The racing action in Monster Energy Supercross this year has been exciting, crazy and just about every other adjective you can come up with. You can use any stat you want to illustrated this. For example, only three riders have landed on the podium in even half of the races so far this year. When in comparison, last year Chase Sexton landed on the podium at five of the first six rounds. For this week’s list we decided to compare and contrast riders results from the first six rounds this year to the first six rounds last year. As you can see, it is harder than ever for a rider to recover from a bad start or a crash, and results are all over the map. Oh, then you have to factor those two mud races into the equation.
With a field this deep the title might come down to the rider who can ride the cleanest the whole season.
1. Jett Lawrence
2024 Results: 1-9-4-6-1-3 | 117 points
2023 Results: N/A
Okay folks, we can't compare Jett to last year because he didn't race this class. He's the points leader and the only two-time winner so far in 2024.
2. Chase Sexton
2024 Results: 3-1-8-5-2-9 | 111 points
2023 Results: 3-5-1-2-2-3 | 132 points
Interesting to see Sexton has far fewer points this year than he did at this point last year, but that's part of what has made this season fun to watch for fans: the double mudders, deep field and general unpredictability of each round means all the contenders have wavered around the standings far more than last year. Sexton has been one of the most consistent riders this year and is right in the thick of this title chase, and yet, he has two finishes outside of the top five. He was in the top in all of the first six last year, and on the podium in five of those. This looks like significant drop off...until you realize that's also the case for many others. It's just normal for 2024.
3. Aaron Plessinger
2024 Results: 4-5-1-3-6-10 | 108 points
2023 Results: 8-9-7-4-3-4 | 104 points
It seems like AP is way, way better this year than in the past, but he's only four points up on what he he had last year. However, he has that win and he’s sitting third in points. What this means is, being slightly better in the results compared to last year, against this field and these conditions, is actually a huge gain.
4. Cooper Webb
2024 Results: 6-11-2-1-4-7 | 107 points
2023 Results: 2-2-4-5-1-2 | 132 points
Here's another example like Plessinger: It seems like Webb is faster this year than last year, but he's way worse in points. Again, this year is tougher. Finishing outside of the top ten really hurt Webb, as did his sixth and seventh place results. But of all of the guys to finish outside of the top ten so far this year, (and there are many) he is doing the best overall in the standings.
5. Jason Anderson
2024 Results: 2-12-5-4-5-2 | 106 points
2023 Results: 7-7-2-3-6-5 | 111 points
Do we sound like a broken record yet? If it weren’t for the mud race in San Fran, Anderson would be doing even better than last year. Is it possible that Webb, Plessinger and Anderson all got better at the same time? It feels that way.
6. Ken Roczen
2024 Results: 10-3-12-7-3-1 | 102 points
2023 Results: 5-4-3-8-4-11 | 104 points
Being a four-time winner at Anaheim 1, it was weird seeing Kenny start off the season with a tenth. Last year Kenny was still getting used to the Suzuki, and this year he’s been dealing with some pretty rough luck as far as getting tangled with other riders. Still he has three podiums, which is the same amount as Lawrence and Sexton. Once again, we're dealing with a guy who seems much better than he was at this time a year ago, but the points and results don't reflect it.
7. Eli Tomac
2024 Results: 9-2-9-2-10-4 | 100 points
2023 Results: 1-1-6-1-5-1 | 139 points
Here is where the results get really crazy, we all know Tomac is coming back from a severe injury, but the field is so deep this year, a bad night for Tomac is now a ninth or tenth instead of a fifth or sixth.
8. Dylan Ferrandis
2024 Results: 5-6-6-9-7-6 | 93 points
2023 Results: 4-6-5-21-N/A-N/A | 56 points
Dylan’s best and worst finishes so far this year only vary by four positions. He is having a quiet but good season, much better than last year where he got hurt at the fourth round.
9. Hunter Lawrence
2024 Results: N/A-10-7-11-8-5 | 69 points
2023 Results: N/A
We can’t compare Hunter’s results to last year as, just like his brother, he was racing in the 250SX division. Other than not qualifying for Anaheim 1, he has been building each weekend.
