Ryan Nitzen | June 18, 2022
Round four of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship is live at High Point Raceway, one of the staple tracks in the American Motocross scene. All-time conditions allowed for epic battles all day. When the checkers flew, fans saw Eli Tomac and Jett Lawrence take the overall wins.
450 Moto 1
Chase Sexton kicked off the 450’s with the holeshot over Joey Savatgy and Justin Barcia. This spelled bad news for the rest of the field as Sexton extended his lead to over five seconds after just three laps. The points leader was absolutely relentless in moto one as he led every lap of the race and won by over 10 seconds at the line.
Eli Tomac did what Eli Tomac does and continued to get better as the race wore on. He fought his way through the pack, passing Savatgy and Anderson en route to second place. Once in position, Sexton was too far gone and Tomac stayed put for second.
Chase Sexton demolished the field in moto one. Photos: Brown Dog Wilson
Jason Anderson finished third in the first moto. He battled for a podium with team mate Savatgy but an off-track excursion dropped the 21 machine back to fourth. Anderson put in a strong late race charge to reclaim the lost spots and stay on the box.
There were some great battles on track through the entire moto. One in particular involved Ryan Dungey, Ken Roczen, Barcia, and Savatgy. These four bunched up towards the end of the race and traded passes back and forth. They left it all on the track and put on a great show for the fans.
Jason Anderson qualified first, and a third in moto one was crucial for his overall finish.
450 Moto 2
Ryan Dungey treated the High Point crowd to a big holeshot in race two. He led for the first few turns before Ken Roczen overtook him for the lead spot. Roczen held the place for lap one but Dungey and Sexton both found themselves at the front of the field trading passes with the 94.
The battle for the lead quickly became heated as Eli Tomac joined the party while Roczen and Sexton exchanged spots. Sexton launched one of the big singles around Roczen for the lead but Roczen got it back just two turns later. A small bobble from Sexton then allowed Tomac to pass, and he quickly set his sights on Roczen.
Eli Tomac took his first overall win on the new Yamaha.
Again Eli Tomac was simply on the gas more than the rest. He got around Roczen and dropped the hammer to open up a sizable lead. Tomac marched away with the win and took his first overall of the year with 2-1 finishes.
Chase Sexton recovered from his mid-race bobbles and re-passed team mate Roczen late in the race. Sexton finished second in the moto and second overall with 1-2 scores. He maintains the points lead in the process.
Ken Roczen found himself locked in a battle for most of the second 450 moto. He seemed to fade in the half-way mark and was passed by Sexton and Dungey. Roczen found a second wind though and got Dungey late in the moto to grab a podium. Roczen’s 7-3 scores earned him fourth on the day.
Jason Anderson managed third overall today. The 21 put in a strong ride for third in moto one, but had his work cut out in moto two. A hard-fought fifth place was good enough for third overall.
450 Overall Podium
450MX Overall Results
| 1. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
2-1 |
| 2. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
1-2 |
| 3. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
3-5 |
| 4. |
Ken Roczen |
(Hon) |
7-3 |
| 5. |
Ryan Dungey |
(KTM) |
6-4 |
| 6. |
Justin Barcia |
(GG) |
4-7 |
| 7. |
Joey Savatgy |
(Kaw) |
5-8 |
| 8. |
Christian Craig |
(Yam) |
8-6 |
| 9. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Yam) |
10-10 |
| 10. |
Shane McElrath |
(Hus) |
13-9 |
250 Moto 1
Seth Hammaker had a breakout ride in Moto one. He grabbed the holeshot and led the first half of the race before Michael Mosiman charged up and took the top spot. Mosiman led for a few laps but tipped over in one of the deep High Point ruts. Hunter Lawrence was second at the time but found himself leading after Mosiman ended up on the ground. Lawrence controlled the top spot from here on out.
Jett Lawrence came home second after a mid-pack start found him outside the top five. He continued to push forward as the moto wore on and passed both Mosiman and Hammaker as the clock wound down. Jett crossed the line second.
