Following Round 8 of the Pro Motocross season (Round 25 of SuperMotocross), a dozen riders are jockeying for position to secure an invitation to the inaugural SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX). Some are focusing on a top-20 ranking in points that will secure an automatic berth in the three playoff features, and others are aiming for a top-30 opportunity to race in the Last Chance Qualifiers.
The SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) begins September 9, at zMax Dragway in Concord, North Carolina and runs for three consecutive weeks until the finale at the Los Angeles Coliseum on September 23 and with $1,000,000 on the line for the 450 champion, and $25,000 paid out to the rider 22nd in points, the anticipation of a big payday has changed the complexion of the season.
Since the SMX Championship was announced, riders and teams have been developing strategies that would allow them to be part of the inaugural series. Barring injury, factory riders already committed to run both the full Monster Energy Supercross and Pro Motocross series had little to worry about, but each year a significant portion of the riders compete in only one of the two.
The SMX Championship has changed the points’ dynamic and affected the timing of riders returning to competition.
Cooper Webb’s return to action in the Motocross season opener barely four weeks after suffering a concussion at Nashville in a heat race spoke not only to his toughness, but a desire to challenge Chase Sexton for the No. 1 seed to begin the playoffs. Another injury prior to RedBud sidelined him again.
Nowhere has the impact of the SMX Championship been felt more than along the cutlines to ascend to the top 20 in points, which guarantees a rider will be part of each feature. Emphasis has been placed on landing in the top 30 as well. Those riders will be invited to race in the Last Chance Qualifiers for all three rounds and will accumulate a little under $5,000 even if they finish last in each race.
In the first eight rounds of the Motocross season, some teams made bold moves while others proceeded more cautiously.
Boldly go
Ty Masterpool looked at his points’ position in the 250s and determined that with the 450 class thinned by injury, he would have a better chance of making the SMX playoffs on the bigger bike. He moved into the senior class at Hangtown and with sixth-place finishes there and at High Point, he quickly moved into the top 30. Two weeks later, he was in the top 20 following a 13th-place finish at RedBud even though that round was marred by a mechanical failure in Moto 2.
Masterpool is currently ranked 16th in points with a 40-point gap over 21st. Christian Craig currently holds the 21st position but has not been on the bike since Round 12 at Glendale because of an injury. Masterpool is 58 points ahead of Jose Butron, the next active rider in 22nd.
At his current pace, Masterpool should easily advance two and perhaps as many as five positions before the playoffs.
After sitting down and running the numbers with team manager Mike Bonacci, Garrett Marchbanks moved up one week later at Thunder Valley in Round 3 of the Motocross season. He was in the top 30 the following week and 20th at the end of Spring Creek.
Their gamble paid off, at least for now.
Masterpool and Marchbanks made the most of the opportunity by finishing in the top 10 in all but the one round in which Masterpool had a mechanical failure.
Marchbanks is 42 points ahead of Butron with three Motocross rounds remaining, which means he needs to stay within four positions of that rider in each moto to secure his position.
They’re back
Seeing points opportunities evaporate, Colt Nichols and Josh Hill returned to action at Washougal last week.
Nichols had to borrow a bike in order to compete since his Supercross campaign came with the Honda factory team that has since promoted Jett Lawrence to the senior division. Nichols was forced back into action after he was knocked out of the top 20 by Marchbanks following Spring Creek.
A pair of 10th-place finishes elevated Nichols back inside the top 20 and gave him a 31-point lead over Butron.
Hill did not fare quite as well. He failed to earn points in Moto 1 with a 26th-place finish, but a 17th in Moto 2 allowed him to leapfrog the injured Craig into 20th and gave him a 31-point advantage over Butron.
The final position in the top 20 will most likely come down to these riders with one left standing when the music stops.
An honor to be invited
With only 10 riders in the Last Chance Qualifier and two of them advancing into the Main, there is ample incentive to be part of the top 30.
After missing the Supercross season, Phil Nicoletti mounted up at High Point and started his bid for the top 30. He cracked that mark last week in Washougal after finishing 11th in Moto 1 and ninth in Moto 2. Nicoletti has earned points in all but one of his 10 moto attempts with an average points production of 8.6. At that pace, he will not break into the top 20 and should land somewhere around 22nd or 23rd.
If Butron cannot move up into the top 20, he is safely inside that mark, but his teammate Lorenzo Locurcio may have a more difficult time. Locurcio crashed in Moto 2 at Spring Creek and tried to ride at Washougal, but was not physically fit enough to compete in the motos.
Locurcio is currently 37 points ahead of the rider most likely to displace him from that position, which should be safe enough except that Romain Pape, (32nd in the standings), has scored points in 11 of 16 motos this season. With a little improvement in his average finish, will be knocking at the door.
In 33rd, Jerry Robin is also in striking distance with points earned in nine motos, but a decision to race a 2-stroke last week ended in results outside of the top 20 in both races and denied him points.
The importance of two
With some notable exceptions that include Lawrence, Masterpool and Marchbanks and their move into the 450 class, the importance of running both series is becoming apparent.
Riders like Eli Tomac and Justin Barcia who have been forced out of Motocross because of injury or Ken Roczen who is competing in the World Supercross Championship, earned enough points in Supercross to remain in the top 10 in points following Washougal.
Justin Hill and Dean Wilson are also competing in the World Supercross Championship and should be able to hang onto their top-20 standing, but the remainder of the SX only riders and those who made their first MX appearances in the last few rounds are other on or below the cusp.
The SMX Championship is forcing riders to rethink running only one series. Their uncertainty at the beginning of the Motocross season has made for some interesting battles at the cutline, however.