2023 Charlotte SuperMotocross | Race Report & Results

2023 CHARLOTTE SUPERMOTOCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE

The SuperMotocross Championship, a series that combines elements of Supecross and Pro Motocross for a three-round showdown, kicked off its inaugural run with the 2023 Charlotte Supercross. A capacity crowd at zMAX Dragway watched the top riders in the 250 and 450 Classes duel for positions and points on the hybrid track in the September sun, overall wins that went to Jo Shimoda and Chase Sexton.

250 Moto One

The first main event in Charlotte was off as Seth Hammaker was off to the early lead with Levi Kitchen alongside. Levi made the pass on the fastest qualifier after the split lane, as Levi opted for the left lane. Haiden Deegan then began challenging Hammaker for second place, almost immediately after Seth lost the lead. 

Haiden made a small mistake while pressuring Seth, as he drifted off-track and clipped a tuff block. Meanwhile, Hunter Lawrence went down after a bad start and remounted in last place. Justin Cooper sat in fourth place early-on, but then made a mistake and dropped back to ninth. Seth Hammaker also fell victim to the slick track and went down, which dropped him from second place to sixth. 

Following all the mishaps, Tom Vialle was up to fourth place after a not so great start. Ryder DiFrancesco was just ahead of him, in third place, and tailed Deegan. Pro Circuit teammates Shimoda, Hammaker, and Forkner were duking it out for fifth place; Shimoda held the position over his teammates for the time being. 

Up front, Levi Kitchen continued to lead Haiden Deegan and now held over a three-second cushion. Tom Vialle was slowly closing-in on DiFrancesco and began challenging for third place. Back in the pack, Rj Hampshire went down after casing a technical double and remounted in 19th place. 

As the clock began to wind down, Haiden Deegan was closing-in on Kitchen and pressuring for the race lead. Haiden Deegan and Kitchen switched up lanes through the split and Haiden came out with the upper hand, as he took over the race lead. Just behind, Tom Vialle was pressuring DiFrancesco when he was caught and passed by Jo Shimoda. Shimoda then took an inside line to momentarily pass Ryder for third place, but was then passed by Vialle. Tom went from fifth to third place in a corner. 

Seth Hammaker then made the pass on Ryder and took over fifth place, and Forkner followed just a few sections later to shuffle DiFrancesco back to seventh. Back in the pack, Hunter Lawrence was on the charge while others began to fade. Hunter made passes on Justin Cooper, Pierce Brown, and Maximus Vohland in just over a lap. 

Haiden Deegan crossed the checkered flag to claim the first main event win in Charlotte. Levi Kitchen finished in second place after leading early, while Tom Vialle rounded out the podium following a charge from behind. 

250 Moto Two

The second main was off and Tom Vialle was off to the early lead with Ryder DiFrancesco and Jo Shimoda in tail. Jo Shimoda made a quick pass on DiFrancesco for second place. Hunter Lawrence went down in the first corner and remounted in 17th place. Austin Forkner also went down in the first corner and sat in 21st. 

Seth Hammaker passed Jordon Smith on the opening lap to secure fourth place. Race one winner Haiden Deegan sat in eighth place on the opening lap but made a few quick passes to lock down sixth. After a few laps, Jordon Smith fired back and re-passed Hammaker for fourth place, as Deegan closed in on the pair. 

Haiden Deegan then passed Seth Hammaker for fifth place, while Tom Vialle continued to lead the race. A few laps later, Jo Shimoda was on Vialle’s rear wheel and challenging for the race lead. Shimoda continued to pressure Tom Vialle while not following and taking outside lines. Jo blitzed past Vialle using an outside rut following the rhythm lane and took over the race lead with just over 5-minutes left on the clock. 

Late in the race, Haiden Deegan made a mistake and lost over 8-seconds to Jordon Smith but remained in fifth. Ryder DiFrancesco remained in third place and was working to stay ahead of Smith. Yet again, Hunter Lawrence was charging late in the moto as he passed up to seventh place. 

