Ryan Nitzen | July 9, 2022
The sands of Southwick play host to round six of the Pro Motocross Championship. Known as one of the toughest tracks on the circuit, today is always a key round in the overall series championship. By the end of the day the track is brutal and will test even the best riders. Eli Tomac and Jett Lawrence proved to be the strongest as they swept the sand with 1-1 finishes.
450 Moto 1
Ken Roczen rocketed off the line with a huge holeshot in 450 moto one over Ryan Dungey and Christian Craig. The Honda rider led early but faded as the laps wore on.
Roczen started up front but later finished sixth. Photos: Brown Dog Wilson
Craig launched off the track in the opening stages of the race but rejoined without any major issues. He then set his sights on Roczen and passed for the lead after five minutes of racing. Craig led a majority of the moto and later finished third.
Christian Craig led laps in moto one and finished third.
Points leader Chase Sexton had his work cut out for him. He charged his way up to the front pack and battled with a tough group in the opening laps. Eventually he passed Roczen, then Craig later in the race. He finished second, seven seconds down from Tomac.
Chase Sexton clawed his way up to second.
Eli Tomac was the big winner in moto one. He spun off the gate and started way back in eighth on the first lap. About two laps in, Tomac dropped the hammer and made his way to the lead. He passed the entire top three in about a lap and a half before running away with the victory. The number three looked hard to beat and takes another few points away from Sexton.
Eli Tomac charged from eighth to first, taking the win in moto one.
Ken Roczen, Max Anstie, and Aaron Plessinger all found themselves locked in a duel late in the race. Anstie managed to get the best of the three and passed Roczen on the final lap to secure fifth place.
Max Anstie fought hard all race and nabbed fifth on the final lap.
More notables include local privateer Chris Canning who started up front and battled inside the top five early on. He went on to finish 12th. Another struggle for Jason Anderson who fell in turn one but eventually worked his way up to eighth.
450 Moto 2
It nearly looked like a carbon copy again in moto two as Ken Roczen took the holeshot and early lead over Christian Craig and Aaron Plessinger. Tomac started fifth but moved up almost immediately while Chase Sexton found himself further back.
Roczen started strong in both motos but was no match once Tomac sank his teeth in. The 94 went on to finish fourth in moto two and fourth on the day with 6-4 finishes.
Mark down two holeshots for Ken Roczen today.
Aaron Plessinger put on one of his best showings of the year as he moved into second after just one lap. He stayed in the fight and held off Tomac for the first half of the moto. He later passed Roczen but was overcome by Sexton late in the moto before finishing third. This is the best finish of AP’s season, and 7-3 scores earned him third overall.
Aaron Plessinger put in a great ride for an overall podium.
Chase Sexton made it difficult on himself yet again in moto two. He came from nearly eighth on the opening lap and made passes all the way to the final laps. The points leader battled Dungey, Anderson, and Roczen before eventually passing Plessinger with two laps to go. Sexton minimized the damage, going 2-2 on the day and still holding the points lead.
Starts hindered Sexton’s day, but he managed with 2-2 finishes.
Today was all about Eli Tomac. Known for his all out sand speed, Tomac put the hurt on the field again in moto two. This time he got off to a better start and waiting until the half-way mark before he turned the pace up a notch. He passed Plessinger and Roczen in the same lap, took the lead, and never looked back. A dominant 1-1 gave Tomac the overall, his third in a row, and cuts his points deficit down to just one.
Tomac was absolutely sending it today.
450 Podium – Tomac, Sexton, Plessinger
RESULTS
450MX Overall (Top 10)
| 1. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
1-1 |
| 2. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
2-2 |
| 3. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(KTM) |
7-3 |
| 4. |
Ken Roczen |
(Hon) |
6-4 |
| 5. |
Christian Craig |
(Yam) |
3-8 |
| 6. |
Max Anstie |
(Hon) |
5-5 |
| 7. |
Ryan Dungey |
(KTM) |
4-7 |
| 8. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
8-7 |
| 9. |
Benny Bloss |
(KTM) |
10-10 |
| 10. |
Justin Barcia |
(GG) |
13-9 |
250 Moto 1
Jett Lawrence lost the points lead at Red Bud but grabbed the holeshot at Southwick, eager to get it back. He quickly opened his lead up to over four seconds after one lap but later fell and handed the lead over to Justin Cooper. Less than a lap later, Cooper fumbled and returned the lead to Lawrence. From there, the number one was virtually untouchable and cruised to the moto victory.
Jett, Cooper, and Kitchen up front off the start.
Jo Shimoda was arguably the fastest man on the track in moto one. After winning Red Bud, he looked to maintain that momentum and charged through the field en route to a second place finish. For a while it looked like he could catch Lawrence, but in the end the gap was insurmountable.
Jo Shimoda worked through the pack in both one.
Justin Cooper finally put together a strong moto finish for third. Cooper has uncharacteristically been off the box the past few rounds but rebounded in moto one and even led a lap half-way through the race. He fought hard with Shimoda and RJ Hampshire to eventually grab a moto podium.
Justin Cooper held on for third in moto one.
