Key Highlights:

• Deegan Dominance: Haiden Deegan turned in the fastest lap time of any rider across all classes with a 1:13.981, outpacing the 450s by 0.6 seconds. And he might have been holding back—his theoretical best lap time is a staggering 1.2 seconds faster!
  
  
• KTM's Consistency: Chase Sexton and Tom Vialle were on fire with their consistency. Combining scores from both motos, Vialle boasted an elite 95, while Sexton was right behind with a fantastic 94.

• Scorched Earth: The intense heat and hard-packed dirt caused lap times to drop dramatically in Moto 2, with riders averaging 1.3-2.2 seconds slower than in Moto 1. Even the fastest lap times fell by 1.1 seconds in the 450s and 2.5 seconds in the 250s.
  
  
• A New Challenger Approaches: RJ Hampshire seemed poised to challenge Deegan in Moto 2, averaging 0.1 seconds per lap faster than Deegan before his crash.
  
  
• Tomac Unleashed: Tomac was in full beast mode during Moto 1. Despite finishing second, he stormed through the pack, setting both the fastest average lap time and the fastest single lap.

You know what they say—everything is bigger in Texas! The SMX Playoffs Round 2 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth definitely lived up to that reputation. With double points on the line, anyone willing to push their limits could shake up the championship standings as we head into the final round. Let’s dive into all the action from this weekend in Texas.

450 Analysis:

Baked under the sweltering heat and intense humidity, Texas turned into a true test of endurance. As we’ll explore, the track became increasingly difficult, hard-packed, and treacherous at times. In the 450 Moto 1, Hunter and Jett Lawrence quickly took the lead. But it was Eli Tomac who made his way through the pack, eventually catching up to the Lawrence brothers and setting up an epic showdown. Hunter had a small bobble, allowing Jett to take the lead. Then Jett briefly stalled, letting Hunter and Tomac slip by. The first moto ended with Hunter, Tomac, and Jett in that order.

Fans who were eager to build on the excitement from Moto 1 were surely surprised in the second moto when Chase Sexton took an early lead and never looked back. Having had a relatively quiet playoff until now, Sexton easily secured the win, leading every lap. The Moto 1 podium trio found themselves buried mid-pack but fought their way back to the front, with Jett finishing 2nd, Hunter 3rd, and Tomac 5th.

After the dust settled, it was Hunter Lawrence who emerged as the overall winner, clinching his first ever 450 career win! This victory gave him a narrow points lead heading into the triple points round in Vegas. It’s now a winner-take-all battle between Sexton, Hunter, and Jett.

Track Breakdown:

 

The track maps above show which riders had the fastest average times in each sector for both motos. This weekend’s 450 class was a story of two motos. Moto 1 was dominated by Tomac and the Lawrence brothers, with Tomac particularly fast in the more open sections of the track. Shout out to Colt Nichols for recording the fastest time in Sector 7. Nichols has battled his way through the LCQ in each round of the playoffs to compete in the payout motos.

In Moto 2, Chase Sexton may have led every lap comfortably, but other veterans like Webb and Roczen started making their presence known on the sector charts. Each veteran claimed two of the fastest sector times. The times below also show each rider’s LITPro consistency score across the sectors. 

Moto 1:

SEG	Rider	Average Time	Fastest Time	Consistency Score
1	J. Lawrence	5.621	5.492	82.7
2	H. Lawrence	9.161	8.952	85.4
3	E. Tomac	18.982	18.517	85.0
4	E. Tomac	5.994	5.685	76.9
5	E. Tomac	6.879	6.663	81.9
6	H. Lawrence	4.983	4.85	85.7
7	C. Nichols	10.660	10.407	87.0
8	C. Sexton	8.956	8.559	76.1
9	H. Lawrence	3.997	3.869	82.6

 Moto 2:

SEG	Rider	Average Time	Fastest Time	Consistency Score
1	C. Sexton	5.565	5.479	91.4
2	C. Sexton	9.275	9.058	88.7
3	K. Roczen	19.408	18.617	69.0
4	C. Webb	6.233	5.862	74.8
5	C. Webb	7.177	6.869	71.1
6	K. Roczen	5.130	4.935	75.3
7	A. Plessinger	10.841	10.498	84.3
8	C. Sexton	8.799	8.560	79.2
9	H. Lawrence	3.974	3.845	83.8

 

 

Lap Time Breakdown:

Commentary from both riders and fans alike couldn’t help but note how hard the race surface got. Coupled with the intense heat, it’s no surprise that lap times slowed down compared to Moto 1. As shown in the lap time histogram chart above, most of Moto 2's laps were significantly slower.

