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Morning Report

After a wild round last week in St. Louis, the stage is set to crown a pair of champions here in Las Vegas. Jo Shimoda holds the lead in the 250 Class by ten points over Haiden Deegan, which means Shimoda can finish second and still win the championship, and the $500,000 that comes with it, no matter what Deegan does. When asked in yesterday’s press conference if he had any strategy for today, he simply said he was focused on winning the race. 

In the 450 Class Jett Lawrence holds the lead, but only by six points over Hunter Lawrence. Because the points are tripled at the finale, this means that if either rider wins, he wins the championship, and $1 million. Eli Tomac sits in third, but he’d need some help to win the championship. If he wins, he’d need Jett to finish fourth or worse, and have Hunter take third or worse. That doesn’t seem likely, but we've seen the unexpected unfold plenty of times before in this sport. And remember, the points pay triple tonight, so there's plenty of motivation on the line to finish as high as possible to get a bigger piece of the championship payout.

One situation to keep an eye on is fourth through eighth in the 450 Class. Chase Sexton sits in fourth with 68 points, Cooper Webb is in fifth with 67, Justin Cooper has 64, Ken Roczen has 63, and RJ Hampshire has 61. That's a separation of just seven points! Fourth place in the championship pays $100,000 more than eighth, and with the points tripled tonight, things could get wild in this group!

The track here in Las Vegas is pretty long. Lap times in yesterday’s practice sessions were just above the 1:30 mark. There are some tight, slower sections, a couple of long sand sections, and some high speed sections with sweepers and rollers. There are also a few big doubles and some rhythm sections, although yesterday there didn’t seem to be much variation in the rhythm lanes. The start stretch is interesting too. It’s downhill initially, but then goes uphill slightly, then gently back down, and finishes with another stretched out roller before funneling into turn one. It’s going to be interesting to see how the guys handle this section today.

As far as the dirt goes, there’s a lot of mulch mixed in in most areas. In places it almost felt like walking on landscaping bark. Tomorrow is going to be hot, and the direct sun is no joke here in Las Vegas, so hopefully this helps retain moisture. And speaking of moisture, a small amount of rain came down on Thursday evening, and a thunderstorm rolled through on Friday afternoon. A fair amount of rain came down, but probably not enough to have much of an impact on today’s racing. Buckle up folks, we’re in for a great day of motorsports!

Qualifying – First Sessions

In the 250 Class the first qualifying session was pretty uneventful. It first it looked like there might be some early entertainment when Haiden Deegan was following Jo Shimoda around, but they were both ripping and Deegan went into cruise mode momentarily before getting very close to Shimoda. Even so, Deegan set a fast lap early, a 1:33.743, but was quickly bested by Shimoda, who turned a 1:33.117. Seth Hammaker would end up fastest, however, after busting out a 1:32.638.

Elsewhere there were a few crashes. Cole Davies had a big crash when he landed and hit a Tuff Block. He got ejected from his bike and bounced hard off the dirt. It looked nasty, but he popped up right away and picked his bike back up and got going again. Jordon Smith swapped big and had a nasty crash in this session and dislocated his shoulder. They were able to pop it back in trackside, but at this point we're unsure of his status for tonight.

[Update] - Smith went back out for the second qualifier and the team confirmed he will be racing tonight.

In the 450 Class Eli Tomac was going fast early, but a mistake in a short rhythm section prevented him from setting a blistering time. Instead it would be RJ Hampshire who set the first meaningful fast time, a 1:32.713. It held up for a bit, but out of nowhere Cooper Webb went from tenth-fastest to fastest, posting a 1:32.479. Roczen wasn’t far behind either, recording a 1:32.668. None of it would matter, however, as Tomac was able to put together a clean one and shot to the top with a 1:31.489.

Jett Lawrence took a while to get going in this one. He had a small crash early, and it took him a few laps before he decided to uncork his signature speed. But when he did it was, not surprisingly fast enough to go to the top—1:30.965.

Chase Sexton was eighth-fastest in this one, but he also didn’t look like he was pushing it at all out there. Sexton never looks out of control when he’s going fast, so it can be difficult to tell sometimes, but it sure looked like he wasn’t riding with very much intensity in this session. Don’t expect his 1:32.487 to be indicative of how he’ll perform tonight.

Qualifying – Second Sessions

Seth Hammaker was fast again in this one, setting a 1:31.177 early, but Ryder DiFrancesco temporarily knocked Hammaker off the top of the board with a 1:30.885. It didn’t take Hammaker long to retaliate, however, and he threw down a 1:30.547. That time would hold as the fastest of the session, making Hammaker the day’s fastest 250 qualifier.

Haiden Deegan was off the pace in this one. There were a couple laps in which it looked like he was going for it, but the fastest time he could post was 1:32.280, which happened on his final lap. That put him ninth-fastest in the second session.

[Update] - Haiden Deegan was penalized for cutting the track and his fastest lap didn't count.

