2024 Charlotte Supermotocross | Race Report & Results

2024 Charlotte Supermotocross | Playoff One

Team Honda HRC Progressive’s Jett Lawrence returned to racing in grand style by taking the overall win at Playoff 1 of the 2024 SuperMotocross World Championship Finals, fueled by Monster Energy. After missing most of the Pro Motocross season, the defending SMX Champion showed he hasn’t lost speed or endurance with a thrilling battle for the final moto win and overall victory at zMAX Dragway at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

450 Race One

The first 450 start of the day resulted in Eli Tomac edging out Jett Lawrence for the early race lead. Hunter Lawrence trailed in third place, while Chase Sexton and Ken Roczen battled over fourth on the opening laps. Hunter then passed his brother Jett to take over second place after the opening lap. 

Chase Sexton secured fourth place after using an outside rut to rail past Roczen. Chase then latched onto Jett, as Hunter attempted to track down Tomac, who already held a 4-second cushion. Just as Chase began to pressure Jett, Jett upped his pace and the pair closed back in on Hunter. 

Hunter then seemed to lay up and allow his brother to pass into second place, as Jett clearly had more pace in him. Eli Tomac crossed the checkered flag with a 5-second lead and took the dominant win ahead of Jett Lawrence. 

450 Race Two

The final start of the day went to Justin Cooper, who rocketed past Jett Lawrence to secure the early race lead. Eli Tomac then sprinted past Jett Lawrence in the first few sections to pick up second place before going after his teammate and the race lead. Chase Sexton trailed in fourth place on the opening lap. 

Eli Tomac continued to pressure Justin Cooper for the race lead, as Jett Lawrence lurked just behind in third. Eli Tomac was finally able to secure the race lead after completing the pass on his teammate. Chase Sexton was now on Jett’s rear wheel and pressuring for third place. 

Jett responded to the pressure from Sexton, upped his pace, and began challenging Justin Cooper for second place. Jett was late to the brakes and pushed his way past Justin to pick up second. Almost immediately after passing into second place, Jett Lawrence caught up to the rear wheel of Tomac and began pressuring for the race lead. 

Late in the race, Jett Lawrence managed to complete the pass on Eli Tomac to secure the race victory, as well as the overall win in Charlotte.

250 Race One

The first start of the day resulted in a red flag, as Jalek Swoll got the bad end of some contact off the start and was knocked out. 

Restart

Julien Beaumer benefited from the restart, as he was rewarded with the early race lead following a great jump off the gate. Jo Shimoda and RJ Hampshire duked it out behind for second place, while Cameron McAdoo advanced into fourth place on the first lap. Meanwhile, Haiden Deegan sat in ninth place after a poor start in race one. 

However, Haiden Deegan used his crafty lines to make passes on the opening laps and he quickly found himself battling inside the top-5. While coming through the pack, Haiden nearly went down during a pass attempt on Carson Mumford in the sand. Though, he saved the near-crash and then made the pass through the rhythm lane. 

Back up front, RJ Hampshire continued to pressure Jo Shimoda for second place, as Julien Beaumer worked his way to a 4-second cushion over the rest of the field. However, Haiden Deegan was quick to reel-in the duo battling over second place and made it a three rider fight. After lurking for a few laps, Haiden then started pressuring Hampshire. Jo Shimoda then made a mistake while entering the sand, which allowed RJ to finally make the pass for second place. 

Haiden then passed Shimoda through the rhythm lane and switched his focus to Hampshire. As Haiden pulled alongside Hampshire to make the pass, RJ drifted outside and landed on a tuff-block. That mistake sent RJ into the ground and ended his chances at a podium in this first race. With 7-minutes left on the clock, Haiden Deegan now began to hunt down Julien Beaumer and the race lead. 

In just one lap, Haiden used his quad through the rhythm lane to jump past Julien and take over the race lead. A few positions behind, Levi Kitchen and Cameron McAdoo battled over fifth place, which Levi eventually secured. Nate Thrasher went down late in the race, which ended his day. Haiden Deegan took the checkered flag to claim the first win in Charlotte. 

250 Race Two

The second 250 start in Charlotte went to Julien Beaumer, who just edged out Nick Romano. Levi Kitchen was quick to join the party on the opening lap, as he made a quick pass on Romano for second place. Max Anstie then pressured his Star Racing teammate for position, as him and Nick battled over third. 

Meanwhile, Haiden Deegan sat in seventh place after another poor start. Up front, Levi Kitchen took over the race lead after a quick pass on Beaumer. With 15-minutes on the clock, Haiden was up to fifth place and pressuring Cameron McAdoo, who held down fourth for the time being. 

Max Anstie began to challenge Beaumer for second place, but Haiden Deegan reeled-in the pair and lurked just behind. Haiden was the first rider to advance in the group, as he jumped past Anstie and into third place before going after Julien. Haiden pulled alongside Julien entering the sand, but Beaumer responded and shut the door on the race one winner. However, Haiden then cut inside of Julien just a few corners later to pick up second place. 

Max Anstie then passed Julien a lap later in nearly the same spot. Up front, 5-minutes remained on the clock and Haiden was reeling-in Kitchen quickly. While leading, Levi Kitchen missed a double, which allowed Haiden to secure the race lead with just three minutes to go. Haiden crossed the finish line to secure the race win and sweep in Charlotte.