pro Circuit Kawasaki
Max Anstie named MX2 rider for Team Great Britain
450 Results from Texas | 250 Results
Hunter Lawrence wins SuperMotocross Round 2
Chance Hymas out of 2024 SMX playoffs
