Ryan Nitzen | September 3, 2022
Well folks, it all comes down to this. The final round of the 2022 Pro Motocross Championship takes place today for round 12, the second time the series has visited Fox Raceway. It’s an absolute scorcher today with temps in the triple digit ranges. Motos have actually been cut to 25 minutes plus two laps because of the excessive heat wave. Still, just one point separates Eli Tomac and Chase Sexton at the start of the day. We’re here to bring you all the action so be sure to scroll down and see it all.
450 Moto 1
Fans got what they paid for as Chase Sexton grabbed the holeshot with Eli Tomac just behind him in second. Sexton took off with the lead and held it for the first half of the race before getting caught up with lapped traffic. Tomac stayed right there and the two contenders put on an absolute clinic for the entire 25-minute moto.
The two championship contenders started up front early. Photo Brown Dog Wilson
Tomac managed a pass for the lead while Sexton struggled with lappers. Once he took over the top spot he never relinquished. It was a crucial win for Tomac as it pads his points lead. He can now finish second in the second moto and still secure the title.
Sexton started up front in moto one with Tomac in tow. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Sexton didn’t give an inch to Tomac for the whole moto. A few mistakes held him back but he held the gap to just 1.5 seconds at the line. The front two finished over a minute ahead of third place, with lap times nearly four seconds a lap faster than anyone on the track. Sexton still needs to win the second moto and keep Tomac in third if he wants to clinch the championship.
Sexton ran up front for most of the moto but also caught lappers first. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
A great ride for Christian Craig in moto one finishing third. He battled with Justin Barcia for most of the moto but nabbed the final spot on the podium. Craig got an overall podium here at the season opener and is likely to be strong in moto two.
Tomac struck first with a big win in moto one. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
450 Moto 2
Everything boiled down to the final 450 moto of the day with. Christian Craig, Tomac’s team mate, took control of the holeshot and the early lead. He led the opening lap over Jason Anderson and Chase Sexton. Meanwhile, Tomac was buried down in ninth, putting the title in Sexton’s favor.
The start of 450 moto two. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
While running third, Sexton went down in the tight s-turns. He fell again on the same lap and dropped from third to seventh. This allowed Tomac to pass Sexton which then put the title towards Tomac’s corner.
Sexton’s jersey shows the result of three crashes. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Sexton wasn’t done yet and pushed nearly back up to the back of Tomac in a few short laps. While forcing the issue, Sexton tucked the front end yet again. This practically sealed the deal for Tomac as he soldiered on to the lead.
Anderson found himself under fire from Tomac. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Tomac then put his eyes on Anderson for the top spot. Anderson momentarily stalled the bike and that’s all she wrote. Tomac slipped through to the lead which solidified his position as the championship winner. He cruised to victory eight seconds over Sexton.
Tomac stamped a dominant season with 1-1 finishes. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Despite three falls, Sexton still held on second. He finishes seven points down in the championship.
Jason Anderson held on for third in the moto and third overall today with 4-3 finishes. This is Anderson’s best outdoor season to date as he also rounds out the podium in the overall championship standings.
450 podium
Tomac earned the 450MX number one plate. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
450MX Overall Results (Top 10)
| 1. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
1-1 |
| 2. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
2-2 |
| 3. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
4-3 |
| 4. |
Christian Craig |
(Yam) |
3-4 |
| 5. |
Justin Barcia |
(GG) |
6-5 |
| 6. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(KTM) |
7-7 |
| 7. |
Benny Bloss |
(KTM) |
6-8 |
| 8. |
Ryan Dungey |
(KTM) |
10-5 |
| 9. |
Ken Roczen |
(Hon) |
8-13 |
| 10. |
Dean Wilson |
(Hus) |
13-9 |
250 Moto 1
The first title of the day was decided in 250 moto one. Jett Lawrence was the obvious favorite but still had to finish 12th or better to secure his second consecutive title. He did exactly what he needed to do by holeshotting the moto and then leading every lap. Things got close multiple times but the number one held it through to the checkers.
Jett Lawrence grabbed the holeshot and early lead. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Hunter Lawrence crossed the line second, just 0.4 seconds back from his brother. It was a hard-fought race for Hunter as he started back in fifth and had to work his way through the pack. He passed Justin Cooper and was then gifted a spot as Marvin Musquin went off the track. Hunter stalked Jo Shimoda for much of the moto and made the move in a dive-bomb pass that actually put Shimoda on the ground. A second place for Hunter still holds him third in points, just three back from Shimoda heading into the final moto.
Jo Shimoda stalked Jett for most of the moto before going down. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Justin Cooper made a last-lap pass to secure the final podium position. He ran up front early but faded mid-moto. Cooper closed in after Shimoda hit the deck and passed for third in a last-ditch effort. A podium finish is a strong ride for Cooper with only one moto to go.
Hunter Lawrence was this close at the finish and nearly won the moto. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
250 Moto 2
The heat continued in 250 moto two with Justin Cooper taking the holeshot and early lead. Jo Shimoda was looking for redemption from his tangle in moto one and quickly made his way to the lead. Once Shimoda got control of the lead it was game over for the rest of the field. Shimoda took off, gapping second place by over 20 seconds. 4-1 scores for Shimoda put him second overall on the day and secured the second spot in overall points.
