The inaugural 31-event series of the SuperMotocross World Championship hits the midway point as the focus now turns toward the outdoor Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. Round 1 of the 11-round summer season of racing (Round 18 of the SMX World Championship) gets underway this Saturday, May 27, in Pala, Calif. with the Fox Raceway National.
The indoor-stadium season of Supercross concluded recently in Salt Lake City with Chase Sexton capping off a spectacular season with six wins and the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, giving Team Honda HRC its first 450 premier class title in 20 years. Sexton enters the Pro Motocross season currently seeded number one in the SuperMotocross World Championship points standings with 372 points.
Chase Sexton celebrating with Team Honda HRC after winning his first Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports
Adding to the list of accolades for Team Honda HRC, Australian brothers Jett and Hunter Lawrence both won their respective 250SX Class championships, with Jett winning the Western Regional title and Hunter winning the Eastern Regional title. Despite his success in Supercross, Jett will begin the summer at a significant disadvantage in the SMX World Championship standings as he makes the move up to the 450 Class and will start with zero points. As a result of Jett’s graduation, Hunter becomes the top-seeded 250cc racer in the SMX World Championship with 224 points and will continue in the 250 Class for Pro Motocross, where he will be in search of his first AMA National Championship.
Jett and Hunter Lawrence speaking to the media at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. Jett won the Western Regional 250SX Class title and Hunter won the Eastern Regional 250SX Class title.
Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports
The 17-round Supercross season witnessed record attendance across the board as more than 850K fans made their way through the turnstiles for the races and over 343K came early for pre-race FanFest across the 16 different markets. The season featured four sellout races (Anaheim Opener, Anaheim 2, San Diego, Salt Lake City) and record high attendance in five other markets, including Glendale, Ariz., Indianapolis, Ind., and Arlington, Texas. Overall, live event attendance increased by 5% YOY, and combined with FanFest, it saw a 15% increase YOY.
Television and streaming viewership also showed strong signs of growth across NBC, Peacock, and USA Network. NBC Sports’ multi-year rights extension with Feld Motor Sports laid the groundwork for Peacock to serve as the home of Supercross, Pro Motocross and the SuperMotocross World Championship this year and into the coming years. Peacock exclusively streamed 12 Supercross races this season, with consumption up nearly 100% vs. 2022. The five rounds that aired on NBC and USA Network reached more than 5 million total viewers.
The SuperMotocross Video Pass, allows international streaming of every round of the SMX World Championship, including the Pro Motocross Championship for the first time. Over the past five years, the streaming service has seen 30% growth globally and in 2023, a new partnership with Endeavor Streaming gives international fans premium access with expanded service and even greater service reliability. The full season package is now available to all countries and territories outside the United States, making SuperMotocross one of the most accessible sports on the planet.
The top 10 countries for international streaming include Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, New Zealand, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, and Mexico, all of which have their best talent competing in the series leading to international intrigue, tune-in, and global audience interest.
As the SuperMotocross World Championship continues with the Pro Motocross Championship, fans from across the globe can continue to tune in via Peacock and the SuperMotocross Video Pass as the entirety of the 11-round championship will be streamed live, with four and a half hours of live racing with uninterrupted coverage of all four combined 450 Class and 250 Class motos.
In addition to the most extensive streaming coverage to date for Pro Motocross, network broadcast coverage will bring the action into millions of homes during select rounds of the season. NBC will air live network showcases of the opening motos from the Crestview Construction Southwick National, on July 8, and the second motos from the Honda Unadilla National, on August 12, while USA Network will broadcast Sunday re-airs of the final motos from the FXR Spring Creek National, on July 16, and the Yamaha Racing Budds Creek National, on August 20. Encore presentations of the second motos from all 11 rounds will also air on CNBC every Monday following a National.
Bringing the action to the passionate Pro Motocross audience will be host and lead commentator Jason Weigandt, the longtime voice of American motocross, alongside the Hall of Fame tandem of multi-time AMA Champions Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart. These former on-track rivals have become two of the most knowledgeable and savvy color analysts in motorsports, each boasting a racing résumé that made them icons of the sport. Trackside insights will once again feature former racer Jason Thomas in addition to longtime reporter Will Christien during the NBC broadcasts.
Kicking off each National over the course of the summer season will be the addition of Race Day Live, presented by MotoSport.com, the official pre-race show of both Monster Energy AMA Supercross and now the Pro Motocross Championship. This one-hour preview will live-stream the final timed qualifying sessions of the 450 Class and 250 Class, which will set the stage for the afternoon battle for victory each weekend.
Storylines abound for the SuperMotocross World Championship as the series heads into the Pro Motocross season as Sexton, Lawrence, and Adam Cianciarulo all look to keep the momentum going into the summer. Additionally, several key athletes will make their return from injuries as the season unfolds – Cooper Webb, Justin Barcia, Jason Anderson, Dylan Ferrandis, Christian Craig, Malcolm Stewart, Michael Mosiman, Pierce Brown, Jalek Swoll, and others.
For the first time in the sport’s 50-plus year history, athletes have an additional incentive to keep racing as they accumulate points towards the SMX World Championship. The top 20 athletes in combined Supercross and Pro Motocross points (both classes) will be automatically seeded into the SMX Playoffs and World Championship Final. In addition to racing for the sport’s ultimate title, the best athletes in the world will also be competing for the sport’s biggest prize – $5.5M spread across the final three races ($10M spread across the SMX series).
All roads lead towards the SuperMotocross World Championship as Playoff 1 will take place on Saturday, September 9 at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C. and Playoff 2 is set for Saturday, September 16 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., followed by the SuperMotocross World Championship Final on Saturday, September 23 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, Calif.
SuperMotocross World Championship Playoffs and Final Schedule:
Domestically, Peacock continues to be the exclusive streaming home for all SuperMotocross World Championship action, including 11 rounds of Pro Motocross, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, two SuperMotocross playoff races and then the SuperMotocross World Championship Final.
Internationally, the SuperMotocross Video Pass (Supermotocross.tv) is the go-to platform for all 31 events across the SMX World Championship. With it being the midway point in the series fans can take advantage of a current price reduction.
Mere days remain until the roar of 40-rider gates greet the most enthusiastic fans in motorsports for another memorable summer of the Pro Motocross Championship. The 11-round season will travel to 10 different states, with visits to the hallowed grounds of Fox Raceway, Hangtown, Thunder Valley Motocross Park, High Point Raceway, RedBud MX, The Wick 338, Spring Creek MX Park, Washougal MX Park, Unadilla MX, Budds Creek Motocross Park, and Ironman Raceway.
For more information about the 2023 SuperMotocross World Championship series, the Pro Motocross Championship, tickets, and streaming options, visit Peacock and supermotocross.com.
