Eli Tomac | 3rd in 450SMX

“It was a good first moto. Of course, my tipover was unfortunate, but up until then, I had the holeshot on my side of the start on the split lane and then came out second on that second or third turn. I was riding really well. I was right there just behind Jett (Lawrence), and like I said, unfortunately I had a little fall, but I was able to get up quickly and stay in a podium position. So, that was good. It was a very tough track. This was one of the most interesting tracks I’ve ever ridden, and it was a true combination of conditions – with crazy deep motocross ruts, and we had to go back inside the stadium there and still get through those supercross rhythms. It was also one of the tougher dirt conditions that I’ve ever ridden in because of the way it was so soft and spongy. We’ll get out of here in third and try to do better next week.”

Hunter Lawrence | 4th in 450SMX

“My day was alright. Honestly, I’m happy with my riding. I think if I could improve, it would’ve been in qualifying, to get a better gate pick; I think that would’ve changed the moto a little bit. I’m happy to be safe, first and foremost; there were a lot of guys unfortunately having big crashes, so I’m happy to be safe and in one piece. Top five, salvaged points, made points up on guys ahead of me. I’m ready for St. Louis.”

RJ Hampshire | 5th in 450SMX

“Charlotte was pretty good, I just felt as though I kept growing every time I hit the track. We were just steadily building, and today was even better than yesterday. The moto was solid, too. I didn’t get a great start, but I stuck to my game plan and clicked off consistent laps to earn a top-five – I’m stoked! That was the goal coming in, so I’m happy to be leaving here with a fifth place and looking forward to St Louis next weekend.”

Ken Roczen | 6th in 450SMX

“Overall, I had a so-so weekend just getting back in the swing of things. These tracks are always a little bit unique, and we definitely got challenged; the dirt was soft, the jumps were kind of big, and it got really rutty, so it was very, very gnarly. I ended up sixth in the first moto after a good start. I know I can do better, but I'm also trying to just be better at every single race that I go to. And especially since the points are being doubled and tripled now, the races coming up are more important than this one. They cancelled the second race due to lightning and too much rain, so we'll leave here with a sixth place, and I hope to improve going into these next couple of rounds.”

Cooper Webb | 7th in 450SMX

“Overall, it was an up and down day. We came in here a little bit underprepared from the knee injury, and I think it showed a little bit with our speed not being quite where we wanted it to be. But we turned it around in the race and got a great start and finished seventh, which I think was about where I was today. Yeah, it was a weird day not racing the second moto, but we’ll take it. We know what we need to work on. I think next weekend’s race being more Supercrossy will really suit our style. I’m looking forward to bouncing back next week a little bit more prepared with another week under our belt.”

Joey Savatgy | 9th in 450SMX

Savatgy posted on Instagram:

Justin Barcia | 10th in 450SMX

“They were some super-tricky conditions out here – in SMX, they throw a lot of stuff at you with the spongey dirt, big jumps, and the motocross sections, so I really found it hard to get comfortable. I had a few close calls, that’s for sure, but we made it out of here, so that’s a positive. I’m fired up for next weekend in St. Louis, a little more Supercross style, and we'll try to post a strong result!”

Justin Cooper | 11th in 450SMX

“It was not the greatest of days and was a tough weekend all the way around. The track was definitely tough. I got a good start, but I just got pushed wide, went off the track, and went down. I got stuck under the bike and got burned a little bit. We only had one moto today, so that was unfortunate, but that’s racing. This was the one make-a-mistake round, with the single points. We’ll start looking forward to next weekend.”

Rich Simmons – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team Manager

“With the quick turnaround from motocross to SMX, I thought the race went fairly well for us. The track conditions were very difficult, so finding a setup that worked well and was safe was important, and the team did a great job of that. Eli had a great race going until he lost the front, but I'm happy to see that speed out of him. Webb had a quiet type of race, but coming back from a knee surgery, he looked good and will continue to build momentum. I was bummed for Justin going down in the first turn when a tough block was kicked out in front of him, and then getting stuck under his bike. So coming through the field to 11th was a good recovery. It was not the result we were hoping for, but we have two more rounds to make up some points.”

Related: Julien Beaumer Update After SMX Playoffs 1 Qualifying Crash

Kyle Chisholm | DNQ for Motos

“The day didn't go how I wanted it to, but to be honest I only had about six or seven days of riding leading up to this since Salt Lake City, so not a lot of prep time like I normally would have. I didn't have really high of expectations coming in, but I felt pretty good riding, and my lap times were good. I rode better than I thought I would. I was happy about that, and I just need to qualify better and make it happen in the race. We'll get a little bit more work done this week and then try again in St. Louis.”

Larry Brooks, Team Manager for the Twisted Tea/H.E.P. Motorsports/Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance team

“It was a bit challenging this weekend. We had rain on Thursday night and the track was pretty muddy on Friday when we rode press day. They did a lot of track work and made the track quite a bit better, but if you got out of the main line it was real soupy; they used a lot of mulch and sand on the track and it was very difficult to get around it without making a mistake. [As for Saturday], we did pretty good this weekend. Kyle Chisholm had to race the Wildcard race and he missed [qualifying] by one spot, so he was the alternate. Ken Roczen qualified fifth; this was his second race back after his ankle surgery. In the first moto he got into third place and rode at the front of the pack for a long time, then dropped back to sixth by the end of the race. The track was just really difficult, and he's just been back on a bike for three or four weeks now, so I thought he rode really good. Then a big rainstorm came after the first 450 moto and completely destroyed the track. We had lightning and thunder, and the AMA has a rule that if lightning strikes in your vicinity, then it's a 30-minute delay, and that kept happening. So, it was 30-minute delay, 30-minute delay, 30-minute delay, and then it started pouring. The rain was just torrential rain and ended up just destroying the track so that they couldn't even race. They called the second motos, so the overall on the day was only the first moto score, which was sixth for Ken. We're happy and we're going to load up and head to St. Louis for next weekend.”

