The Round 7 Supercross Rankings include 250E challengers

Eli Tomac remains atop of the Monster Energy Supercross Power Rankings after Round 7. It is his fifth consecutive week at the top of the standings as older results begin to drop from the formula.

The 450 Supercross Power Rankings look at the past 45 days to give us recent snapshot of which riders are currently strongest. Both Tomac and second-place Jason Anderson struggled in the opening round, compared to how they have raced since, so the needle did not move much this week.

With the Anaheim 1 race aging out of the formula, Tomac lost his worst result of the opening races. He finished sixth in that feature. Between then and Minneapolis in Round 7, Tomac swept the top five in his heats, Triple Crown races, and mains. And then, Tomac struggled once more with another sixth-place finish in last week’s feature to reset the clock and allow Anderson to close the points gap the three.

MORE: Jason Anderson earns third win of 2022

Anderson was dominant in last week’s feature after finishing fourth in his heat. His worst result of the year also aged out of the formula as his 10th-place feature finish and eighth in the A1 heat aged out of the formula, but Anderson still has a poor showing at Petco Park in San Diego that drags him down.

Malcolm Stewart is solidly in third. In the past 45 days, he has not finished outside the top five in any race. Last week, he won his first heat of 2022 and was in sight of a podium finish in the main when he crashed. A fourth in the feature not only keeps his hopes alive in the championship, that strong run keeps him at the front of fans’ minds.

Chase Sexton was well on his way to a second feature win last week until he hit the front of a jump and twisted his tire. The hit was hard enough to bend the wheel and put him on concussion protocol between Minneapolis and Dallas. His 16th-place finish in the feature will weigh him down in the rankings for a while, but it is offset somewhat by a win in last week’s heat.

Justin Barcia holds onto the fifth-place position in the points with his seventh-place heat and fifth-place feature finish. With a third in the Anaheim 3 feature, he currently has back-to-back top-fives.

450 Rankings

1. Eli Tomac (last week: 1); [2 feature wins, 4 heat and wins]
2. Jason Anderson (4); [3 feature wins; 2 heat wins]
3. Malcolm Stewart (3); [1 heat win]
4. Chase Sexton (2); [1 feature win, 5 heat wins]
5. Justin Barcia (5); [1 heat win]
6. Cooper Webb (6); [1 heat win]
7. Marvin Musquin (8)
8. Ken Roczen (7); [1 feature, 1 heat win]
9. Aaron Plessinger (9)
9. Dylan Ferrandis (10)
11. Dean Wilson (12)
12. Shane McElrath (11)
13. Justin Brayton (13)
14. Brandon Hartranft (17)
15. Mitchell Oldenburg (16)
15. Joey Savatgy (14)
17. Kyle Chisholm (18)
18. Josh Hill (20)
19. Max Anstie (15)
20. Justin Bogle (19)

Let’s hear some 450SX podium predictions for Arlington! 🤔#SupercrossLIVE pic.twitter.com/NGad0owYEY

— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) February 23, 2022

The 250 Supercross Rankings after Round 7 require a slightly different formula to accommodate the different divisions. With the West and East races occurring in clumps, the formula needs to be extended so that the data pool does not become too shallow. The formula looks at the past 145 days, so that about the time the West riders take to the track again, their earliest results will begin to age out of the system.

The 250 East riders hit the track for the first time in 2022 at Minneapolis and early indications are that Jett Lawrence will challenge Christian Craig for 250 supremacy, setting up an interesting matchup when the first East/West Showdown takes place in Atlanta this April.

The East pool is shallow because only one race is in the books, but Lawrence is only a fraction behind Craig as he leads his series.

The points are as volatile in the first race in the East as they were in the West, and given another couple of weeks, some of these drivers will slip down the order. For now, RJ Hampshire and Austin Forkner had solid performances in their first round and are tied for third.

Forkner gets the tiebreaker with his second-place finish in the feature, but Hampshire is not far behind by virtue of winning his heat.

Hunter Lawrence rounds out the top five with a feature and two heat wins to his credit. If not for an accident in the A3 feature, he would challenge his brother Jett for the second position in the Supercross Power Rankings after Round 7.

