2023 Ironman National Motocross Fantasy Tips [10 Fast Facts]

This is it—the final round of the 2023 AMA Pro Motocross National Championship Series. It’s your last chance to beat your friends in your RMFantasyMX.com leagues. Last week had some unexpected finishes, and anything can happen on Saturday at the Ironman National at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Let’s go over the possibilities.

1. The top three positions in the 2023 AMA Pro Motocross National Championship Series standings are pretty much set, so expect some riders to play it safe. Jett Lawrence has won the title, but you know he wants that perfect season, so he won’t be holding back. Dylan Ferrandis is 29 points ahead of Aaron Plessinger in the battle for P2 in the series. Ferrandis wraps up the runner-up spot in moto 1 if he loses 4 points or less to Plessinger, so neither has much to ride for—Plessinger can finish no worse than P3 in the series standings. Adam Cianciarulo has a four-point lead over Chase Sexton for P4—expect that to evaporate in moto 1. Almost certainly, the top-five final will be Lawrence, Ferrandis, Plessinger, Sexton, and Cianciarulo, unless something catastrophic happens to Ferrandis or Sexton.

2. The 2023 SuperMotocross World Championship Series Standings top five are also pretty much set. Sexton has clinched the top seeding, and Plessinger is set for P2 in the SuperMotocross seedings. Expect Lawrence to pass Cianciarulo for P2 and Ferrandis to move ahead of Cooper Webb for P5. Anderson is an outside chance to pass Ferrandis, as Anderson is 22 points back. So, all things considered, no one is highly motivated.

3. Jett Lawrence should finish his rookie year in the 450MX class undefeated. There’s simply no reason to pick anyone else to win.

4. Chase Sexton still wants to beat Jett Lawrence, so he will give it a good shot. However, Sexton will not want to go into the SuperMotocross three-round series injured, so don’t look for any last-race chance-taking.

5. Jason Anderson is looking strong, and will want another podium to his credit. Anderson seems to be having a better time than Ferrandis, so I have Anderson in P3 and Ferrandis dropping to P4.

6. Although Aaron Plessinger had a great round at Budds Creek, Dylan Ferrandis is still a strong player. Budds Creek was the first time Ferrandis had been outside the top five all year. Expect Ferrandis will return to the top five for the finale in P4.

7. Justin Barcia needs 33 points to move up two positions in the SuperMotocross seedings. A P4 and P5 nets Barcia P8 for SuperMotocross, so that will be his target. Plessinger has nothing to lose or gain in the SMX battle, so Plessinger’s motivation will be to stay healthy for the upcoming three-race unified championship.

8. That leaves Aaron Plessinger and Adam Cianciarulo outside the top five, and one will get the P7 Wild Card. Even a less-than-motivated Plessinger should do better than a chronically ailing Cianciarulo. That makes Cianciarulo the P7 pick, just behind Plessinger.

9. With one round remaining, I’ve moved into the top 17-percent of RMFantasyMX players. That’s nothing to brag about, though I have been consistently moving forward all season. I’ll cross my fingers for the Ironman National. Ultimate Motorcycling Associate Editor Kelly Callan continues her run in the top one-percent. She’s #86 of over 35,000 players!

