SMX Playoff 1: Haiden Deegan (Yamaha) wins ahead of Ken Roczen (Suzuki)

First SMX Playoff in Columbus (Ohio): Following persistent rain during the morning, the practice sessions were cancelled. The day got underway straight away with the race for the wildcard riders who hadn’t qualified directly. Shane McElrath (Beta) took the holeshot and won the race ahead of Jason Anderson (Suzuki), Mitchell Harrison (Kawasaki), Cornelius Toendel (Kawasaki) and Colt Nichols (Suzuki), who all qualified for the Playoff Final. For Swiss Yamaha privateer Valentin Guillod, the day was over after finishing 9th.

Race 1: Prado takes the holeshot, Deegan wins

Red Bull KTM factory rider Jorge Prado, who is notoriously not a fan of muddy races, took the holeshot and led the race ahead of Haiden Deegan (Yamaha), Joey Savatgy (Honda) and Ken Roczen (Suzuki). Roczen overtook Savatgy on the very first lap and, shortly afterwards, Prado as well. This put him in second place, though he was already 6 seconds behind. Roczen rode very solidly and confidently, reducing his deficit to 4 seconds, but Deegan, too, made hardly any mistakes at the front. As a result, Roczen played it safe in the final laps and settled for second place ahead of Prado and Ferrandis.

Hunter Lawrence completely off the pace

Hunter Lawrence, who started the SMX play-offs as the leader, struggled massively with the conditions and crashed several times. The newly crowned motocross champion finished the first race in 21st place. Things went slightly better in the second race, where he finished 8th, but overall the Australian scored just 8 points in 15th place and consequently dropped from first to sixth in the standings.

Second race: Roczen on the attack

Haiden Deegan took the holeshot in the second race ahead of Cornelius Toendel, Jorge Prado and Ken Roczen. Roczen didn’t hesitate for long, moved into second place and immediately went on the attack against the leading Deegan. ‘Dangerboy’ took a huge risk, clearing a double jump in one go in the muddy and slippery conditions and nearly dismounted on landing. Jason Anderson (Suzuki) took the final jump in a single, whilst Malcolm Stewart, riding behind him, took a double and landed on Anderson. Anderson was forced to retire from the race with an arm injury.

Roczen remains in the title race

In the difficult and muddy conditions, there were numerous lapping manoeuvres. Ken Roczen made several attempts to overtake Deegan, but stragglers kept appearing in front of him, forcing him to ease off the throttle. In the end, a minor crash set him back, meaning he had to settle for second place, though this saw him move up from 10th to 4th in the standings. The Thuringian is now just 8 points behind the leader, which is not much given that the points on offer will double and triple in the upcoming rounds.

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Jorge Prado takes the lead in the standings

Cooper Webb finished third in the second race, whilst Jorge Prado came fourth. With a 3-4 result, the Spaniard ended the day in third place on the podium and consequently took the lead in the SMX World Championship standings.

Next stop: California

Next week, the action continues in Carson with the second round of the play-offs. There, riders can earn double the number of points.

SMX Playoff Columbus results

1. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha, 1-1, 2 points

2. Ken Roczen (GER), Suzuki, 2-2, 4

3. Jorge Prado (E), KTM, 3-4, 7

4. Cooper Webb (USA), Yamaha, 9-3, 12

5. Joey Savatgy (USA), Honda, 8-5, 13

6. Dylan Ferrandis (F), Ducati, 4-9, 13

7. Aaron Plessinger (USA), KTM, 10-6, 16

8. Shane McElrath (USA), Beta, 13-7, 20

9. Jordon Smith (USA), Triumph, 12-11, 23

10. Garrett Marchbanks (USA), Kawasaki, 7-16, 23

11. Malcolm Stewart (USA), Husqvarna, 6–21, 27

SMX Championship standings after Playoff 1 of 3:

1. Jorge Prado (E), KTM, 42 points

2. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha, 40, (-2)

3. Cooper Webb (USA), Yamaha, 38, (-4)

4. Ken Roczen (Germany), Suzuki, 34, (-8)

5. Dylan Ferrandis (F), Ducati, 33, (-9)

6. Hunter Lawrence (AUS), Honda, 32, (-10)

7. Garrett Marchbanks (USA), Kawasaki, 28, (-14)

8. Aaron Plessinger (USA), KTM, 22, (-20)

9. Eli Tomac (USA), KTM, 22, (-20)

10. Jordon Smith (USA), Triumph, 21, (-21)