Justin Cooper grabbed the start in the second 250 moto. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Jett Lawrence already wrapped up the title coming into the final moto of the season but that didn’t stop him from trying hard. A fourth place start had his work cut out for him and his move into third earned him the overall win for the day. He didn’t stop there and made a move on Justin Cooper for second. These two battled for the latter half of the race but 1-2 scores were good enough to close the season out on an overall win.
Jo Shimoda ended the season with another second moto win. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Justin Cooper got the start in moto two and held the lead early in the second race. A small mistake gave the lead to Shimoda but Cooper stayed in the hunt. He battled with Lawrence late in the race and crossed third. The MXoN rider went 3-3 on the day, putting him third overall in the final round.
250 Podium
Jett Lawrence is your 2022 250MX champion. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
250MX Overall Results (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
1-2 |
| 2. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Kaw) |
4-1 |
| 3. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
3-3 |
| 4. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
2-5 |
| 5. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
7-4 |
| 6. |
Seth Hammaker |
(Kaw) |
6-7 |
| 7. |
Marvin Musquin |
(KTM) |
5-9 |
| 8. |
Max Vohland |
(KTM) |
12-6 |
| 9. |
Nate Thrasher |
(Yam) |
14-8 |
| 10. |
Carson Mumford |
(Suz) |
12-10 |
QUALIFYING
450MX
Everyone has their eyes on the 450 class. Sexton went 1-1 here at the series opener but Eli Tomac topped the charts with the fastest time. The two went toe to toe and cut their lap time consecutively one after the other but Tomac’s time held up almost a full second faster than Sexton’s. Jason Anderson snuck in at the last minute and grabbed the second spot and bumping Sexton to third.
Eli Tomac struck first with the fastest qualifying time. Photo: BrownDog Wilson
Jason Anderson got in between the two championship leaders and found himself second. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Sexton’s best time was good enough for third. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
450MX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Eli Tomac |
(Yam) |
1-3 |
| 2. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
2-2 |
| 3. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
4-1 |
| 4. |
Ryan Dungey |
(KTM) |
3-4 |
| 5. |
Ken Roczen |
(Hon) |
5-5 |
| 6. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(KTM) |
7-6 |
| 7. |
Christian Craig |
(Yam) |
6-7 |
| 8. |
Benny Bloss |
(KTM) |
9-8 |
| 9. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Yam) |
11-9 |
| 10. |
Justin Barcia |
(GG) |
10-11 |
250MX
Jett Lawrence waited until the last lap of qualifying to throw down his best time. Jett’s time was a half-second faster than Justin Cooper who clocked second. Behind them was RJ Hampshire, a full two seconds back.
Jett snuck in a fast lap at the end of qualifying. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Justin Cooper got bumped from the top and clocked second. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
RJ Hampshire looks good today and qualified third. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
250MX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
2:26.061 |
| 2. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
2:26.623 |
| 3. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
2:28.108 |
| 4. |
Nate Thrasher |
(Yam) |
2:28.140 |
| 5. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
2:28.264 |
| 6. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Kaw) |
2:28.539 |
| 7. |
Seth Hammaker |
(Kaw) |
2:28.560 |
| 8. |
Haiden Deegan |
(Yam) |
2:29.040 |
| 9. |
Marvin Musquin |
(KTM) |
2:29.115 |
| 10. |
Max Vohland |
(KTM) |
2:29.468 |
Pics From The Pits
Justin Cooper is running the Team USA Motocross of Nations kit this weekend. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
He’s also sporting #102 for today’s motos. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Here’s a full look at Cooper’s ride. Photo: Ryan Nitzen
The Husqvarna team is rocking this super cool vintage look on their bikes. This is also the last time we’ll see Dean Wilson outdoors as well as on the Husky team. Photo: Ryan Nitzen
Marvin Musquin is at Pala and racing a 250! He’s using this round to gear up for Motocross of Nations. Photo: Ryan Nitzen
Marv stretching the 250 in practice. He qualified ninth. Photo: Ryan Nitzen
Chance Hymas is making his pro debut today with the Honda HRC team. Photo: Ryan Nitzen
Hymas looked good and logged the 11th best time. Photo: Ryan Nitzen
Hymas’s Fly Formula lid. Photo: Ryan Nitzen
Custom Alpinestar Tech 10’s for Jett Lawrence. Photo: Ryan Nitzen
Here’s the full kit. Insert fire emoji. Photo: Ryan Nitzen
Haiden Deegan is giving it a go again this weekend. He had a big get off last week at Ironman. Photo: Brown Dog Wilson
Jett needs to finish 12th or better in moto one to lock up the title. Photo: Ryan Nitzen
Check out these trick frame extenders on Jett’s bike. More grip. Photo: Ryan Nitzen
The other side. Photo: Ryan Nitzen
Aaron Plessinger is fresh off a podium at Ironman. Photo: Ryan Nitzen
Two guys, one point. Let’s go racing! Photo: Ryan Nitzen
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