Ryan Nitzen | August 27, 2022
Two to go. The Pro Motocross series heads to Ironman Raceway for the penultimate round of the 2022 championship. As always, there’s some nail-biting action from today. First off, the 450MX point chase is still held at a margin of one with Eli Tomac leading Chase Sexton. In the 250’s, Jett Lawrence had the opportunity to wrap up his title if he managed to gain 13 points over Jo Shimoda. Fans saw Chase Sexton and Jett Lawrence take the day’s overall victories.
450 Moto 1
Another spectacular race from the heavyweights in the 450 class. Christian Craig grabbed the holeshot and early lead before Ken Roczen made the pass for the top spot. The points leaders, Eli Tomac, was just off from the lead pack while Chase Sexton was buried outside the top ten. Last week’s winner, Jason Anderson went down off the start and has his work cut out for him.
Roczen continued to lead through the halfway mark while Tomac charged up to the rear wheel of the Honda. Roczen did his best to hold off his teammate’s rival but eventually Tomac got the spot and marched away with the lead.
Meanwhile, Sexton was working his way through the field. He was just off the lead pack, but bunched in a group of podium contenders. Sexton managed to get up behind Roczen and easily moved his way into second. Then the real race was on.
After a few laps Sexton and Tomac found themselves wheel to wheel battling for the lead. A small mistake from Tomac allowed Sexton to sneak by with only five minutes left. The number-23 held the top spot until the two lap card came out and Tomac laid down his best lap of the race. He gapped Sexton by four seconds in one lap, thus solidifying the running order.
450 Moto 2
The second 450 moto became a now-or-never situation for both contenders. Chase Sexton fired first with a massive holeshot and barreled into turn one with team mate Ken Roczen. The two Honda riders swapped positions early on but Seton managed to hold onto the spot.
Eli Tomac followed in close pursuit and did his best to get past Roczen for second. Roczen did his duties and held off Tomac as long as possible while Sexton broke away.Once Tomac disposed of Roczen, he set his sights on Sexton and began reeling off fast laps. In the matter of a few laps he chipped the lead down from eight seconds to just over one second. But a big cross-rut spelled disaster for Tomac as he gave up nearly four seconds in just one section. This sealed the deal for final race results.
As Tomac made his big mistake, Sexton managed to log one of his best laps of the race. This allowed him to get the gap he needed and cruise to victory. His 2-1 finishes gave him the overall on the day while holding the points at one.
Aaron Plessinger battled his way to third in the race. He swapped hard with Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen, but was later overtaken by Jason Anderson late in the race. Anderson was docked positions after the race for “an off-track excursion” which bumped Plessinger to third. Two thirds on the day gave Plessinger third overall.
450MX Overall Results (Top 10)
| 1. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
2-1 |
| 2. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
1-2 |
| 3. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(KTM) |
3-3 |
| 4. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
6-4 |
| 5. |
Christian Craig |
(Yam) |
5-5 |
| 6. |
Ryan Dungey |
(KTM) |
4-7 |
| 7. |
Ken Roczen |
(Hon) |
7-6 |
| 8. |
Malcolm Stewart |
(Hus) |
11-8 |
| 9. |
Fredrik Noren |
(KTM) |
9-10 |
| 10. |
Dean Wilson |
(Hus) |
13-9 |
250 Moto 1
The 250 class kicked off the day’s action with Nate Thrasher grabbing a big holeshot over the field. Last week’s winner RJ Hampshire and Max Vohland both trailed Thrasher in the early stages of the race. The Yamaha rider led nearly half the moto before dropping to an eventual fourth.
Jett Lawrence started right around the top five and looked calm and collected early on. Despite not leading a lap since Spring Creek, he began dropping the hammer near the half way mark and moved to first in the matter of a few laps. After obtaining the lead from Thrasher, the number-one walked away with the win.
RJ Hampshire continued his momentum from last week and worked his way up to second. The Husqvarna man battled with Vohland and Thrasher but secured the half way through the moto.
