Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1539081
The State of SMX R ecently, Cycle News spoke with Dave Prater, vice presi- dent of Supercross-Feld Motor Sports, about the current state of the Monster Energy Super- Motocross World Championship, which is nearing the end of its third season. The three-race Playoffs, which will decide the overall champions in the 450cc and 250cc classes, starts this weekend at zMax Dragway in Concord, North Carolina, and will end at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway two weeks later. Let's start with one for the fans. Are there any rivalries or storylines you're particularly excited to see unfold in the upcoming SMX World Champi- onship Playoffs? I'm very excited about the rac- ing in general. As far as rivalries go, I think it's really Jett against the world and Haiden against the world. Those two are back- to-back SMX World Champions, and both are in top form heading into the Playoffs looking for a three-peat. I do think the rivalry between Jett and Hunter is in- teresting, especially with them being brothers. Don't forget they tied in overall points last year, with Jett only winning with the tiebreaker. In the 250 class, Jo Shimoda has been fast over the last several rounds, so we'll see if he can keep that momentum as we head into the postseason. Justin Cooper and Haiden Deegan lead their respective divisions coming into the Play - offs. What's your take on their advantage coming into round one? Should it be more, less, the same? It's always an advantage to be the number-one seed going in, but they can't let up. With the way the points increase as we get deeper into the Playoffs, anything can happen, but they have a bit less pressure, given a three-point lead to start. Are there any changes to the format this year? The format has been well- received thus far. We'll continue to look at ways to make it better and more competitive, but there are no changes for 2025. Supercross fans want it to be on the level of other sports, like F1 and MotoGP. What makes SuperMotocross different and sets it apart from those other racing series? There are quite a few things that set SMX apart from those other racing series. First and foremost is our demographic. WIND IN THE P66 (Left) Dave Prater, vice president of Supercross-Feld Motor Sports, is happy with the direction that SMX Championship and the Playoffs are headed. (Right) Monster Energy has committed to the SMX as the title sponsor through 2030.