Hunter Lawrence had a tough go in moto one. A poor start saw him in 12th early on but a tangle with Stilez Robertson dropped him down to 16th at one point. Lawrence refused to give up and pushed to the finish, salvaging sixth at the line. Unfortunately, he loses the points lead going into moto two.
250 Moto 2
The track was at its worst when Jett Lawrence again grabbed the holeshot again and took off to an early lead. While it looked like it could be a runaway race for the number one, Levi Kitchen made life difficult in the early laps. The Yamaha rider hung tight for the first half of the race before Jett turned up the pace and broke away with the win. Jett swept the day with 1-1 finishes, taking the overall and reclaiming the points lead by 15 over brother Hunter.
Jett Lawrence swept the day with 1-1 finishes.
Kitchen challenged Lawrence early on and cruised it in for second, nine seconds down at the line. 8-2 finishes were just shy of an overall podium, he finished fourth on the day.
Levi Kitchen challenged Jett Lawrence early on and later finished second in moto two.
Jo Shimoda started outside the top five but never let up on his way to the front. He dropped the hammer near the half-way mark and moved into podium territory by passing Stilez Robertson and Justin Cooper. Shimoda’s 2-3 gave him second overall as he sits third in points.
Jo Shimoda charged hard in both motos and finished second overall.
Justin Cooper ran up front all day and moto two was no different. The Yamaha rider started inside the top three and held the final podium spot for most of the race. He was later overtaken by Shimoda but finished the race in fourth place. 3-4 scores gave Cooper third overall on the day, adding another podium to his year.
Justin Cooper looked back to his old self and finished on the podium with 3-4 scores.
Tough day for Hunter Lawrence, who carried the red plate today. A big crash and a hard charge in moto one looked to drain much of his energy for moto two. Late in final race Lawrence began dropping off the pace before finishing eighth. 6-8 was only good enough for seventh overall, as the 96 slips back to second in the standings.
250 Podium – Lawrence, Shimoda, Cooper
250MX Results (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
1-1 |
| 2. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Kaw) |
2-3 |
| 3. |
Justin Cooper |
(Hon) |
3-4 |
| 4. |
Levi Kitchen |
(Yam) |
8-2 |
| 5. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
5-4 |
| 6. |
Stilez Robertson |
(Hus) |
7-7 |
| 7. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
6-8 |
| 8. |
Michael Mosiman |
(GG) |
5-9 |
| 9. |
Nate Thrasher |
(Yam) |
15-6 |
| 10. |
Jalek Swoll |
(Hus) |
12-10 |
QUALIFYING
450MX
Eli Tomac’s initial time in Q1 proved to be the time to beat as he clocked in first with a 2:09.019. Max Anstie rebounded after a disastrous round at Red Bud and qualified second, just 0.07 behind Tomac. Jason Anderson bumped up with the fastest time of Q2, but still third overall.
Eli Tomac came out swinging with the fastest time of the day. Photos: Brown Dog Wilson
Max Anstie grabbed the second spot, just 0.07 behind Tomac.
Jason Anderson was fastest in Q2 but third overall.
250MX
Similar action from the 250MX class as their lap times from Q1 held up as fastest. Jett Lawrence set the pace with a 2:09.153 (third fastest of both classes). For reference, Jett’s time from the second qualifying was a full three seconds slower than the first. Justin Cooper put in a great time for second while the new points leader, Hunter Lawrence, came in third fastest.
Jett Lawrence put down the fastest 250 time. Photos: BrownDog Wilson
Justin Cooper looked good for second.
Points leader, Hunter Lawrence, came in third.
QUALIFYING
450MX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
2:09.019 |
| 2. |
Max Anstie |
(Hon) |
2:09.086 |
| 3. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
2:09.525 |
| 4. |
Ken Roczen |
(Hon) |
2:09.712 |
| 5. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
2:10.024 |
| 6. |
Chris Canning |
(GG) |
2:10.198 |
| 7. |
Ryan Dungey |
(KTM) |
2:10.357 |
| 8. |
Christian Craig |
(Yam) |
2:10.746 |
| 9. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Yam) |
2:11.079 |
| 10. |
Joey Savatgy |
(Kaw) |
2:11.285 |
250MX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
2:09.153 |
| 2. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
2:10.802 |
| 3. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
2:11.911 |
| 4. |
Levi Kitchen |
(Yam) |
2:12.524 |
| 5. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Kaw) |
2:13.154 |
| 6. |
Nate Thrasher |
(Yam) |
2:14.073 |
| 7. |
Michael Mosiman |
(GG) |
2:14.169 |
| 8. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
2:14.357 |
| 9. |
Nick Romano |
(Yam) |
2:14.376 |
| 10. |
Max Vohland |
(KTM) |
2:14.467 |
Pics From The Pits
Southwick notoriously brings out some fast privateers. Connecticut’s Chris Canning qualified sixth, just a tenth off Chase Sexton.
Canning in action.
Fly Racing is debuting some new gear today. Here’s Joey Savatgy in the limited edition Kinetic Mesh threads.
Another view courtesy of Jalek Swoll.
Kenny is sporting a new Fox kit.
This is the Hunter’s first round with the red plate. He went 1-1 here last year.
We haven’t seen this Alpinestars color combo yet.
Tomac geared up
A bunch of big kids playing in the sand box.
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