1.Can Jett Lawrence be beat? The entire 450 class from Ken Roczen, to Chase Sexton, Dylan Ferrandis, Jason Lawrence and Cooper Webb, they will all have the same goal – stop Jett winning! It’s his first stadium style 450 race but he was still up there in practice going 1-2 in the first two sessions. Jett is the guy to beat but we asked James Stewart how motivated he would be if he was Chase Sexton and Stewart told us: “For me personally I would be really motivated coming into this, the playoffs, with what happened outdoors. I think the benefit for him is it’s a different format so the scenario changes, you are going to go back to supercross. For me, I would be motivated. I think it’s going to help Chase to have Ken Roczen and maybe some other guys step in that Jett will be worried as well. That will take a little bit of pressure off Chase, he will be one of the guys instead of the only guy that could beat. I think he will be motivated.”
2.New format – two motos! It will be a hybrid track – but no-one quite knows how each of the three events will really play out in regards to bikes set-up. Will it be more motocross than supercross or more supercross than motocross? How the riders deal with adjusting their set-up on the fly will be interesting. Added to that is two short 20 minute motos, two first turns and deeps fields, starts will be important with less margin for error and apparently full stadium whoops will not be used.
3.250 class – deep! Usually indoors there is only one time a year the top 20 all race together but in SMX the top 20 will be going at it for two motos each night for all three rounds to bring home the title! Think about how deep it will be, Shimoda, Vialle, Kitchen, Lawrence, Cooper, Deegan, Vohland, Anstie, Hampshire, Swoll, Hammaker, Brown, there are ten guys who conceivably in the right circumstances deliver a moto win or at least be in the mix for a podium. Starts will be huge with riders already saying passing could be tough and even in outdoors a bad start proved costly unless your name was Hunter Lawrence.
4.Cooper Webb on Yamaha – Cooper Webb is back on the team that he won 250 outdoor and indoor titles and this weekend he is back at the venue he rode what he has described as the best performance of his life, where backed by his home state crowd, he ran down Jeffrey Herlings to win the second moto and the 250 US GP! Can Webb be similarly inspired again this time against another dominating rider, Jett Lawrence? And maybe just maybe, he might volunteer for team USA if it goes well in Charlotte and help get the US to Ernee – a track he raced MXON on before for Star on a 450 Yamaha!
5.More elite racing to watch – it is great for the fans to see more racing at the highest level and with the format being so unique it provides extra intrigue over the next three weeks a time, when previously, there would be no AMA racing. And with the depth of field in both classes impressive – the racing and jeopardy should make it must watch – let’s hope it’s a success. We were told it is scheduled to come back next year with a 2024 being another mammoth 31 race schedule for the AMA 450 riders between supercross, outdoors and SMX.
Article: Jonathan McCready
Image: SMX
