Jett Lawrence had another perfect weekend at Thunder Valley in Lakewood, Colorado as Cooper Webb surged five positions in the NBC SuperMotocross Power Rankings when his Nashville Supercross heat crash aged out of the formula. The Power Rankings looks back at the past 45 days, which still includes the last two Monster Energy Supercross races.
In that span, four riders have perfect top-five records in Main Events and overall finishes although, due to injury and the graduation of Lawrence to the 450 class, none of them have perfect attendance in these five races. The performance of these riders has created a tight band at the top of the chart and is one of the reasons we also track heat and moto wins.
Lawrence has easily been the hottest rider in the 450 class through his first three races, winning every moto with comfortable margins over the second-place rider each time. It will take some time before he gets dethroned, if in fact anyone can beat him at all in the coming weeks. Every now and then, a rider has a season like this, although it is still hard to imagine a rookie sweeping the entire season.
Chase Sexton missed the last two round of the Pro Motocross season, but is listed on this week’s entry list and is expected to race for the first time since suffering a concussion in testing between Fox Raceway and Hangtown. He won the last two Supercross races (Denver and Salt Lake City) and finished second in the Motocross opener.
MORE: Jett Lawrence goes six-for-six in moto wins
Dylan Ferrandis is another rider with a sweep of the top five in the opening rounds, but he’s beginning to fall back. Last week, his Power Ranking number was much closer Lawrence by finishing on the podium in every moto and overall finish. His seventh-place in Moto 1 last week hurt his average and contributed to a fifth in the overall, but even in Moto 2 when he finished third, his performance seemed less powerful than in the first two weeks.
Cooper Webb had his best overall performance at Thunder Valley. He finished third overall for the second week in a row, but there were moments in each moto when he was the closest rider to Lawrence. Webb is undoubtedly still feeling some effects from the concussion he suffered in Nashville and when he is completely healthy, he will challenge for moto wins.
Adam Cianciarulo narrowly missed the top five overall at Fox Raceway with a sixth-place finish in the opener. He has been getting progressively better since with a fifth at Hangtown and fourth last week in Thunder Valley. In the past 45 days, Cianciarulo also has a pair of top-fives at the end of the Supercross season, including a podium in Denver.
Aaron Plessinger rounds out the top five among riders who were active last week. He is riding a four-race streak of top-fives with podium finishes in Salt Lake City and last week at Thunder Valley. The 450 class is slowly getting their top riders back from a rash of injuries during the Supercross season and if Lawrence bobbles, there is going to be intense competition at the front of the motos.
450 Rankings
| This Week | Driver (SMX points rank) | Power Avg. | Last Week | Diff. |
| 1. | Jett Lawrence (15) | 93.43 | 1 | 0 |
| 2. | Chase Sexton (1) | 93.33 | 2 | 0 |
| 3. | Dylan Ferrandis (11) | 87.89 | 3 | 0 |
| 4. | Cooper Webb (2) | 87.00 | 9 | 5 |
| 5. | Adam Cianciarulo (5) | 84.85 | 4 | -1 |
| 6. | Aaron Plessinger (3) | 84.64 | 5 | -1 |
| 7. | Justin Hill (9) | 82.50 | 7 | 0 |
| 8. | Ty Masterpool (28) | 82.00 | 6 | -2 |
| 9. | Garrett Marchbanks (36) | 79.33 | NA | |
| 10. | Dean Wilson (10) | 78.75 | 13 | 3 |
| 11. | Shane McElrath (13) | 74.00 | 19 | 8 |
| 12. | Lorenzo Locurcio (26) | 72.89 | 12 | 0 |
| 13. | Josh Hill (17) | 72.75 | 21 | 8 |
| 14. | Ken Roczen (6) Skipped start of MX | 70.00 | 8 | -6 |
| 15. | Grant Harlan (16) | 69.42 | 24 | 9 |
| 16. | Justin Starling (21) | 68.75 | 22 | 6 |
| 17. | Jerry Robin (30) | 65.89 | 14 | -3 |
| 18. | Jose Butron (31) | 65.67 | 11 | -7 |
| 19. | Ryan Surratt (33) | 65.50 | 16 | -3 |
| 20. | Derek Drake (29) | 65.44 | 20 | 0 |
Hunter Lawrence has not been as dominant as his brother Jett in the first three races even though he has swept the overall finishes. It has not always been his fault, like getting slowed by a crash last week in Thunder Valley, but Lawrence has gotten off to a slow start to each Moto 1 and had to claw his way through the field. He’s successfully earned a podium each time, but those slight bobble keep him from having a perfect record.
