SMX PLAYOFFS TAKE OFF FOR TROY LEE DESIGNS/RED BULL/GASGAS FACTORY RACING

The gates dropped on the new SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) Finals series in Charlotte, North Carolina, this afternoon, where Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing pushed hard to make an impact in the 250SMX Class at zMAX Dragway.

• PB manages to race despite mid-week crash while training
• Free Practice incident delays Bam Bam's scheduled return to racing
• Ryder D benefits from strong starts in SMX Playoff 1

With 450SMX entry Justin Barcia's return to competition delayed by a week – he intends to line up in Fort Worth next Saturday – following a crash in Friday's free practice sessions, all attention was on Pierce Brown and Ryder DiFrancesco, equipped with their GASGAS MC 250F Factory Edition machinery.

Brown was uncertain whether he would be able to make the first SMX Playoff round of the year after going down during the week, but he was P1 in the opening qualifying session and qualified 11th on combined times. PB then recorded an 8-14 scorecard for 12th overall. Those points salvaged across the pair of fast-paced races see him currently ranked seventh in the 250SMX points.

Pierce Brown: "That was a tough day for me. Coming into the weekend, I was unsure if I was going to race because I had a pretty big crash this week, so all in all I'm just happy to be here and to get some points. The next two rounds are double and triple points – I'm looking forward to those and there are a lot of points to be made. We have improvements to be made, but I feel like my ceiling is way higher than where I am at this stage."

Teammate Ryder D was quick out of the gates today, but continues to adapt to the high-speed, hybrid SMX tracks, and found himself with 14-12 finishes for P14 this weekend. In what is his first full season of racing at the pro level, DiFrancesco sits 12th in the 250SMX championship.

Ryder DiFrancesco: "It was an okay weekend in Charlotte. I had pretty good starts all day, but in the first moto I just didn't have the speed, and then in the second race my start wasn't as good, even though I actually rode better. I need to stack some points for the next two!"

Next Race: September 14 – Fort Worth, Texas (SMX Playoff 2)

Standings 450SMX Class 2024 after 1 of 3 rounds
1. Chase Sexton, 45 points
2. Jett Lawrence, 41
3. Hunter Lawrence, 40
6. Aaron Plessinger, 32
7. Malcolm Stewart, 30
12. Christian Craig, 18
17. Justin Barcia, Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing, 13

Results 250SMX Class – SMX Playoff 1
1. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha
2. Julien Beaumer (USA), KTM
3. Levi Kitchen (USA), Kawasaki
5. Tom Vialle (FRA), KTM
9. RJ Hampshire (USA), Husqvarna
12. Pierce Brown (USA), Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing
14. Ryder DiFrancesco (USA), Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing

Standings 250SMX Class 2024 after 1 of 3 rounds
1. Haiden Deegan, 50 points
2. Levi Kitchen, 42
3. Tom Vialle, 37
5. Julien Beaumer, 35
7. Pierce Brown, 26
10. RJ Hampshire, 22
12. Ryder DiFrancesco, 21
20. Casey Cochran, 4