At the first ever SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) race over the weekend, there were a lot of storylines to follow. In the 250SMX Class, Jordon Smith was returning from a thumb injury that sidelined him for the second half of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Smith returned to action and finished as the second highest Monster Energy Yamaha Racing rider after 8-4 finishes, coming from outside the top 15 in moto one. Right ahead of Smith in the second moto—and on the overall results page—was Ryder DiFrancesco. DiFrancesco was in third for most of the first moto until he was dropped by his three teammates Jo Shimoda, Seth Hammaker, and Austin Forkner, finishing seventh. In the second moto, DiFrancesco had another great start and was running third behind Tom Vialle and Shimoda. But this time, despite heat from Smith, Ryder D held on for third place to earn the first professional podium finish of his young career. Vohland was up in the mix in the first moto but dropped a few spots from the Kawasaki guys and Hunter Lawrence, late in the race. The Red Bull KTM rider came through 10th at the checkered flag, followed by a 12th place finish in moto two. After the race, our video man Tom Journet caught up with all three riders to get their thoughts on the day.
Ryder DiFrancesco | 7-3 for fourth overall
Racer X: All right Ryder D, Charlotte SuperMotocross. I guess let’s just start off, what did you think about this whole weekend? The event, the two-day format and everything?
Ryder DiFrancesco: It’s something different, honestly. Brings me back more to amateur racing. Yesterday was fun. I just had a blast with it. And then today, obviously it was a little more business, qualified 16th. But I knew I had something in me. First moto ran fifth—or third—all the way until about 17 minutes and then I'm like, dude, just go do it all, like give it your all out there in the second moto and that's what happened. I hope they do these rounds next year.
Starts, a lot of people kind of switched between first and second moto. Were you one of the people to switch? And what was your tactic going for the start both of those motos?
Yesterday, I got the holeshot, just practice start, on the right side, which is going left, and then first moto, I really had no choice, so I went to the right again. Pretty good start, and then at that point I'm like, why change? So, I went to the right again and on that side, you have your rear brake, so you can kind of control it more than going right. But, yeah, I think anywhere I have to trust myself to get a holeshot.
![Ryder DiFrancesco]()
Ryder DiFrancesco Align Media ![Ryder DiFrancesco and Jordon Smith]()
Ryder DiFrancesco and Jordon Smith Align Media
We’ve got two more rounds to go, you’re staying pretty good right now obviously in the playoffs. How does it feel and what are you looking forward to next week?
To do a third at the first one. Like, I can only imagine what we're going to do at the next two. So, just keep building and it's nice just to keep in the fight up there and, know today that walking away that you're the third best, it's a good feeling.
And finally, I heard you shout out Bakersfield and stuff on the podium, but how much did this podium mean to you? Because I believe this is your first ever pro podium.
Yeah, it is. Like, I’ve won a lot in the past and then when you do win and then you come back and you struggle in the pros and it's not as easy, a third is a win for me. Looking back to all the effort that me and the boys have put in back in Bakersfield, and only dreaming when I go to A1 to see the guy that's running third and that was me today. Something I dreamed of. The last couple of months have been tough but this for sure pays it off.
SuperMotocross Playoff 1 - 250SMX
September 9, 2023| Rider | Hometown | Motos | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jo Shimoda | Suzuka, Japan  | 4 - 1 | Kawasaki KX250 |
| 2 |  Tom Vialle | Avignon, France  | 3 - 2 | KTM 250 SX-F |
| 3 |  Haiden Deegan | Temecula, CA  | 1 - 5 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 4 |  Ryder DiFrancesco | Bakersfield, CA | 7 - 3 | Kawasaki KX250 |
| 5 |  Jordon Smith | Belmont, NC | 8 - 4 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 6 |  Seth Hammaker | Bainbridge, PA | 5 - 8 | Kawasaki KX250 |
| 7 |  Levi Kitchen | Washougal, WA | 2 - 11 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 8 |  Hunter Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia  | 9 - 7 | Honda CRF250R |
| 9 |  Justin Cooper | Cold Spring Harbor, NY | 12 - 6 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 10 |  Pierce Brown | Sandy, UT | 11 - 10 | GasGas MC 125 |
Jordon Smith | 8-4 for fifth overall
Racer X: All right Jordon Smith, first ever, first annual SMX. First of all, how did you feel about the overall weekend, the two-day format, and the venue itself?