10. Don’t miss the finale at Ironman Raceway. Check our 2023 Pro Motocross Television Schedule for viewing details. 

Exclusive photography by Tyler Maillet / Ajak Photos

2023 AMA Pro Motocross National Championship Series Standings (after 10 of 11 rounds)

1. Jett Lawrence, Honda, 500 points (10 overall wins; 10 overall podiums; 10 overall top 5s)
2. Dylan Ferrandis, Yamaha, 379 (6P, 9 T5)
3. Aaron Plessinger, KTM, 350 (2P, 9 T5)
4. Adam Cianciarulo, Kawasaki, 298 (1P, 5 T5)
5. Chase Sexton, Honda, 294 (6P, 7 T5)
6. Ty Masterpool, Kawasaki, 242
7. Garrett Marchbanks, Yamaha, 238 (1 T5)
8. Fredrik Norén, Suzuki, 208
9. Jason Anderson, Kawasaki, 171 (2P, 3 T5)
10. Grant Harlan, Yamaha, 162
11. Cooper Webb, KTM, 147 (2 P, 4 T5)
12. José Butron, GasGas, 142
13. Phil Nicoletti, Yamaha, 120
14. Lorenzo Locurcio, GasGas, 110
15. Derek Drake, Suzuki, 94
16. Kyle Chisholm, Suzuki, 91
17. Romaine Pape, GasGas, 84
18. Jerry Robin, Yamaha, 69
19. Jeremy Hand, Honda, 55
20. Harri Kullas, Yamaha, 46
21. Luca Marsalisi, Yamaha, 46
22. Justin Barcia, GasGas, 41 (1 T5)
23. Ken Roczen, Suzuki, 36 (1P, 1 T5)
24. Ryan Surratt, Honda, 33
25. Marshal Weltin, Suzuki, 32
26. Jace Kessler, Honda, 31
27. Anton Gole, Husqvarna, 29
28. Bryce Shelly, Yamaha, 28
29. Chris Canning, GasGas, 27
30. Shane McElrath, Yamaha, 23
31. Brandon Ray, Honda, 23
32. Colt Nichols, Kawasaki, 22
33. Max Miller, KTM, 22
34. Jay Wilson, Yamaha, 21
35. Lars van Berkel, Honda, 21
36. Gert Krestinov, Honda, 18
37. Stephen Rubini, Kawasaki, 18
38. Kaeden Amerine, Kawasaki, 18
39. Dante Oliveira, KTM, 15
40. Chandler Baker, Kawasaki, 15
41. Christopher Prebula, KTM, 12
42. Tyler Stepek, Honda, 11
43. Henry Miller, Honda, 9
44. Jed Beaton, Honda, 8
45. Brandon Scharer, KTM, 7
46. RJ Wageman, Yamaha, 5
47. Kevin Moranz, KTM, 5
48. Trevor Schmidt, KTM, 4
49. Josh Hill, Yamaha, 4
50. Jacob Runkles, GasGas, 4
51. Luke Renzland, Husqvarna, 4
52. John Adamson, Husqvarna, 4
53. Carson Brown, Yamaha, 3
54. Bryce Hammond, Honda, 3
55. Dominique Thury, Yamaha, 3
56. Tanel Leok, Husqvarna, 3
57. Karel Kutsar, KTM, 3
58. Cody Groves, GasGas, 3
59. Scott Meshey, Husqvarna, 3
60. Izaih Clark, Honda, 3
61. Ryder Floyd, Honda, 2
62. Justin Rodbell, Husqvarna, 2
63. Anthony Rodriguez, KTM, 1
64. Sebastian Balbuena, Yamaha, 1
65. Jeffrey Walker, KTM, 1
66. Jakub Teresak, GasGas, 1
67. Bryton Carroll, Yamaha, 1
68. Richard Taylor, Yamaha, 1

2023 SuperMotocross World Championship Series Standings (after 27 of 28 qualifying rounds) 

1. Chase Sexton, 666 points
2. Aaron Plessinger, 586
3. Adam Cianciarulo, 508
4. Jett Lawrence, 500
5. Cooper Webb, 451
6. Dylan Ferrandis, 435
7. Jason Anderson, 413
8. Ken Roczen, 340
9. Eli Tomac, 339
10. Justin Barcia, 308
11. Fredrik Norén, 286
12. Grant Harlan, 256
13. Ty Masterpool, 242
14. Garrett Marchbanks, 228
15. Justin Hill, 212
16. Kyle Chisholm, 203
17. Dean Wilson, 200
18. Shane McElrath, 174
19. Colt Nichols, 163
20. Josh Hill, 153
21. Christian Craig, 150
22. José Butron, 142
23. Phil Nicoletti, 120
24. Lorenzo Locurcio, 110
25. Kevin Moranz, 101
26. Derek Drake, 94
27. Justin Starling, 94
28. Benny Bloss, 91
29. Joey Savatgy, 85
30. Romain Pape, 84
31. Justin Cooper, 76
32. Josh Cartwright, 76
33. Jerry Robin, 69
34. Cade Clason, 64
35. Jeremy Hand, 57
36. Harri Kullas, 46
37. Luca Marsalisi, 46
38. Ryan Surratt, 33
39. Marshal Weltin, 32
40. Jace Kessler, 31
41. Tristan Lane, 29
42. Devin Simonson, 28
43. Anton Gole, 29
44. Bryce Shelly, 28
45. Chris Canning, 27
46. Max Miller, 27
47. Brandon Ray, 23
48. Chase Marquier, 22
49. Jay Wilson, 21
50. Lars van Berkel, 21
51. Logan Karnow, 19
52. Gert Krestinov, 18
53. Stephen Rubini, 18
54. Kaeden Amerine, 18
55. Anthony Rodriguez, 16
56. RJ Hampshire, 15
57. Dante Oliveira, 15
58. Chandler Baker, 15
59. Malcolm Stewart, 15
60. Christopher Prebula, 12
61. John Short, 12
62. Marvin Musquin, 11
63. Tyler Stepek, 11
64. Henry Miller, 9
65. Jed Beaton, 8
66. Michael Hicks, 8
67. Hunter Schlosser, 8
68. Brandon Scharer, 7
69. Cole Seely, 7
70. Joan Cros, 7
71. RJ Wageman, 5
72. Jared Lesher, 5
73. Trevor Schmidt, 4
74. Jacob Runkles, 4
75. Luke Renzland, 4
76. John Adamson, 4
77. Lane Shaw, 4
78. Carson Brown, 3
79. Bryce Hammond, 3
80. Dominique Thury, 3
81. Tanel Leok, 3
82. Karel Kutsar, 3
83. Cody Groves, 3
84. Scott Meshey, 3
85. Izaih Clark, 3
86. Ryder Floyd, 2
87. Justin Rodbell, 2
88. Alex Ray, 2
89. Sebastian Balbuena, 1
90. Jeffrey Walker, 1
91. Bryton Carroll, 1
92. Richard Taylor, 1