• On average, lap times in Moto 2 were 1.3 seconds slower than in Moto 1, with the fastest lap time increasing by 1.1 seconds.
• The slower pace in Moto 2 led to higher consistency scores. Riders averaged 1.5 points higher on the LITPro consistency scoring in Moto 2.
• Each race consisted of 17 timed laps. In Moto 1, Hunter had the fastest lap 6 times, while Tomac and Jett each grabbed it 4 times, and Sexton had it 3 times. In Moto 2, Sexton took the fastest lap 10 times! He was followed by Plessinger and Jett, who each had 2 fastest laps.

450 Moto 1 Top 5 Average Lap Times 

RIDER	MOTO	Average Time	Fastest Time	LAP 99	Consistency
E. Tomac	M1	1:15.988	1:14.532	1:13.70	90.0
H. Lawrence	M1	1:16.091	1:14.822	1:14.15	93.2
J. Lawrence	M1	1:16.165	1:14.627	1:13.09	89.8
C. Sexton	M1	1:16.693	1:15.656	1:13.61	96.0
C. Webb	M1	1:17.390	1:15.595	1:14.80	86.5

450 Moto 2 Top 5 Average Lap Times 

RIDER	MOTO	Average Time	Fastest Time	LAP 99	Consistency
C. Sexton	M2	1:17.172	1:15.743	1:14.74	91.9
J. Lawrence	M2	1:17.621	1:15.660	1:14.25	86.9
H. Lawrence	M2	1:17.942	1:17.179	1:15.01	91.0
K. Roczen	M2	1:18.126	1:17.179	1:14.78	94.2
C. Webb	M2	1:18.250	1:16.868	1:15.94	90.3

 

Overall Performance:

• Moto 1 saw Tomac in full beast mode. Even though he finished second, he quickly passed several riders and set both the fastest average lap time and the fastest lap time of the race.
• Moto 2, on the other hand, was all about Chase Sexton. His average lap time was half a second faster per lap than Jett’s and practically a full second faster than the rest of the top five.

LITPro 10-Lap Consistency Scores:

• Sexton’s dominance in Moto 2 was matched by his consistency across both motos. His LITPro consistency score of 96 in Moto 1 is truly elite, and his combined consistency score from both motos was the highest of the day at 94.0
• Cooper Webb made a solid rebound from Moto 1 to Moto 2, as reflected in his consistency scores, which improved by 4 points in the second moto.

Lap 99 Analysis:

*Lap 99 takes each riders' best segment time regardless of lap and combines them as a theoretical best lap time.

• In Moto 1, Jett Lawrence was his own worst enemy. His theoretical fastest lap time was half a second quicker than anyone else, but continual mistakes kept him in third place.
• Ken Roczen, despite starting in dead last in Moto 2, was flying. His Lap 99 time in Moto 2 was almost on par with Sexton’s, highlighting his impressive speed.

Lap Time Distribution for Top 10 

The box-and-whisker plot above shows the lap time distribution for each rider in both motos, filtered to just the top 10 riders. It’s interesting to note that every rider’s fastest lap time in Moto 2 was slower than in Moto 1, except for Aaron Plessinger. The podium trio from Moto 1—Jett, Hunter, and Tomac—clearly had a tougher time working through the pack in Moto 2. Their lap times in the second moto were significantly slower compared to their performance in the first.

250 Analysis:

There are only two words to sum up the action in the 250 class—Haiden Deegan. Last weekend’s excitement came from his struggles with poor starts, which forced him to fight his way to the front. This weekend, however, Deegan took control with two impressive holeshots, leading both motos from start to finish for a 1-1 overall victory. Fans are now buzzing about whether Deegan can sweep the playoffs and if he’s currently the best 250 rider in the world. But there’s more to unpack beyond just Deegan’s performance, so let’s dive in.

 

As shown in the track maps above, Deegan isn’t the fastest in every section of the track. In fact, he only had the fastest section times in 2 of 9 segments in Moto 1 and 3 of 9 in Moto 2. Shimoda looked strong in Moto 1 but couldn’t mount a serious challenge, and in Moto 2, Hampshire was poised to give Deegan a run for his money until he crashed out in the rhythm section. You may notice that RJ posted 0 consistency score for his Moto 2 times, this is due to him not completing the required 10 laps to get scored. 