Meanwhile, Justin Cooper is waiting in the wings. He competed in a handful of races in the 450 Supercross class with a best of sixth, but once he entered the 250 class at the start of the Motocross season, he found his groove. It took a race to get comfortable and he finished fifth at Fox Raceway, but he’s been second overall in the last two rounds and won Moto 1 last week.
Coming off his first moto win at Hangtown, Haiden Deegan looked strong at the start of Round 3 in Thunder Valley with a hole shot, but he fell back immediately to third at the end of Lap 1 and failed to podium with a fourth-place finish. Moto 2 was worse. He started the race seventh at the end of the first lap and lost two more positions before the race was over. His 4-9 in the round placed him eighth overall and puts him in the sights of RJ Hampshire.
Hampshire also struggled in Thunder Valley with moto finishes of eighth and seventh that contributed to a ninth in the overall. That was the first time since he won at Denver that he has failed to finish in the top five, but he has been heading in the wrong direction. Hampshire finished second at Salt Lake City, third at Fox Raceway and fifth at Hangtown. This week race at High Point is going to be critical for Hampshire to see if he can stop his downward slide.
Jo Shimoda has scored consistent results in the past 45 days, finishing between fourth and seventh each time in Main events and in overall finishes, but he has had a few rocky moments. In the past couple of weeks, Shimoda has had several falls or bobbles that has kept him from seriously challenging for the lead.
250 Rankings
| This Week | Driver (SMX points rank) | Power Avg. | Last Week | Diff. |
| 1. | Hunter Lawrence | 90.30 | 1 | 0 |
| 2. | Justin Cooper | 89.50 | 2 | 0 |
| 3. | Haiden Deegan | 85.80 | 3 | 0 |
| 4. | RJ Hampshire | 85.50 | 4 | 0 |
| 5. | Jo Shimoda | 83.50 | 5 | 0 |
| 6. | Levi Kitchen | 83.33 | 7 | 1 |
| 7. | Enzo Lopes Not racing MX | 75.50 | 9 | 2 |
| 8. | Max Vohland | 75.18 | 10 | 2 |
| 9. | Mitchell Oldenburg Not racing MX | 74.25 | 11 | 2 |
| 10. | Ryder DiFrancesco | 71.88 | 12 | 2 |
| 11. | Carson Mumford | 70.60 | 14 | 3 |
| 12. | Jordon Smith | 70.60 | 15 | 3 |
| 13. | Chance Hymas | 70.13 | 17 | 4 |
| 14. | Tom Vialle | 64.50 | 13 | -1 |
| 15. | Guillem Farres injured | 61.25 | 6 | -9 |
| 15. | Ty Masterpool | 61.25 | 19 | 4 |
| 17. | Jalek Swoll | 58.88 | 21 | 4 |
| 18. | Caden Braswell | 55.50 | 25 | 7 |
| 19. | Garrett Marchbanks | 55.00 | 22 | 3 |
| 20. | Talon Hawkins | 54.22 | 29 | 9 |
* The NBC Power Rankings assign 100 points to a Main event winner in Supercross and overall winner in Motocross. It awards 90 points for each Moto, Heat and Triple Crown win. The points decrement by a percentage equal to the number of starters in the field until the last place rider in each event receives three points, (five in fields of 22 riders). The Power Ranking is the average of these percentage points over the past 45 days.
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 19 HANGTOWN: Jett Lawrence pulls away from the field
POWER RANKINGS AFTER MX OPENER AT FOX RACEWAY: Jett Lawrence debuts in first place
POWER RANKINGS AFTER SX FINALE AT SALT LAKE CITY: Chase Sexton ends with win
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 15 AT NASHVILLE: Eli Tomac back on top
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 14 AT NEW JERSEY: The top 20 settle in
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 13 AT ATLANTA: Justin Barcia leapfrogs the Big 3
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 12 AT GLENDALE: Eli Tomac gains momentum
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 11 AT SEATTLE: Cooper Webb, Eli Tomac overtake Chase Sexton
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 10 AT DETROIT: Chase Sexton narrowly leads Webb
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 8 AT DAYTONA: Chase Sexton unseats Eli Tomac
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 7 AT ARLINGTON: Jason Anderson narrowly trails Eli Tomac
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 6 AT OAKLAND: Perfect night keeps Eli Tomac first
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 5 AT TAMPA: Chase Sexton, Cooper Webb close in
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 4 AT HOUSTON: Eli Tomac rebounds from A2 crash, retakes lead
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 3 AT ANAHEIM 2: Consistency makes Ken Roczen king
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 2 AT SAN DIEGO: Ken Roczen moves up, Chase Sexton falls
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 1 AT ANAHEIM 1: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence gain an early advantage
