2023 Chicago SuperMotocross Recap

What a nice guy.

Jett Lawrence found his lines on the more Motocross like SuperMotocross track for Round 2 of the three-round SMX series on Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL taking the overall and gifting a race win to perennial fan favorite Ken Roczen.

Lawrence, coming off an undefeated Motocross season in the 450 class, didn’t fare to well in Round 1 of SMX a week earlier failing to win either of the two Motos nor step on the podium. The more Supercross like track in Atlanta served Chase Sexton well, the reigning 450 class Supercross Champion, as he swept. But the lengthy straightaways reminiscent of the Outdoors gave Lawrence the edge this time as he grabbed the lead quickly in Moto 1 and just like he did all summer led the rest of the way with Sexton in tow and Roczen finishing third.

In Moto 2, the two booth announcers desperately tried drubbing up some faux drama with a failed gate drop but once whatever glitch prevented the gate drop the first time was figured out, the drama quickly melted away as Lawrence needed about a minute to take the lead from Phil Niccoletti and Roczen worked his way from fifth into second in two minutes. Those two went 1-2 the rest of the way, with Sexton in distant third, until inexplicably Lawrence waved Roczen into the lead with less than two minutes on the clock. Up until that point Lawrence seemed in full control and nothing appeared wrong with his bike. Turns out he didn't need the win for the overall so he moved aside and literally hand-waved Roczen to the front just. Just because he's a nice guy?

OK, maybe not exactly a gift as Lawrence admitted after the race he wanted to see Roczen's lines and how he races on a tight track saying he was doing the points math in his head to ensure he still owned the overall if he let Roczen win. Whatever the actual story, Roczen also closed the gap on Lawrence quite a bit and wasn't relenting. Perhaps the younger Lawrence didn't want to admit defeat to an elder statesman of the sport but he grabbed the overall on a (1-2) day nonetheless, Roczen finished second overall on a (3-1) day and Sexton (2-3) took third. Roczen grabbed Lawrence for a hug shortly after the race ended.

SMX Round 2 doubles the points so Lawrence, who finished fourth overall in Round 1, sits just two points behind Sexton in the 450 class SMX standings with 88. Roczen holds up in third with 80 points.

2023 SuperMotocross 450 Class Standings after Round 2

  1. Chase Sexton - 90
  2. Jett Lawrence - 88
  3. Ken Roczen - 80
  4. Aaron Plessinger - 74
  5. Dylan Ferrandis - 71

In the 250 class, Hunter Lawrence, the reigning 250 class Motocross Champion, also struggled in Round 1 of the SMX series finishing eighth overall but this track, like his brother, suited him well as he took the sweep and moves into first place just ahead of Joe Shimoda who took the Round 1 overall.

Haiden Deegan, who won the first ever SMX race in Atlanta, looked good for his second win as he held on to the lead for much of Moto 1 but Lawrence got past him with about six minutes left after Deegan made a mistake interrupting his flow. Shimoda, meanwhile, worked his way past Tom Vialle for third with about two minutes remaining and on the last lap passed Deegan and might have caught Lawrence if he had more time.

In Moto 2, Shimoda and Lawrence wasted little time proving their excellence on the Chicagoland track as both took over the top positions in about four minutes where they held tight for much of the race in first and second, respectively. With about four minutes left, Shimoda was noticeably eying a problem with his bike ultimately allowing Lawrence to zoom past for the lead as Shimoda held on for second. Shimoda finished second overall on a (2-2) day and Deegan (3-3) took third overall.

2023 SuperMotocross 250 Class Standings after Round 2

  1. Hunter Lawrence - 89
  2. Jo Shimoda - 86
  3. Haiden Deegan - 82
  4. Levi Kitchen - 63
  5. RJ Hampshire - 62

The final round of the SuperMotocross series with Bookoo bucks on the line takes place in Los Angeles on Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

2023 Chicago SuperMotocross