What stands out about Deegan is that he might not always have the fastest time in every section, but he’s consistently among the top 3. This weekend, he was either the fastest or second fastest in most track sections. In contrast, the rest of the 250 class has shown inconsistency—some riders are extremely quick in certain areas but fall back in others. Deegan, however, manages to be fast across the board. 

Moto 1:

SEG	Rider	Average Time	Fastest Time	Consistency Score
1	L. Kitchen	5.701	5.621	91.7
2	H. Deegan	9.295	9.022	80.5
3	J. Shimoda	18.929	18.116	72.0
4	J. Shimoda	5.816	5.395	36.0
5	H. Deegan	7.018	6.820	83.4
6	J. Smith	5.126	4.888	75.2
7	T. Vialle	10.702	10.476	85.9
8	J. Beaumer	8.937	8.589	78.5
9	J. Beaumer	4.089	3.947	78.6

 Moto 2:

SEG	Rider	Average Time	Fastest Time	Consistency Score
1	H. Deegan	5.671	5.566	89.2
2	R. Hampshire	9.356	9.134	0
3	H. Deegan	19.256	18.711	79.8
4	J. Smith	6.276	5.910	68.9
5	R. Hampshire	7.165	7.165	0
6	T. Vialle	5.161	5.161	64.4
7	H. Deegan	10.714	10.714	86.0
8	R. Hampshire	9.421	9.421	0
9	T. Vialle	4.176	4.074	83.9

Lap Time Breakdown:

Just like in the 450 class, the 250s experienced a noticeable drop in lap times in Moto 2. On average, lap times in the 250 class were 2 seconds slower per lap in Moto 2 compared to Moto 1. Even the fastest lap time was a surprising 2.5 seconds slower. Consistency also took a hit. The 250 class is known for its ups and downs due to the riders’ young age and limited experience, and the tough Texas conditions only made things worse. On average, riders lost 3 points in their consistency scores in Moto 2, with most struggling to score above 85 on the LITPro Consistency scale.

250 Moto 1 Top 5 Average Lap Times 

RIDER	MOTO	Average Time	Fastest Time	LAP 99	Consistency
H. Deegan	M1	1:16.391	1:13.981	1:12.77	82.8
J. Shimoda	M1	1:16.646	1:15.312	1:13.86	91.2
T. Vialle	M1	1:16.699	1:15.662	1:14.49	94.3
J. Smith	M1	1:16.961	1:15.518	1:14.18	89.5
J. Beaumer	M1	1:17.639	1:15.954	1:14.89	91.2

250 Moto 2 Top 5 Average Lap Times 

RIDER	MOTO	Average Time	Fastest Time	LAP 99	Consistency
R. Hampshire	M2	1:17.789	1:17.497	1:16.07	0
H. Deegan	M2	1:17.842	1:16.767	1:15.30	93.9
T. Vialle	M2	1:17.900	1:17.042	1:15.22	96.1
J. Shimoda	M2	1:18.692	1:16.419	1:15.23	84.3
L. Kitchen	M2	1:19.240	1:17.132	1:15.58	92.4

Overall Performance:

• Haiden Deegan was on fire in Moto 1, posting the fastest lap of the day (outside of qualifying) with an impressive 1:13.981. That was the quickest time of any rider across both classes.
• RJ Hampshire looked like he might give Deegan a run for his money in Moto 2. Before crashing out, he was averaging 0.1 seconds per lap quicker than Deegan, however he couldn’t quite handle the heat.

LITPro 10-Lap Consistency Scores:

• Tom Vialle thrived in the challenging conditions, posting the highest combined consistency score among 250 riders with a remarkable 95.2.
• Levi Kitchen showed promise early on but struggled in Moto 2. Despite this, he maintained consistent lap times and earned a Moto 2 consistency score of 92.4.

Lap 99 Analysis:

*Lap 99 takes each riders' best segment time regardless of lap and combines them as a theoretical best lap time.

• It’s possible that Deegan was holding back a bit in Moto 1, as his theoretical best lap time is 1.2 seconds faster than his actual fastest lap.
• Most riders had a tough time maintaining their speed in Moto 2. Over half of the riders had a slower theoretical best lap time in Moto 2 compared to their fastest lap in Moto 1.

Lap Time Distribution for Top 10