Slaw
The SuperMotocross World Championship kicks off this weekend in Charlotte and we have the final riders who will compete. They were announced today in a pre-season press conference.
As you will see, some riders have been added that did not make the top 30.
Below is the official wording from Feld:
Standings:
Due to various circumstances across each division, the seeded field has been adjusted to reflect the current status of each athlete. In the 450cc class, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac will be forced to forgo the SMX Playoffs as he continues to recover from a ruptured achilles suffered earlier this season. As a result, the seeded premier class field will consist of 19 racers and will in turn provide three transfer positions out of the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ). In the 250cc class, Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence will contest the 450cc division as the third seed and will forgo his spot in the 250cc field. An additional vacancy will come from Team Honda HRC rookie Chance Hymas, who continues his recovery from a torn ACL suffered this summer. With the absence of two seeds, the 250cc class will provide four transfer positions out of the LCQ.
Athletes occupying positions 21 through 30 in the regular season standings automatically earn positions in the LCQ for each class at each respective playoff round. However, additional confirmations for the final SMX entry list have seen the group of LCQ participants expand in each division. In the 450cc class, injuries and other factors have led to notable exceptions that include Jose Butron (21st), Christian Craig (22nd), Lorenzo Locurcio (24th), Benny Bloss (28th), Romain Pape (29th), and Joey Savatgy (30th). Alternatively, those vacancies have allowed for the confirmations of Josh Cartwright, Jerry Robin, Jeremy Hand, Bryce Shelly, Jace Kessler, and Max Miller.
450cc SMX Playoff 1 LCQ Entrants (Unseeded)
#60 Justin Starling
#69 Phil Nicoletti
#80 Kevin Moranz
#91 Jeremy Hand
#93 Jerry Robin
#434 Bryce Shelly
#511 Jace Kessler
#519 Josh Cartwright
#604 Max Miller
In the 250cc division, injuries and other factors have led to notable exceptions that include Enzo Lopes (21st), Jeremy Martin (22nd), Mitchell Oldenburg (25th), Nate Thrasher (26th), Daxton Bennick (28th), Stilez Robertson (29th), and Cameron McAdoo (30th). As a result, those vacancies have allowed for the confirmations of Austin Forkner, Coty Schock, Preston Kilroy, Josh Varize, Michael Hicks, Hunter Yoder, and Luke Neese.
250cc SMX Playoff 1 LCQ Entrants (Unseeded)
#41 Derek Kelley
#42 Joshua Varize
#55 Austin Forkner
#57 Chris Blose
#67 Cullin Park
#71 Preston Kilroy
#125 Luke Neese
#285 Coty Schock
#460 Michael Hicks
#508 Hunter Yoder
“You can see the importance rising each and every weekend for these riders…to be a part of the inaugural season of the SMX World Championship and the SMX Playoffs that start this weekend at zMax Dragway, it’s special. Not many times in life do you have opportunity to be a part of inaugural events and I think it comes at a great time within the sport,” said lead broadcast analyst and 15-time AMA Champion, Ricky Carmichael.
