Most Impressive: SMX Playoff 2
450 Class: Jorge Prado
So good right? Thinking back to pre-A1 this year, I never would have expected Prado to be where he’s at now. Such a bad season with Kawi last year and so many unknowns entering this year. Huge kudos to him for believing in himself; all the uncertainty and frustration have paid off now.
Prado looked amazing in LA. He was checked out in 2nd before crashing in the sand, and then mounted an unreal ride back passing Roczen, catching Deegan, and ultimately winning the overall. He’s awarded with a 16 point lead entering the final playoff race.
Prado’s style looks great too. He’s super smooth and light on the bike, keeps the front end low, pushes through the jumps, and carries speed around the whole track. It’s unique and fun to watch.
We asked Prado about that crazy moto 2 afterwards:
“When I crashed, I was like, ‘Well, now if I thought I was in a good spot, now I'm not in a good spot. Now I got really got to fight.’ And I already thought I was fighting, but now I really need to dig and get to the guys in front of me. I'm not really good at when I crash to get back in the fight quick, but for some reason today I was quick. I was quick. I was again in the fight and I caught the guys up front and I was doing great lap times. Physically, I was feeling perfect. So why not hammer down and let's try to get the win? I knew Hunter was too far, but my goal on those laps was just to get to second. And I knew I didn't have to make too difficult of calculations to know that I was going to be the overall winner. (00:34:56) My goal was to get to second after the crash and that's exactly what I did. It was tough.”
We then asked Prado about his mindset going into next weekend:
“It's hard because getting on the podium, it's never easy. So, you can't go to the next race with the mentality of just [thinking a] podium's okay. Because if you go like that, you probably don't even end up on the podium. These guys are all super-fast. My goal for the next round, it's the same. Try to win and I know if I win, I get the title. That's 100% sure. So, I stick to those fac”
250 Class: Ryder DiFrancesco
Sure, Ryder didn’t win, but he did everything he needed to in order to stay in this title fight. It was a clutch ride; the likes we haven’t seen from him yet in his career. He held on for a strong 2nd in Moto 1, and then had a great ride through the pack in Moto 2 (after getting tangled up with Davies). He needed to pass up to 5th in order to eke out Kitchen for 2nd overall… and he got it done late in the moto.
This is by far the best DiFrancesco has ridden. He looks strong and confident. It’s a turning point in his career, and he now has a chance to win this SMX title!
Ryder reflected on his career progression:
“When I started my pro career, I dreamed of these podiums and now I'm getting them. And today I had the points so you go into second moto and that was kind of the goal, maintain the points lead or a win. Those were the two. I was a little bummed I didn't get both of those. So that's kind of the expectation I'm setting on myself now. I feel like you always want more and when I start winning, it's going to be I want another one and then championships. It never ends and next week regardless, I'll be satisfied just because I gave myself a shot at this and I'm grateful that the position I'm in.