Jordon Smith came back out for this one, which is surprising because he had a bad crash in the first session and dislocated his shoulder. They were able to pop it back in while he sat in the back of the Alpinestars Medical Mule on the side of the track, but it still had to be pretty painful for Smith to ride. He spent most of the session in the 1:34 range and ended up 13^th (of 13) with a 1:34.300. Afterward we went to the Triumph pits and they confirmed Smith would be racing tonight. That’s tough!

In 450 action it seemed like it took a few laps before the guys really got going, but at a certain point the dynamic changed and you could almost feel the intensity going up. Out of nowhere Ken Roczen dipped into the 1:29 range with a 1:29.883, and after that it was on. The times at the top, and near the top, were switching around like crazy and seemed like every guy on the track had suddenly decided it was go time. It was pretty fun to watch, but when Jett Lawrence banged out a 1:27.714, the battle for the top spot came to an end. Unless of course, you count Jett beating his time with a 1:27.627 on his final lap. Eight of the fifteen riders in this session put in their best time on the final lap—they were going for it!

Chase Sexton was much livelier in this one and it looked like he was riding with more purpose than the first. He was sixth-fastest with a 1:28.849.

250 Wild Card

Nine of the ten riders who lined up for this one would transfer to the motos, and when Dax Bennick went down on the start it looked like he might be the who would end up being the unlucky one. He was able to remount and catch back up to Hunter Yoder, who’d crashed, and it wasn’t long before he made the pass. Then something happened to Bennick out of view and suddenly he was in last place again. Bennick regrouped, went back after Yoder, and made the pass. After that there wasn’t any further drama for Bennick. Ty Masterpool won, with every rider who finished behind him, except for Yoder, transferring to tonight’s main event races.

450 Wild Card

Coty Schock got the holeshot in this one and ducked out to ride to the uncontested win. Behind him, however, there was a bit of drama. Kyle Chisholm and Mitchell Oldenburg got together and went down on the first lap, with neither of them rejoining the fight. Dean Wilson had gotten a bad start and was out of qualifying position early, but was able to work his way up into seventh, the final qualifying spot. John Short held eighth though and wasn’t too far off Wilson’s rear wheel. On the last lap Short tightened it up and was all over Wilson, and Wilson was doing everything he could to defend the spot. In the final turn Short managed to get a wheel inside Wilson, but Wilson whacked open the throttle and somehow managed to avoid being on the business end of a nasty block pass. Short probably could have pushed the issue harder, but it might have been ugly if he did. Wilson took the final transfer spot to conclude the afternoon program.

250 – Moto One

Jo Shimoda came out on top at the start of the first moto but he had Seth Hammaker all over him. Ryder DiFrancesco  held third, with Haiden Deegen in fourth. As the race progressed Shimoda started to get away from Hammaker, and Deegan wasn’t gaining any ground on DiFrancesco, who was about a second-and-a-half ahead of him. It went on like this for about eight minutes, but then Deegan started catching DiFrancesco. As the two entered a sand section DiFrancesco bobbled and Deegan launched, came down, and made contact with DiFrancesco’s head. DiFrancesco instantly came off the bike and Deegan went down. It looked pretty scary for a moment, but after being tended to by medics DiFrancesco was able to get up.

Up front Shimoda had nearly eight seconds on Hammaker, while Deegan was struggling to get around Tom Vialle, who’d passed him when he went down in the sand. Try as he might, Deegan could just not make a move stick on Vialle and he spent a lot of precious time stuck behind the Red Bull KTM rider. He was finally able to go by, but at that point there were only about five minutes left in the race and Shimoda was all but gone. Deegan still had a shot at Hammaker though. Deegan went to work and started reeling in Hammaker, and with three minutes left was all over him. This time Deegan wasted no time in making the move and sped by.

At this point they’d made up some time on Shimoda, and with a minute left Deegan had five seconds to make up. Deegan was turning faster lap times, and he even had Shimoda in sight in the longer sections. Shimoda was getting into lappers too, and the crowed waited to see if Deegan would be able to work some magic. Credit to Deegan’s ride, but in the end Shimoda’s gap was just too large to overcome, and he took the win by about two seconds over Deegan. Las Vegas must love Shimoda, because the crowd erupted when he crossed the line.

450 – Moto One

Jett Lawrence got the holeshot in this one, but it was Hunter Lawrence who took command of the lead. Lawrence ended up getting shuffled back a couple spots, and all of a sudden Eli Tomac was in second. At this point, as they say, it was on. Tomac was all over Hunter, and as the two came out of the back section Tomac made a move and sliced by the Australian. The crowd roared in response, and Tomac rolled up his sleeves and went to work. He didn’t have a huge speed edge on Hunter at first, but he was inching  away. Before long, he had about a second-and-a-half on him.

