Race Report: Jett Lawrence and Haiden Deegan Claim Victory at SMX Playoffs Rd 1 in Charlotte
The second running of the SuperMotocross World Championship Playoffs from zMax Dragway at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC, for round one here in 2024, continues with, yet again, witnessing unbelievable racing. These riders qualified through the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Champion and AMA Pro Motocross Championship for their seed going into these Playoff rounds for a chance at high stakes at the season finale in Las Vegas.
The track was very fast with this hybrid Supercross and Motocross course. Rough in the back section behind the starting gate down the dragstrip, a long sweeping left-handed sand section and a tough and long rhythm lane made the riders set their suspension accordingly.
Here is the race analysis while on hand at zMax Dragway with the 250SMX & 450SMX motos, along with the podium finisher's quotes from the post-race press conference, results, and points standings.
250SMX Moto 1
In the first 250SMX moto of the 2024 SMX Playoffs, Triumph Racing’s Jalek Swoll's crash off the start prompts a red flag and a restart. On the restart, rookie Red Bull KTM Racing’s Julien Beaumer takes the holeshot, leading Team Honda HRC’s Jo Shimoda and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Cameron McAdoo briefly overtakes Hampshire, but RJ quickly reclaims his spot. Meanwhile, points leader on the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan has a poor start but fights his way into the 5th place position early, passing FirePower Honda’s Carson Mumford. Beaumer extends his lead, while Hampshire closes in on Shimoda for 2nd. Deegan advances to 4th by overtaking McAdoo. As pressure mounts, Shimoda makes a mistake, allowing Hampshire and Deegan to pass. In the long rhythm lane, Hampshire then crashes with a mistake, causing him off the track. Deegan then puts on the afterburners and seizes the lead with five minutes remaining past the race leader, Beaumer. Monster Energy Pro Circuit’s Kawasaki Levi Kitchen overtakes his teammate McAdoo for 5th as Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle moves to 4th. Deegan wins, followed by Beaumer in 2nd and Shimoda in 3rd, a strong finish considering his first race back from collarbone injury.
Photo Courtesy of Ayala Media / Josh Davey
450SMX Moto 1
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac secures the first holeshot of the 450SMX Playoffs in Charlotte and his first SMX race, followed closely by teammate and brothers on Team Honda HRC, Jett and Hunter Lawrence. Hunter passes Jett for 2nd while Progressive Insurance/ECSTAR Suzuki’s Ken Roczen overtakes Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s and points leader Chase Sexton for 4th, only for Sexton to reclaim the position two laps later. Tomac builds a 4-second lead, with Jett holding 3rd and Sexton chasing. As the race progresses, Jett overtakes Hunter for 2nd, but Tomac maintains his lead, ultimately winning the moto. Jett and Hunter Lawrence finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Cooper Webb was penalized six positions for cutting the track.
Photo Courtesy of Ayala Media / Josh Davey
250SMX Moto 2
In the final 250SMX moto at zMax Dragway, Julien Beaumer secures the holeshot again, followed by Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Nick Romano and Levi Kitchen, who quickly moves into 2nd. Romano’s teammate Max Anstie takes 3rd from Romano, while Haiden Deegan, starting in 7th, steadily starts to advance up positions. Kitchen overtakes Beaumer for the lead on the second lap, with Deegan climbing to 4th, consistently using the long rhythm lane quad to pass competitors. Kitchen builds a 5-second lead, but Deegan closes in, passing Beaumer for 2nd and then taking the lead, passing Levi with 7 minutes left. Anstie moves into 3rd, with Jo Shimoda reaching 5th. A great battle for a shot at the overall podium, with Julien in 4th and Jo going down to the last straight away, ultimately Beaumer winning that fight. Deegan wins the moto and secures the overall victory with a 1-1 performance, while Beaumer and Kitchen complete the podium. That would be Beaumer’s first podium in his rookie season.
Deegan heads to Texas with an 8-point lead ahead of Kitchen and Vialle in third.
Photo Courtesy of Ayala Media / Josh Davey
Haiden Deegan, 1st place: “Yeah, it was not great starts and I actually felt kind of off today. But it worked out, so that's all that matters. We’re definitely going to go back this week, watch tape, and figure out what I need to get better at.”
Julien Beaumer, 2nd place: “ “I felt good, like I was back at home. I’ve been gaining confidence from my riding back home, and it all came together today.”
Levi Kitchen, 3rd place: “The bike felt pretty good, but I need to get better at riding fast tracks. I kept the setup the same for Moto 2, only changed my start position to try to avoid getting pinched off.”
450SMX Moto 2
In Charlotte's final 450SMX moto, the rookie on the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper grabs the holeshot, with Eli Tomac and Jett Lawrence close behind. Tomac took the spot away from Jett early off the start, quickly overtakes Cooper, and sets his sights on the lead. Jett soon passes J. Cooper as well, as Chase Sexton moves into 3rd, keeping the leaders within 3 seconds. The battle intensifies throughout the moto, with Jett stalking the legend himself, Tomac, for many laps. Jett then sees his opportunity and ultimately makes his move, outpowering Tomac to take the lead through the rollers. Jett wins the moto and the overall on his new 2025 Honda CRF450 and first race back from injury, with Tomac finishing 2nd in both the moto and overall, and Sexton securing 3rd place over with 4-3.
Photo Courtesy of Ayala Media / Josh Davey
Chase Sexton would still leave the points leader by four points because of his 1st seed coming in, as both J. Lawrence and Tomac were behind in points entering Charlotte. Jett moves into 2nd, Hunter Lawrence 3rd, and Tomac 4th in points ahead of Texas.
Photo Courtesy of Ayala Media / Josh Davey
Jett Lawrence, 1st place: “It was obviously a really cool thing. Racing against a champion like Eli, there's no quit, it's always a fight until the checkered flag. It’s definitely a bucket list kind of thing checked off, whether I won or not, just getting to battle with him was awesome.”
Eli Tomac, 2nd place: “ "From practice, I felt really good, so I knew I had it in me. My mindset was like, you have to get the start, and if I could get myself in position, I felt like I could be in the mix today."
Chase Sexton, 3rd place: "I'm not okay with losing. I don’t like it at all. But if I can turn things around this year compared to last year and improve in the upcoming rounds, that would be a positive. The last round is where everything counts, so I just need to stay in it and work out the bugs."
SuperMotocross World Championship Points
