Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker entered the SuperMotocross Playoffs seeded in fifth. Now after two playoff rounds (where he placed second in both) he has moved his way up to third in points. In St. Louis, Hammaker was able to stay consistent when others faltered and was able to go 3-3 for second overall. He's down 14 points heading into the triple-points finale in Las Vegas.
“Yeah, I'm in a good spot," Seth said in the post-race press conference after St. Louis. "It was a solid day all around. I felt better physically today. Obviously, we were inside. It wasn't as hot out."
Hammaker has admitted recently that he is dealing with colitis and that's having an impact on him longer races in tougher weather conditions. On Friday he even told us the two-moto format outdoors is tougher than a Main Event in Monster Energy Supercross. The SMX races run two motos as well, so he was very careful with how he metered out his energy through the weekend, which also includes Friday practice. He was happy with his endurance in St. Louis.
"Had two more consistent motos than I had been, and the second moto was a big step in the right direction, just with being more consistent in lap times, didn't drop off as much. Wanted to try to get Jo [Shimoda], but he was riding pretty well on a track that kind of had a limit to it. Just had to ride a little bit safe. Yeah, overall, good day. As far as next weekend, I just want to go in there and try to win the race and see where that puts me and just keep this consistent kind of riding going. Wherever that puts me into the championship, hopefully it will be up there, but we're getting one more race, and then we're into the off-season. It's been a pretty good year so far. Just looking to keep that going.”
Back at the first SMX Playoff in Concord, Hammaker had an up and down day, emphasis on the down. He started the day with a big get off in qualifying. But then was able to get out front and lead most of the race until Haiden Deegan chased him down and passed him late in the moto. The second motos were canceled and Seth was credited with second overall, but he was also penalized five championship points for jumping on a red cross flag.
“The double and triple points, I mean, at these races you need to be on it. The first race is the one to make the mistake at if you have a bad race. But coming into the second and third round, it's super critical to be up front, land on the podium, and give yourself as good of a shot as you can heading into the last final race in Vegas. I believe I'm 14 down, and obviously with triple points, if I go out and win, and even if Jo gets second, I still won't win, but hopefully I can just put myself in a good position and let all that play out how it does. Definitely super critical. I've been consistent. Those five points that I got docked last weekend [for jumping on a red cross flag] are definitely huge now because that would put me, I think, nine back. It is what it is, but those points matter in a short championship like this. Yeah, just grateful to be in the position I am, third overall heading into the last round.”
It would have been a lot more exciting for Seth if he were heading into the last round sitting in second, only nine points back (which would be the difference between first and second in a triple points race), but even at 14 points back he is heading into the final round with the potential of winning a title for the second time this year. It was only back in May when RJ Hampshire went for an aggressive pass on Seth at Salt Lake City supercross, only to take them both down and gift the title to Tom Vialle. Hampshire explained that he had to do whatever it took to try to win the title. So now being in this position again, Seth is better prepared and more aware of the length’s riders will go to win. Even more so for the SMX World Championship with half a million dollars on the line.
“It would definitely be nice to get the championship and kind of get some redemption on what happened at Supercross. Going into the last round, I feel like for the experience that I went through in Salt Lake City, I've never been in a championship fight like that, so I feel like I should be more comfortable and a little bit more calm next weekend. Just like I said, I'm a little bit -- like I'm not out of it by any means, but anything can happen. At this point, a lot of money on the line. All of us will do whatever it takes to get that win. Going to just put my best foot forward, probably just try to execute starts and put that stuff behind me if I can and see how it plays out. But try to stay out of the chaos and just do my thing.”
We are already starting to see with Levi Kitchen’s move on Haiden Deegan in St. Louis what “whatever it takes to get that win” means for these riders. And there are probably a half a million different scenarios that could go down this weekend in Las Vegas that would result in Hammaker walking away with the championship. Especially if Deegan and Shimoda get into it. Luck and experience were not on Seth’s side in Salt Lake, but could he be luckier this weekend in Vegas?
| Position | Rider | Hometown | Qualifying Points | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jo Shimoda | Suzuka, Japan  | 617 | 167 |
| 2 |  Seth Hammaker | Bainbridge, PA  | 408 | 144 |
| 3 |  Tom Vialle | Avignon, France  | 468 | 127 |
| 4 |  Nate Thrasher | Livingston, TN | 307 | 118 |
| 5 |  Haiden Deegan | Temecula, CA | 723 | 116 |
