Garrett Marchbanks’ 2024 season was a disjointed affair that featured a change in class and, ultimately, a change of teams, but when the dust settled, he nearly cracked the top 10 in SuperMotocross World Championship points.
Marchbanks began the season strong. Racing for ClubMX in the 250 West division, he flirted with the top five in the season opener at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, before finishing seventh. While others struggled in Round 2 in San Francisco, Marchbanks earned his first podium in two years, having hit that mark most recently in the second race of the Orlando residency during the COVID-19-impacted season of 2021.
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Marchbanks is one of the larger racers in the 250 division, standing 6′, 2″ tall and weighing in at a little under 190 pounds, and that contributed to his control in the muddy conditions that marked the early rounds of the Monster Energy Supercross seasons.
One week after finishing third in San Francisco, he took the lead of the San Diego feature from RJ Hampshire on a heavy track on Lap 8 and held it for four laps. A small mistake in traffic when he got stalled behind Robbie Wageman as he attempted to lap him allowed Nate Thrasher, another solidly built dirt bike rider, to close the distance and steal the victory.
Undeterred, Marchbanks rinsed the mud off his bike and swept the top 10 in seven rounds. He rode well until injury kept him from making the final three races of the stadium season. Missing those rounds denied him the opportunity to finish in the top five in points 250 West, but his average finish of 5.14 marked him as one of the top performers.
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One season earlier, when it appeared he would have a difficult time qualifying for the 250 SuperMotocross playoffs, Marchbanks and ClubMX team manager Mike Bonacci decided to pivot and score Pro Motocross points on a 450. The gamble paid off; Marchbanks qualified for the playoffs on the big bike and finished seventh in the standings. Since it worked once, Marchbanks and ClubMX were prepared to replicate the performance.
Fate had different plans, and a hard crash on Press Day for the season opener at Fox Raceway in Pala, California, kept Marchbanks off the circuit for the first four rounds in the 4540 division. Marchbanks returned to action at Southwick, but he was unable to replicate his success from a year early and scored only one top-10 in three rounds. It was time to pivot again, but this time, Marchbanks had a bigger change in mind.
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Marchbanks renewed his contract with ClubMX at the start of the end of the 2023 season and was in the middle of a two-year extension. But dirt bike racing is a fraternity and ClubMX was not going to stand in the way of Marchbanks’ success.
Pro Circuit Kawasaki was dealing with a rash of injuries and had an open seat in the 250 division — one that Marchbanks was more than happy to fill. He joined them for the Unadilla Nationals and added to his Supercross points.
Marchbanks ended the Supercross season 11th in the combined 250 West and East standings, but after missing so many races in Motocross, he was not guaranteed to finish in the top 20 and get an automatic invitation to the features. A pair of fifth-place finishes in Unadilla’s motos helped, and he ended the season 19th in the 250 SuperMotocross standings once Supercross and Motocross were added together.
Finishing 10th at zMax Dragway in Concord, North Carolina, 12th at Texas Motor Speedway, and 10th in the season finale at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway allowed Marchbanks to move up seven spots and finish 12th in the standings.
The 2025 season promises much more. He will return to action with Pro Circuit and spend the entire SuperMotocross season on a 250. That organization has a history of excellence, and Marchbanks should easily contend for a top-10 points finish this year.
2024 Statistics
Feature starts: 13
Average feature finish: 9.54
Podiums: 2
Top-fives: 5
Top-10s: 10
Best finish: Second (San Diego SX)
SMX Standings/payout: 12th/$13,000
2024 News
Garrett Marchbanks joins Pro Circuit beginning at Unadilla
Marchbanks, ClubMX part ways
Marchbanks crashes on Press Day at Fox Raceway
Marchbanks sizzles in the mud, starts 2024 with two podiums
450 Countdown
11. Malcolm Stewart
12. Dylan Ferrandis
13. Christian Craig
14. Shane McElrath
15. Dean Wilson
250 Countdown
12. Max Anstie
13. Julien Beaumer
14. Coty Schock
15. Ryder DiFrancesco
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