10. Justin Barcia
2024 Results: 7-17-3-13-12-18 | 63 points
2023 Results: 11-3-8-6-8-6 | 97 points
Other than his podium at San Diego, this season is not starting off great for Barcia.
11. Justin Cooper
2024 Results: 8-N/A-14-8-9-11 | 60 points
2023 Results: N/A-N/A-N/A-7-7-10 | 45 points
After pointing out of the 250 class for supercross, Justin ran a handful of 450SX races before turning his focus to the 250MX series. He had some great rookie rides both last year and this year, except for not qualifying in the mud in San Fran. The really weird thing is that even though Cooper is surely better on a 450 now than he was last year, he is still yet to replicate those sevenths he scored when he first jumped on one in 2023. Can we say deep field yet again?
12. Malcolm Stewart
2024 Results: 11-22-19-10-11-8 | 51 points
2023 Results: 16-15-N/A-N/A-N/A-N/A | 15 points
Stewart showed up in 2023 with amazing speed but couldn’t keep it off the ground. He still has speed this year, but we haven't seen it much, as he again needs to keep it off of the ground.
13. Shane McElrath
2024 Results: 17-4-16-18-14-14 | 49 points
2023 Results: N/A-16-16-15-17-16 | 35 points
Obviously that fourth in San Fran was a highlight for Shane in the 450SX class, but even the set of 14ths were an improvement from last year.
14. Jorge Prado
2024 Results: 13-7-11-12- N/A-N/A | 45 points
2023 Results: N/A
We can’t report on Prado’s 2023 supercross results as he was too busy winning an MXGP World Title. The difference between him and every other rookie on this list is he doesn’t have a history of 250SX race wins and/or titles. In fact Anaheim 1 was his first ever Monster Energy Supercross race, which makes his results that much more impressive.
15. Christian Craig
2024 Results: 20-14-20-14-13-12 | 39 points
2023 Results: 13-11-11-11-10-7 | 75 points
Last year was Craig’s rookie season and he was at least looking consistent until he got injured in Glendale. This year is not starting off so well for Craig.
16. Dean Wilson
2024 Results: 16-16-10-N/A-17-16 | 35 points
2023 Results: 14-14-13-12-15-12 | 58 points
This is the 15th season for the number 15. Other than not qualifying for the Triple Crown event at A2, he has been pretty consistent.
17. Adam Cianciarulo
2024 Results: 12-8-13-N/A-N/A-N/A | 33 points
2023 Results: 9-8-9-10-12-15 | 75 points
After breaking his hand at Anaheim one after a run in with Prado, AC was able to suffer through the next two mud rounds, but once the tracks dried up, he was unable to hold on at higher speeds. He is hoping to return for Daytona.
18. Derek Drake
2024 Results: 15-13-N/A-21-15-21 | 25 points
2023 Results: N/A
Derek Drake moved up to the 450 class for the 2023 Pro Motocross season after riding 250SX West Region last year. These are strong results for the rookie privateer in such a stacked class.
19. Justin Hill
2024 Results: 14-N/A-N/A-15-21-15 | 23 points
2023 Results: 15-13-14-20-13-14 | 49 points
Justin is starting off slightly worse than he did last year, but there is always a chance he builds and keeps getting better. Remember last year he got faster as the season wore on, and took advantage of other riders getting injured to finish the series with 5-4-3 results.
20. Kyle Chisholm
2024 Results: 18-N/A-N/A-17-16-19 | 18 points
2023 Results: N/A-17-17-N/A-19-18 | 21 points
Chisholm is like the little engine that could, he just keeps on chugging while racing some who are almost half his age. You can throw deep fields, mud races and a million other changes at the races. Chizz is still gonna Chizz!
The moral of the story here with this list is mistakes cost more this year than ever. Great riders are not even qualifying for mains, while others are finishing outside of the top ten on a bad night. Podiums on a bad night? Forget about it. Everything is just too tight so far this season.