Jordon Smith: It was good. No one really knew what to expect. I think the schedule was good, the motos, 20 plus one was good. The track, to me, needed a little bit more supercross to it, just to make it work for passing, a little bit better racing. It was just, really follow the leader. I know there were some passes made but it was like, you really had to bank on a mistake from the guy in front of you. They were trying to make it like, two-line, I guess you could say, with putting more singles on the inside but they were still faster and then you just have to slow down that much more to not run into the person in front of you. So, I would like to see one more rhythm section, maybe a rhythm section out of a bull turn, just so that it’s something technical, difficult. Like, this one was pretty simple over that wall, and it was just really hard to make a mistake in it, and then the rest of it was just wide open for us so, it was tough.
You’re from North Carolina, right?
Yeah, about 15 minutes from here.
So, what did this race mean to you, your hometown race? Did you race the MXGP here as well?
No, I didn’t.
![Jordon Smith]()
Jordon Smith Align Media ![Jordon Smith]()
Jordon Smith Align Media
Yeah, so first time in North Carolina for you, how was that?
It was awesome. I was actually talking to my dad, we had a fair race we used to race on our local series and the dirt was like this exact dirt—they might have brought if from there actually. And it was like a grandstand feel like this. It felt so much like that, it’s crazy. And it’s been freaking 20 years since I would have been there, but it just reminded us so much of that. But it was so cool to have so many family and friends that have never been able to come out and watch me race before. To make it so easy on them to come here, some of them were camping, just the full experience, so it was cool.
Finally, I know a couple of people switched their gate picks from left side to right side after the first moto, were you one of them? What was your tactic with the start?
Yeah, I mean, for me, I didn’t have the greatest gate pick for either one. I think I had 11th in the first one and eighth in the second one. So, for me I was kinda going with the best rut, wherever the best rut and best position was on the gate. And yeah, first moto I was on the right side, got a terrible start, but it wasn’t because of the side I just came out not very good. Fixed that for second moto on the left side, got a really good jump and was kinda able to shut the inside down and came out a lot better. So, was happy with that, and just gotta keep those good starts. I mean, if the tracks stay like this, the starts are gonna be so important. I mean, you come out with a top three start both motos today, you’re gonna win the overall probably. It was so much about the start and those first few laps.
Maximus Vohland | 10-12 for 12th overall
Racer X: Max Vohland, first ever SuperMotocross race. What were your thoughts on the two-day format? And a little bit of extra riding?
Max Vohland: Yeah, I like that we got to ride a little bit Friday, kind of felt like a press day, but it was like a test. I think it helped everyone too with trying to set up the bike because just setting it up with two practices, to say it would have been tough. So, I like the two-day schedule. It gives the fans more to see and more to do throughout the weekend and the way the moto format went I kind of liked it. Like they really hit it out of the ballpark with a little bit of the endurance from outdoors and also the sprint of supercross. I feel like the two 20s is perfect for us. And yeah, I feel like the track was a little tough to pass on today, but it also made for really great racing. So, I mean, we'll see you next weekend also double points. So, you know, I'm only 17 back from the lead and I'm 10th right now overall. So, one good weekend could throw me right up there at the front and especially at the last round really counts.
![Maximus Vohland]()
Maximus Vohland Align Media ![Maximus Vohland]()
Maximus Vohland Align Media
Awesome. And then, so the split start this weekend was kind of a little tricky. And then obviously it being more of a super cross kind of race was really crucial. What was your tactic behind it? And did you use the same side both motos.
Yeah, it just ended up being on the right-handed turn side, which isn't preferable for, you know, not having your rear brake when you're turning. But I felt comfortable over there and it was tricky because even the second moto, I had a good jump, and I went wide, and a guy came from the other side of the start, and we came together, and I ended up hitting his rear wheel which hurt me. My starts were terrible today. So that's one thing I really need to work on for next weekend. Yeah, I feel like it was a little sketchy with a split start, but also maybe it separated us a little bit more, at least you have 22 dudes going into the same corner.
And then finally, obviously, you guys were testing on supercross tracks and stuff. But do you feel like it was very supercrossy? Because I know a lot of people are saying it was quite open today. What were your thoughts on the whole race feel of it.
Yeah. I mean, luckily with, at the Baker’s [Factory] we've kind of mixed the outdoor track in with our supercross track and it's a rough sand track, which is terrible on supercross suspension. So, we've had a good gauge, I think at setting up the bike and I think Friday helped a lot too as well. But, yeah, I expected a little bit more supercross. It was definitely, on the track map, looked a little bit more supercrossy and it showed up and it was a lot more outdoor than expected, which made it tough to separate the guys really, because I felt like the only separation was the rhythm section and the other spots, if you just nailed the right line, you'd stay the same. So, I mean, it kept the racing good, but it was definitely tough to pass, and I think next week in the track will be a little bit better. We've raced at speedways before and we've never raced in a drag, but I think with the walls that they had here, it made it tough to build the track for the track builders. And I think we'll have a little bit more of an open track and some more opportunities to pass next weekend.
