What We Noticed: SMX Final

Prado was Most Impressive in LA. He will be (when we publish it later this week) the Most Impressive in Ridgedale too. Prado’s surge at the end of this season has been remarkable; complete 180 from where he was a year (remember: he didn’t even race these rounds as he was getting out of his Kawasaki contract). Prado was a champ overseas, and now he’s a champ stateside. Bravo!

Kitchen finally got it done; clutch performance. However, Davies race further solidified himsel as being the guy to beat in the class. The only person that can beat him evidently is him (crashes) or his machine (bike failures); besides these two issues, he won every moto in SMX.

As for the rest of the field, there’s a lot of potential talent but no one is quite yet rising to the occasion. All the Star rookies had ups and downs: shining moments but some lackluster performances too. You can say the same about Bennick. DiFrancesco and Beaumer are both for sure on the rise and will be podium favorites for next year, but also haven’t shown a ton of consistency and outstanding speed. Shimoda had an off-year with injuries; maybe he can compete with Davies when fully healthy and prepared?

We will probably do a full article on them (they deserve it), but we’d be remiss if we didn’t include a mention in our weekly What We Noticed: we did notice them! The day was sentimental for sure watching Tomac and Ferrandis knowing it was the last time we’ll see them race. One can only wonder the emotions running through their mind as they crossed the finish line for the last time. Also, who knows if Roczen will be back? It’s gonna be different next year without them.

After so much drama last weekend, nothing came to fruition this weekend. So none of it mattered? It’s all in the past? We doubt it. Webb mentioned they “dealt with it like men”, but only time will tell how much of it was dealt with. If we had to guess, expect some fireworks between these two next season.

With that said, it’s not just Webb! Deegan seems to be in a budding heated rivalry with a lot of guys in the class: The Lawrences, Prado, et al. Maybe Roczen is the only guy he respects? This isn’t great for him… he can prevail nonetheless, but having enemies is less than ideal when it comes to championships. He’s only half a season in the class; this will unfold more.

It’s great to see women racing on this stage. Kudos firstly to all the WMX athletes for riding great and putting on a good race. Secondly, kudos to Feld and MX Sports for providing the stage for them to perform and compete. The WMX race might have been the best race of the night? These women are super impressive and the real deal when it comes to racing on motorcycles.

This is more like it when it comes to a true hybrid SMX experience! Thunder Ridge Nature Arena is a very unique venue with a beautiful backdrop of Table Rock Lake and a classic Ozarks experience. Nearby Branson is also unique… a Missouri Vegas?

We hear (multiple sources including Gypsy Tales and PulpMX reported on it) that they’re coming back here for the next 3 years. It’ll be interesting to see how the venue continues to grow for the SMX experience. The space allows for a large track and we’re excited to see unique track maps in the future!