Jo Shimoda claimed the win in race two and, with that, took the overall win in Charlotte. Tom Vialle settled for second place in the race and overall, while Haiden Deegan rounded out the podium. 

450 Moto One

As the first 450 main in Charlotte left the gate, Justin Barcia was off to the early lead with Ty Masterpool in tail. Chase Sexton then jumped into second place and past Masterpool in the rhythm lane. Chase Sexton exited the split-lane ahead of Justin Barcia on the second lap and took the race lead. 

Dylan Ferrandis ran in fourth place, but made a quick pass on Masterpool to claim third place for the time being. Aaron Plessinger followed Ferrandis past Masterpool to advance into fourth. Back in the pack, Jason Anderson looked inside of Jett Lawrence and made the pass for seventh place. 

Jett Lawrence continued to battle with Anderson, as they both looked to get by Masterpool. Jason advanced first, as he made the pass on Ty exiting the rhythm lane. A few spots back, Cooper Webb took Cianciarulo wide and took over ninth place. Jett Lawrence finally made the pass on Ty Masterpool, as he jumped by in the rhythm. 

Ken Roczen was charging forward, as he closed-in on Plessinger and began pressuring for fourth place. Ken eventually made the pass for fourth place after cutting inside of Aaron. Dylan Ferrandis made the pass on Justin Barcia and took over second place. Jett Lawrence went down in an off-camber turn before the finish line, dropping him back to tenth place. 

Ken Roczen then cut inside of Justin Barcia to secure third place over a single jump. Jason Anderson was now working on Barcia, as Roczen worked to close-in on Ferrandis. Back in the pack, Jett Lawrence was back on the charge following his crash, as he passed both Masterpool and Cianciarulo. 

Justin Barcia was shuffled back to sixth place, after both Anderson and Plessinger made passes. Chase Sexton crossed the finish line to claim the victory in the first main at Charlotte. Dylan Ferrandis finished in second place with Ken Roczen rounding out the podium in third. 

450 Moto Two

The final race in Charlotte was off, as Ty Masterpool was off to the early lead with Adam Cianciarulo in tail. Ken Roczen immediately went for second and made the pass on Adam before going after Ty. Roczen jumped past Ty through the rhythm lane and into the race lead. Adam Cianciarulo went down in the rhythm lane and remounted in last place. Adam’s crash gave Chase Sexton third place. 

Jett Lawrence and Cooper Webb battled over seventh place, but Jett ultimately completed the pass before going after Barcia. However, Barcia bunched up the group, which allowed Webb to challenge again for position. Jett managed to keep Webb behind and then make the pass on Barcia for sixth. 

Up front, Chase Sexton made the pass on Masterpool for second place after trailing for a few laps. Jett Lawrence continued to charge, as he caught up to the rear wheel of Ferrandis and made a quick pass. Jett then passed Masterpool a few sections later, placing him in fourth. Just a lap later, Jett was on Anderson’s rear wheel and made another quick pass that left his challenger unable to respond. 

With just under ten-minutes left on the clock, Jett Lawrence was up to third place and just 8-seconds off of Ken Roczen. Back in the pack, Aaron Plessinger was on the charge, as he passed Webb, Barcia, and Masterpool to secure sixth. After sensing a charge from Jett, Chase Sexton upped his pace and logged the fastest lap of the race, which put him just a second behind Roczen.

Just like that, Chase Sexton blitzed Roczen and made an immediate pass using an inside line to take the race lead. Jett Lawrence then caught Roczen and made the pass over a technical double hip. Cooper Webb was on the charge late in the race, as he caught Plessinger and pressured for sixth place. 

Chase Sexton crossed the finish line to go 1-1 and claim the overall victory in Charlotte. Ken Roczen finished in third place, giving him second place overall. While Dylan Ferrandis rounded out the podium after 2-4 moto results.