250 Rankings

1. Christian Craig – W (1); [4 feature wins, 7 heat wins]
2. Jett Lawrence – E (NA); [1 feature win]
3. Austin Forkner – E (NA)
3. RJ Hampshire – E (NA); [1 heat win]
5. Hunter Lawrence – W (2); [1 feature win, 2 heat wins]
6. Pierce Brown – E (NA); [1 heat win]
7. Michael Mosiman – W (3); [1 feature win, 3 heat wins]
8. Cameron McAdoo – E (NA)
8. Jeremy Martin – E (NA)
10. Jo Shimoda – W (5)
10. Stilez Robertson – E (NA)
12. Vince Friese – W (4)
13. Levi Kitchen – E (NA)
14. Enzo Lopes – E (NA)
15. Nate Thrasher – W (6)
16. Jordon Smith – E (NA)
16. Devin Simonson – E (NA)
18. Mitchell Oldenburg – E (NA)
18. Phil Nicoletti – E (NA)
20. Garrett Marchbanks – W (7); [1 heat win]

Triple Crown wins included with Heat wins

POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 1 AT ANAHEIM: Ken Roczen, Christian Craig have a perfect weekend

POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 2 AT OAKLAND: Justin Barcia climbs to the top spot

POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 3 AT SAN DIEGO: Consistency pays off for Eli Tomac

POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 4 AT ANAHEIM: Eli Tomac remains on top as competition levels

POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 5 AT GLENDALE: Malcolm Stewart move up as Eli Tomac stays No. 1

POWER RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 6 AT ANAHEIM: Jason Anderson closes the gap

PALA, California – In his 450 bike debut, Jett Lawrence scored a perfect round at Fox Raceway in Pala, California to win Pro Motocross Round 1. He posted the fastest time in both qualification sessions, won the holeshot in both motos, and scored a pair of wins to take the overall victory and the early points’ lead.

*Chase Sexton stalked Jett Lawrence throughout Moto 2, but could not find his way past. – Align Media*

No one seriously questioned Lawrence’s opportunity to make noise in the 450 class. Few would have been surprised to see him podium in his Pro Motocross National, but Lawrence outperformed all expectations by dominating Moto 1. He entered the weekend with zero points and his eye on 20th in the standings so he would receive an automatic invitation to the inaugural SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX).

He well surpassed expectations.

“It’s awesome,” Lawrence told NBC Sports’ Jason Thomas. “I can finally smile. I’ve been trying to stay serious and not get too excited with emotions coming up – and now I can finally let loose. The second one was a little harder, I couldn’t hear him but I’d look back and I’d still see the red bike. It was like a chess match.”

By the end of the race, Lawrence made up 30 percent of the points he needed to claim 20th and served notice that he will be one of the favorites to win the championship. He closed the gap even further in Moto 2, but the two races had entirely different storylines.

While Lawrence was able to run away from the field in the first race and win with a 10-second advantage, Honda teammate and defending Monster Energy Supercross champion Chase Sexton pressured him for the entire 30 minutes plus two laps that made up Moto 2.

Lawrence is the 16th rider to win in his first Pro Motocross race, the 10th to do so in an opener and second youngest, (behind Rick Johnson, 17 when he won at Hangtown in 1982).

Sexton was within two seconds of Lawrence for the entire moto. He rode a patient race with the realistic expectation that the 450 rookie Lawrence might make a mistake. Lawrence bounced from rut to rut in this race, but would not be forced into losing his focus.

“Toward the finish line area I had some decent lines, I thought maybe, if I could get close enough, I could make a move,” Sexton said. “I tried my hardest; I got close. I made a bit of an attempt with maybe 10 minutes to go and messed up. Jett was obviously riding really good. We were pushing the pace and it was a fun moto. It felt a little like last year.”

Respect after a hard fought day 🤝#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #FoxRaceway pic.twitter.com/pXnSsQ5g2j

— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) May 28, 2023

With his 1-1 finish and the overall victory, Lawrence remains perfect at Fox Raceway after sweeping Victory Lane in five rounds his 250 career.

Dylan Ferrandis returned to the track after suffering a concussion in the Supercross season in Round 4 in Houston. He attempted to return for the Daytona Supercross race, but another hard crash on Media Day set him on the sideline.

“Earlier this week I was pretty far from a podium position, so got together with the team and we made it happen,” Ferrandis said. “It was very hard. [Aaron Plessinger] was pushing me and I had to dig very deep.”

RESULTS: How they finished in the 450 Overall at Fox Raceway

In a pre-race news conference, he indicated that the best course of action was to get up to speed before he fully sent his bike into the turns. But adrenalin is a wonderful factor and once he got into the pace of the race, he held off charges from Cooper Webb in Moto 1 and Plessinger in Moto 2. Ferrandis’ 3-3 finishes in the two races earned 40 points and puts him back in the conversation to be among the top 20 in the combined SuperMotocross standings.

Plessinger and Webb each ended the day with 34 points. Plessinger won the tiebreaker for fifth overall in the standings. But it was an adventurous afternoon for Plessinger who had to overcome a pair of falls in the first Moto to finish fifth.

