The first of two playoff rounds were held for the SuperMotocross World Championship. The race took place Saturday at zMAX Dragway at Charlotte Motorspeedway. The moto track was built on top of the four-lane dragstrip at the venue. Participating in the event were Ken Roczen, Cooper Webb and other supercross stars who we haven’t seen all summer.
In the first moto, Justin Barcia had an early lead. The track had a split start that quickly funneled twenty-two riders together at the exit of two turns. Ty Masterpool was running second with Chase Sexton third. Sexton shot through the split lane to take over the lead. As the clock wound down on the twenty plus one-minute moto, Sexton enjoyed an eight second lead. When the checkered flag flew, Sexton was first with Dylan Ferrandis and Roczen. In the second moto, Ty Masterpool had the holeshot. Roczen soon shot to the lead. It wasn’t long before Sexton was on Roczen’s rear tire. An inside line served Sexton well as he was able to move to the lead and remain unchallenged the rest of the race. Sexton’s sweep of both motos earned him a $10,000 bonus.
Over in the 250 class, Seth Hammaker was out front in the first moto. Levi Kitchen took advantage of the split lane to take over the lead. Hunter Lawrence went down and soon so did Hammaker. Kitchen continued to lead as Haiden Deegan chased him down. Deegan soon used the split lane to grab the lead. Deegan went to grab his first ever victory in the post-series. In the second moto, Ryder DiFrancesco took over the holeshot. Tom Vialle quickly made his way around DiFrancesco for the lead. With six minutes on the clock, Jo Shimoda had worked his way to the lead and continued to build a gap for the victory. Shimoda’s 4-1 results for the day earned him the overall winner of the round playoffs.
The second round of playoffs will be held at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. Riders will earn double points for their finish. The final championship round be held in Los Angeles September 23rd.
Photos courtesy of Feld Entertainment
