Paragraph 1: Jett Lawrence quickly bounced back from his disappointing performance at zMax Dragway. He dominated moto 1 and led most of the way in race 2 before letting Ken Roczen pass. Despite not aiming for perfection, Lawrence still had his sights set on his first 450 Supermotocross championship and the $1 million prize that came with it. Chase Sexton finished second and third in the two races, narrowing the gap between him and Lawrence to just two points.
Paragraph 2: As the series heads into its finale at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Sexton has a slight advantage over Lawrence. The rider who finishes ahead of the other will earn valuable points in the standings. However, with only a 10-point difference separating them from Roczen, they cannot afford to focus solely on each other. Roczen finished second to one of his Honda teammates in the previous rounds and believes it’s his turn to shine as the series heads to the birthplace of Supercross.
Paragraph 3: Aaron Plessinger has been performing consistently since returning from injury, earning 12 top-five finishes in 14 races. Although his results have been overshadowed by the top three riders, Plessinger was chosen to represent Team USA in the Motocross of Nations in France. Dylan Ferrandis has also been consistent, with 11 top-five finishes in 13 races since recovering from concussions. However, he struggled in the last race, finishing 11th and losing valuable points.
Paragraph 4: Garrett Marchbanks has had a solid performance in the 450 class, sitting at 7th in the power rankings. He is likely to maintain his position after the season finale at the LA Coliseum. Despite his consistent performance, last week was his worst overall since moving up from the 250 class. Marchbanks will be focusing on ending the season on a high note and has an outside chance of passing a few riders with a $45,000 difference.
Paragraph 5: The return of Jo Shimoda after an injury brought uncertainty to the competition. In his first race back, he finished fourth, showing promise. His win at Ironman and second-place finish at Chicagoland made him a strong contender and put him in pursuit of championship leader Lawrence. The Lawrence brothers had a difficult start to the playoffs but rallied back with strong performances. The top three riders, Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence, and Shimoda, are focused on staying ahead of each other with just a few points separating them.
Paragraph 6: Tom Viale had a rough start to the previous race, finishing last due to an injury. This affected his standings and dropped him to 14th overall. However, he still has a chance to move up to 4th in the power rankings, which would be a positive end to the season. Hayden Deegan has had some impressive results throughout the season, including a fourth-place finish at the Houston Supercross, a podium finish at Daytona, and a chance to win the Super Motocross 250 Championship and the accompanying $500,000 prize.
Paragraph 7: Justin Cooper has unfinished business before moving on to the 450 class in 2024. Currently, he is part of a nine-man battle to finish in the top five. Cooper will need everything to go well and may require some assistance from the riders ahead of him. The power rankings provide an overview of each rider’s performance, with points awarded based on their results in Supercross and Motocross events.