Hunter Lawrence started slow but finished strong. He found himself outside the top five early on but pushed through to an eventual third. Lawrence battled with Jo Shimoda for most of the moto, the two fighting for second in the points. Shimoda fell late in the race and later finished fourth. After the race it was noted that Lawrence and Shimoda both jumped on a red cross flag and were both penalized two points for the violation.
Jett Lawrence easily won moto one.
250 Moto 2
Justin Cooper nabbed the start early in 250 moto one. Jo Shimoda and Hunter Lawrence trailed the Yamaha rider with Shimoda taking over the lead before the end of the lap. Moto one winner, Jett Lawrence, didn’t get the best start and was back in 12th.
Once Shimoda got the lead it was game over for the rest of the field. He put in a few sprint laps early on to break away and held that gap through the end of the race. Jo seems to be the ace in these second motos, winning at Budds Creek and now Ironman. With another win, he gains points on Hunter Lawrence and seems solid in second place for overall points. Shimoda’s 5-1 finishes gave him second overall on the day.
Hunter Lawrence held on for second place in moto two. A quiet, consistent ride for the Honda man put him on the box again after getting docked points in moto one. While it was a great result for Hunter after a bad weekend at Budds Creek, he still loses points to Jo Shimoda. 3-2 for Lawrence put him third overall.
Jett Lawrence rebounded from a poor start in the second moto. He slowly chipped away at the riders in front of him and eventually found himself in third place. 1-3 finishes earned the points leader another overall win while pushing the title back to the final round.
250 overall podium.
250MX Overall Results (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
1-3 |
| 2. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Kaw) |
5-1 |
| 3. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
3-2 |
| 4. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
2-4 |
| 5. |
Nate Thrasher |
(Yam) |
4-6 |
| 6. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
6-5 |
| 7. |
Max Vohland |
(KTM) |
7-7 |
| 8. |
Jalek Swoll |
(Hus) |
11-8 |
| 9. |
Cameron Mcadoo |
(Kaw) |
10-9 |
| 10. |
Seth Hammaker |
(Kaw) |
12-10 |
QUALIFYING
450MX
Chase Sexton snagged the fastest lap at the end of the second 450 qualifying session. He’s the only rider to dip into the 1:58 range with Tomac just behind in second. Tomac clocked in with a 1:59, the top two being the only riders to drop under the two minute mark. Jason Anderson’s time held up for third.
Chase Sexton set the fastest time of the 450’s. Photos: Brown Dog Wilson
450MX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
1:58.817 |
| 2. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
1:59.742 |
| 3. |
Christian Craig |
(Yam) |
2:00.563 |
| 4. |
Ken Roczen |
(Hon) |
2:00.670 |
| 5. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
2:01.512 |
| 6. |
Joey Savatgy |
(Kaw) |
2:01.541 |
| 7. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(KTM) |
2:02.286 |
| 8. |
Ryan Dungey |
(KTM) |
2:02.446 |
| 9. |
Malcom Stewart |
(Hus) |
2:02.809 |
| 10. |
Justin Barcia |
(GG) |
2:03.058 |
250MX
Justin Cooper continued his streak with the fastest time in the 250 class. He bested Jett Lawrence’s time by about a second-and-a-half and was the only rider to get into the two-minute flat range. Hunter Lawrence came in third just a few tenths off Jett. Last week’s winner RJ Hampshire qualified eighth.
Justin Cooper topped the 250’s.
250MX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
2:00.271 |
| 2. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
2:01.697 |
| 3. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
2:01.801 |
| 4. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Kaw) |
2:01.998 |
| 5. |
Nate Thrasher |
(Yam) |
2:02.183 |
| 6. |
Michael Mosiman |
(GG) |
2:02.328 |
| 7. |
Levi Kitchen |
(Yam) |
2:02.494 |
| 8. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
2:02.528 |
| 9. |
Seth Hammaker |
(Kaw) |
2:02.550 |
| 10. |
Ryder DiFrancesco |
(Kaw) |
2:03.116 |
Click here for more Pro Motocross news.