Round 1 of the Pro Motocross season marked the return of Webb after he suffered a Supercross series ending concussion in a heat race at Nashville.

“This was a last minute decision,” Webb said. “I sat out last summer and I didn’t want to do that again. Once I got cleared from the doctor, it was game on.”

The battle between Lawrence and Sexton gave Honda a 1-2 finish in this race for the second straight year, but perhaps most importantly, it provided a glimpse of what can be expected during the opening rounds.

I think there is more to come from Chase,” Lawrence said. “He had that crash in practice so it rung his head a bit, but I know it’s going to be a war in the outdoor season. I know there’s going to be times when I’m behind Chase and can’t get around him. It’s going to be an awesome season and I can’t wait to race my teammate.”

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Jett wasn’t the only Lawrence to win Fox Raceway Motocross. Hunter’s win in the 250 class marked the first time in history that brothers won a Motocross National on the same day.

The reigning 250 East Supercross champion scored the overall victory with a third in Moto 1 and a victory in Moto 2. A poor start in the first race forced Lawrence to mount a charge from behind. Riding with discomfort, Lawrence was out of his rhythm early. A spirited battle with Jo Shimoda and Justin Cooper for third through fifth forced him to push through the pain of an injury suffered at the start of the week.

“The start was crucial,” Lawrence said. “I had a massive crash Monday and could barely ride press day for three laps, I was in so much pain. This one goes out to Dr. [Rey Gubernick]. He has magic hands.”

Lawrence’s strong start to Moto 2 put him in a better zone and he pulled an eight-second advantage over the second-place rider.

Haiden Deegan got a taste of the Motocross series last year, but that was all it was: a nibble.

Deegan failed to crack the top 10 in either of two starts and had some questions for himself before the race began. Deegan did not believe there were high expectations placed on him for this race, which is precisely how he described his first Supercross attempt. In that inaugural SX race, he finished fourth and was as surprised as anyone in the field.

Again: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Deegan surprised himself again by finishing second in only his third Motocross National. He finished sixth in Moto 1 and second in Moto 2, giving him a second-place finish overall.

“I’m actually a little surprised,” Deegan said. “A lot of people said I wouldn’t even be close to this. I guess we’re proving people wrong and that’s what we’ve got to do Second place in my first full season. I’m hyped.”

Deegan is closing in on his first 250 win.

Click here for 250 overall results

*RJ Hampshire had to overcome a pair of falls in Moto 2 to score the final podium position in the overall standings. – Align Media*

RJ Hampshire made a statement in Moto 1. An entirely new discipline allowed Hampshire to grab an early advantage. But then a poor start to Moto 2 provided an entirely different challenge. Two falls on Lap 1 dropped Hampshire to 39th in the running order.

“I didn’t have a great start and got mayhem in that second corner and went down,” Hampshire said. “Picked [myself] up in last and made some really good passes and then going uphill on the [backstretch], someone got out of whack – took me out and I was dead last again. I didn’t really know if I had a shot at the podium, but I was digging really deep.”

It took half of the race to get back into the points in 20th, but Hampshire kept digging. Passing riders one at a time, he climbed to 11th in Moto 2 and salvaged enough points to give him the third position overall.

Maximus Vohland made a statement of his own by holding off a determined Lawrence on the last two laps. Lawrence was able to pressure Vohland when they were slowed by a lapped rider who fell in front of the battle.

Tom Vialle was in a position to take the final overall podium spot with a solid third-place finish in the second moto. He did everything he could, but Hampshire’s determined charge from the back of the pack was capped off with a two-position advance on the final lap to slide onto the final step of the box.

2023 Supercross Race Recaps

Salt Lake City: Chase Sexton ends the season with win
Denver: Chase Sexton wins, takes points’ lead with Eli Tomac injury
Nashville: Chase Sexton keeps hope alive; Cooper Webb out
New Jersey: Justin Barcia wins muddy race; first in two years
Atlanta: Chase Sexton is back in the championship picture
Glendale: Eli Tomac wins 51st, breaks tie with James Stewart
Seattle: Eli Tomac wins and ties Webb for first
Detroit: Chase Sexton inherits win after Aaron Plessinger falls
Indianapolis: Ken Roczen gets first win in more than a year
Daytona: Eli Tomac extends Daytona record with seventh win
Arlington: Cooper Webb wins for second time, closes to two of Tomac
Oakland: Eli Tomac ties Ricky Carmichael with 48 wins
Tampa: Cooper Webb gets first 2023 win
Houston: Eli Tomac bounces back from A2 crash to win third race of 2023
Anaheim 2: Triple Crown produces new winners Chase Sexton, Levi Kitchen
San Diego: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence double down
Anaheim 1: Eli Tomac wins opener for the first time