Elsewhere Justin Cooper held third and Jett was in fourth. Interestingly enough, Jett hadn’t been able to make up much ground, if any, on Cooper, in the first seven minutes of the race. Finally, with about ten minutes remaining, Jett started catching Cooper. Once he was on him, he made quick work of the pass and took off after Hunter. A battle quickly shaped up, with Jett attempting to come up the inside of Hunter in a 180-degree turn, but Hunter didn’t let him have it. Tomac was only about two seconds ahead of the battling brothers, making the pass even more important for Jett. But, not matter what he tried, Jett just couldn’t get past Hunter. Finally, through the back section Jett was able to slice by, and within a lap had caught Tomac. The crowd braced for a battle, but Jett wasn’t willing to provide them with one. As the two approached a small rhythm, Jett took an inside line and executed perfectly, snatching the lead from Tomac in a brilliant display of skill. Just like that, the fight was over and Jett ducked way with the lead.

Behind the top three, Cooper held a lonely fourth, with Ken Roczen in fifth. RJ Hampshire held sixth, but he was catching Roczen. On the final lap Roczen turned it up just enough to prevent Hampshire from getting within striking distance.

250 – Moto Two

Haiden Deegan and Jo Shimoda started side by side in the final 250 moto, but it was Seth Hammaker who ended up with the holeshot. It looked like Deegan moved over on Shimoda on the start and Shimoda ended up getting bounced around mid-pack a little bit. After two laps it was Hammaker, Levi Kitchen, Deegan, Dax Bennick, and Shimoda holding down the top five. Soon Deegan was all over Kitchen, but Kitchen was reluctant to surrender the spot. Deegan kept hammering, and at one point it looked like he had the pass made as he sliced to the inside leading into the finish line jump. Kitchen stubbornly refused  to give him the spot though and the two continued to go at it. Finally Deegan jumped past Kitchen and went after Hammaker.

Shimoda, meanwhile, was in fourth and doing his best to catch the leaders. The battle between Deegan and Kitchen had slowed them both up, which helped Shimoda, and with about 12 minutes left Shimoda was about two seconds behind Kitchen, who was still keeping Deegan somewhat honest. The battle was on! Deegan pulled alongside Hammaker in a sand section and the two were side-by-side over the next two jumps, but Deegan was able to eventually take over the lead and get away.

At this point all eyes were on Shimoda, but then Kitchen had a problem with his bike, and that put Shimoda in third. Shimoda then caught Hammaker and zipped by, putting him in second. As long as the order finished like this, the title was Shimoda’s. But then Deegan slowed and started playing games with Shimoda. He would let him by then throw a wheel in on him. They made contact a few times and it was obvious what Deegan was trying to do. But then Shimoda actually pulled away! The crowd absolutely loved it, and everywhere Shimoda was, the crowd was going nuts for him. After a few laps of this Deegan caught back up to Shimoda and started playing more games. Passing him and immediately cutting over. Things started getting wild, and Deegan ramped it up, putting a hard block pass on Shimoda. Shimoda somehow survived and the battle continued raged on Deegan went for it again in the turn before the finish line and took both riders went down right in front of the grandstands. Shimoda got back up and took off, but Deegan looked like he’d sustained some sort of injury and walked off the track. Just like that, Deegan was done. 

[Update] - Deegan sustained a broken collarbone.

Late in the race Tom Vialle caught Shimoda, but Shimoda wanted nothing to do with battling him and let him by. He stuck on his rear fender though, and with a lap to go Shimoda was in position to win the championship. He wasn’t satisfied though, and in the last turn he put a block pass on Vialle to take second! He didn’t need the spot, but either way, Shimoda is the 2025 250 SMX World Champion!

450 – Moto Two

Cooper Webb shot out to the lead in the final race of the night, but he had a pair of assassins behind him in the form of Hunter Lawrence and Eli Tomac.  Hunter soon took over the lead, and not long after Tomac sliced by and into second. Jett Lawrence, meanwhile, hadn’t gotten a great start but had moved into fourth, just ahead of RJ Hampshire, Ken Roczen, and Chase Sexton. There were battles all over the place between these guys. Tomac was chasing Hunter, Jett was hounding Webb, and Roczen, Hampshire, and Sexton were trading blows. It was crazy!

Jett eventually went by Webb, who then found himself under fire from Hampshire and Sexton, who’d gotten away from Roczen and were engaged in one hell of a knock-down-drag-out fight. Sexton would prevail and get around Webb, while Hampshire struggled to find a way around Webb. That allowed Roczen to get back in the mix, and he proceeded to pass Hampshire back! Roczen then passed Webb.

Up front Hunter was getting away from Tomac, but with about seven minutes left Tomac started pulling Hunter back in just a bit. Jett lurked about six seconds back of Tomac. As the race wore on it continued like this, with Tomac never able to get close enough to Hunter, yet holding a comfortable lead over Jett. Finally Jett started closing, and with just over a minute left Jett had caught Tomac and put a move on him. It almost looked like Tomac anticipated Jett to go outside, prompting Tomac to drift wide for defensive purposes, but Jett knifed inside and took ownership of second. The white flag came out soon after that, but Jett hadn’t closed on Hunter nearly enough. It didn't matter though because he'd won the overall, and the championship for the third straight year.

Sexton had a big crash in this one and unfortunately went down. His bike was in rough shape and he left the track on a stretcher in the back of the Alpinestars Medical Mule. We’ll have more on his condition when information becomes available.