Derek Drake | DNQ for Motos

“I wasn’t planning on racing in the Playoffs as I’m knee deep in killing my Lyme disease, which is at its worst point right now, but considering its three races with some big money up for grabs I wanted to give it a shot to hopefully help earn some extra cash for my treatments. The Wildcard race in Concord didn’t end up the best for me, but I’ve got a race under my belt now and I know what to expect next weekend.”

250SMX Class

Haiden Deegan | 1st in 250SMX

“It was a good day. The first qualifying was good, and the second qualifying wasn’t as great as we would’ve liked, but we ended up winning the first moto. I kind of got buried in the pack on the first lap, so we had to fight for that win. Even though it was one of the easiest days because there was a rain cancellation and we didn’t have the second motos, that was one of the hardest races, digging through the pack.” 

Seth Hammaker | 2nd in 250SMX

“I’m happy to start the SMX playoffs on the podium. I was really looking to grab that win, but happy with how I rode. I’m pretty frustrated with getting docked the championship points. I was looking to go back out in the second moto and fight for another podium finish, but the weather put a halt to finishing up the day. All we can do now is look to St. Louis and push for better results there.”

Jo Shimoda | 3rd in 250SMX

“They just called the race—the first moto was hectic, the second moto didn’t exist! I was ready, really ready to do it, but the track gave up on me. See you next weekend!”

Lars Lindstrom, Honda HRC Progressive Team Manager

“I’m not sure that I’ve ever been at a race where the second moto or race was canceled like this before, but there have been many times when it was close! I’m really happy with our riders and how quick they were on this SMX track; this series always has a lot of question marks, since the tracks are truly a hybrid of SX and MX. I’m also super proud of our team and their ability to set the bike up for this type of track; I think that has a lot to do with our success in SMX. We had a lot of American Honda associates attending, including all top management, so it feels good to have them come and experience race day with us; it also doesn’t hurt to win when they’re there!”

Levi Kitchen | 4th in 250SMX

“My day was pretty good. I only got to race once, but ended up fourth after I got docked a position. Overall, I'm feeling a lot better on the bike. We went back to my Daytona setup for this race with the hybrid style track. I feel like I showed good speed today, and I feel like I have a pretty good chance of getting some wins these next few races. My goal is to end the year on a high note with my results, and we’re going to stay positive going into these last two rounds.”

Austin Forkner | 5th in 250SMX

"I felt good as soon as practice started, despite deep ruts that made some people hesitant. I nailed the start in our only race, started second and then slowly dropped back to fifth. There was a lot of waiting around in the weather delay, but I'm happy to take fifth overall! It was a good and productive day. I'm keen to carry this momentum into my hometown race, St. Louis."

Ryder DiFrancesco | 6th in 250SMX

“Charlotte was a good weekend overall! Every time I hit the track, I was on the board, which was my goal in practice. My start in Moto 1 wasn’t that bad, but I got shuffled back in the first couple of laps, then made a strong charge forward all the way to sixth. Bummed we only got to race one moto today, but I am looking forward to these next two rounds.”

Tom Vialle | 7th in 250SMX

“We couldn’t ride the second moto here in Charlotte because of the weather, which is unfortunate. I had a great start in Moto 1, and I think I was in fourth, but I was struggling a little bit with getting comfortable on the track – it was really deep all weekend on both Friday and Saturday. I finished seventh and that was the result for today, as they canceled the second moto. We’ll get back to training and be ready for next weekend and then the Final, which will be very important with all the points on the line.”

Cole Davies | 8th in 250SMX

“The track was wild out there in Charlotte. I felt good in Moto 1. I had myself up front, but went down while running second, which was a tough one. I was ready to go again in Moto 2, so it’s a shame the weather didn’t let that happen. The good news is I’m healthy, I know where my speed’s at, and I’m already looking forward to St. Louis.”

Nate Thrasher | 9th in 250SMX

“We’ve got a little bit to work on, but I think my speed overall was really good in the moto. I just wasn't quite aggressive enough. I couldn’t get around some of the guys there and got stuck. I was looking forward to another chance in the next one. I feel like I really had some speed there and would’ve been able to fight up front, so that was a bummer. We’ll go back to work and be more aggressive next weekend. Next weekend is more of a supercross track in the stadium, which is a little bit more my style, so hopefully we’ll get on the podium.” 

Ty Masterpool | 10th in 250SMX

“The day started out well with getting first overall in qualifying. First moto, I had a terrible gate pick because I was unseeded and had to get in through the wildcard. I’m bummed that being fastest in qualifying didn’t go towards my gate pick. In Moto 1, I got a bad jump off the gate, and someone went down in front of me, then I almost went down in the second corner, which put me in the back of the pack. I worked my way through the field and did the best I could with where I started. Unfortunately, they canceled the second moto. I was really looking forward to getting back out there and showing them what I got, but we just focus on next weekend now.”