Hunter Lawrence was the man in charge in 250 moto one.
Jo Shimoda was another hard charger in the first moto. He came through from a bad start and managed to get around his Kawasaki team mate Hammaker late in the race. Shimoda crossed the line in third.
After looking fast all race, Michael Mosiman ended up in the lead at one point. After falling he finished fifth.
250 Moto 2
Seth Hammaker again grabbed the holeshot in moto two with both Lawrences trailing second and third. Hammaker tucked the front and crashed before the end of lap one but recovered for a sixth.
Jett and Hunter battled for most of the second moto, but Jett took the win and the overall.
Hunter Lawrence then took over the lead with younger brother Jett closely in tow. These two looked to make a break for it but Justin Cooper got up to the leaders after about five minutes. He actually managed to pass Jett Lawrence, but Jett jumped to the inside and got back around the Yamaha rider.
Later Jett dive bombed one of the downhills and got the pass for the lead around. Hunter stalked Jett for a few laps and pulled the same move to get back around Jett. These two put on an amazing battle at the front before Jett finally started to grow a gap. Hunter put in a hard fight late in the race and the two finished only a half-second apart. Jett grabbed another overall with 2-1 finishes, Hunter second with 2-1, and Jo Shimoda third with 3-5.
250 Overall Podium
250MX Overall Results
| 1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
2-1 |
| 2. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
1-2 |
| 3. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Kaw) |
3-5 |
| 4. |
Michael Mosiman |
(GG) |
5-4 |
| 5. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
8-3 |
| 6. |
Seth Hammaker |
(Kaw) |
4-6 |
| 7. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
7-7 |
| 8. |
Max Vohland |
(KTM) |
6-9 |
| 9. |
Pierce Brown |
(GG) |
10-10 |
| 10. |
Nate Thrasher |
(Yam) |
9-11 |
QUALIFYING
450MX
Jason Anderson nabbed the top spot in the 450’s. The track continued to get more difficult in session two, but Anderson was one of the only riders who managed to put in a better time. He edged Eli Tomac’s first time by a mere 0.03 seconds, but Tomac was the only other rider in the 2:02 range. Chase Sexton clocked third with a 2:03.0. Crazy to see times in the 250 and 450 class looking nearly identical, we’ll have to wait until the gate drops to see how the track shapes up.
250MX
All the boys looked fast this morning but Jett Lawrence logged the fastest lap of both qualifying sessions. He and brother Hunter Lawrence were the only two riders to get into the 2:02 mark, which would’ve put them up front in the 450 class as well. Justin Cooper was third, about a half-second back from the Lawrences.
Jett Lawrence clocked fastest of the 250’s. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
QUALIFYING
450MX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
2:02.662 |
| 2. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
2:02.692 |
| 3. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
2:03.046 |
| 4. |
Ken Roczen |
(Hon) |
2:03.061 |
| 5. |
Antonio Cairoli |
(KTM) |
2:03.499 |
| 6. |
Joey Savatgy |
(Kaw) |
2:04.293 |
| 7. |
Christian Craig |
(Yam) |
2:04.421 |
| 8. |
Ryan Dungey |
(KTM) |
2:04.469 |
| 9. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(KTM) |
2:05.315 |
| 10. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Yam) |
2:05.518 |
250MX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
2:02.664 |
| 2. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
2:02.714 |
| 3. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
2:03.145 |
| 4. |
Nathanael Thrasher |
(Yam) |
2:03.306 |
| 5. |
Seth Hammaker |
(Kaw) |
2:03.470 |
| 6. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Kaw) |
2:03.791 |
| 7. |
Michael Mosiman |
(GG) |
2:04.515 |
| 8. |
Nicholas Romano |
(Yam) |
2:04.820 |
| 9. |
Stilez Robertson |
(Hus) |
2:05.305 |
| 10. |
Pierce Brown |
(GG) |
2:05.506 |
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