More than 110,000 fans made their way into the stands for the inaugural SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) and rookies won three championships in 2023 with Jett Lawrence, 20, taking the Pro Motocross and SMX titles as Haiden Deegan, 17, emerged victorious in the 250 division of SMX.
By virtue of winning their SMX titles, Lawrence pocketed $1.2 million. Deegan took home $575,000 after their individual race purses were included with the prize fund totals.
In addition to the 110,000 fans who watched the final three playoff rounds from the stands, the Pro Motocross series surged in attendance, counting the gate at 192,000 during their 11-round season.
Record attendance was achieved at many of the traditional motocross venues including Thunder Valley in Lakewood, Colorado, High Point in Mount Morris, Pennsylvania, RedBud in Buchanan, Michigan, Southwick in Massachusetts, and Washougal in Washington. The Spring Creek National in Millville, Minnesota and the Unadilla National in New Berlin, New York saw capacity crowds of more than 20,000 apiece, the strongest attendance on the schedule.
Crowds were driven to these locations in part because of the promotional efforts and combined broadcast and streaming efforts once the two series enhanced their working relationship.
The Monster Energy Supercross season welcomed 850,000 fans during their 17 rounds bringing the total attendance for 31 races to more than 1.1 million.
Domestically, NBC Sports’ coverage of the 2023 SMX World Championship season surpassed 23 million hours of viewership consumption across NBC, USA Network, and Peacock, and increase of 111% compared to the programming in 2022. Powered by Peacock, over 17 million digital hours of viewership were viewed – up 307% compared to last year.
International coverage also surged with the SuperMotocross Video Pass serving 135 countries. The top 10 countries for international streaming included Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, France, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland.
Foreign consumption was spurred by the fact that 83 international riders competed from 25 countries.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 23: Dax Shepard attends the SuperMotocross World Championship Finals Celebrity Night at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 23, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. This event caps off the inaugural 31 event championship. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Feld Entertainment)
Getty Images for Feld Entertainment
From a pop culture standpoint, the sport hosted some of the biggest names in music, film, television, and entertainment as its lifestyle relevance continues to rise. Hip Hop icon and grammy award winning Wiz Khalifa joined reality TV star Christina Hall, IndyCar drivers Marcus Ericsson and Pato O’Ward, Green Day’s Tré Cool, pro skateboarder Nyjah Huston and Columbian musician during the season.
Dax Shepard and a host of celebrities were on hand for the SMX season finale in the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Tickets for the Supercross and Motocross seasons are currently on sale.
How the SuperMotocross series is changing the sport
If you build it, they will come: SuperMotocross adds trackside camping
One plus one equals three: Ken Adelson on transforming production
Carrie Coombs-Russell reflects on the SMX World Championship
Jason Weigandt on the changes to broadcast production
How a conversation about media rights created SMX
