Ryan Nitzen | August 26, 2023
This is it. The final round of the 2023 AMA Pro Motocross Championship goes down today at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana. There’s a lot on the line in both classes – Jett Lawrence’s perfect season hangs in the balance along with Hunter Lawrence’s chance to win the 250MX title.
At the end of four motos, Jett Lawrence stamps his end to a perfect season with Jo Shimoda taking a 1-1 in the 250’s.
450MX
Moto 1
Jett Lawrence rocketed off the line with another huge holeshot in moto one. He took off in the opening laps ahead of teammate and rival Chase Sexton. Sexton put in a series of fast laps in the opening stages of the race, but they were soon met with Lawrence’s rebuttal. Jett turned up the pace, set the fastest lap and ran away with the moto win. Now, he’s just one race away from the perfect season.
Jett Lawrence took the win in race one. Photos: Brown Dog Wilson
Sexton stayed close and kept Lawrence honest in the opening laps but eventually lost the wheel and settled for second.
Dylan Ferrandis clawed his way up to third after passing Jason Anderson late in the race. Ferrandis is struggling with an illness and also crashed during the morning’s practice session. Hard to tell though as the 14 looked strong for the duration of the moto.
Sexton was close but couldn’t make a pass.
Moto 2
It was all on the line for the final 450 moto of the year. Ferrandis grabbed the holeshot but hit the deck hard in the second turn. Despite flinching at the gate, Jett Lawrence still found himself in the lead on lap one with Chase Sexton close behind.
Sexton and Lawrence were this close for all of moto two.
The race unfolded into one of the most suspenseful of the season. Jett and Chase went toe-to-toe for the entire moto and were never more than five seconds apart. The Honda duo both made mistakes in the same section but kept it upright and pushed on. Even with lappers, the lead never changed hands and Jett went on to clinch the perfect season.
Aaron Plessinger crossed third.
Aaron Plessinger held on for third behind the lead duo. 5-3 gave Plessinger third overall.
450 Podium.
450MX Overall Results (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
1-1 |
| 2. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
2-2 |
| 3. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(KTM) |
5-3 |
| 4. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
4-4 |
| 5. |
Adam Cianciarulo |
(Kaw) |
6-6 |
| 6. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Yam) |
7-8 |
| 7. |
Justin Barcia |
(GG) |
11-5 |
| 8. |
Dylan Wright |
(Hon) |
8-9 |
| 9. |
Phillip Nicoletti |
(Yam) |
12-7 |
| 10. |
Harri Kullas |
(Yam) |
9-12 |
250MX
Moto 1
Big drama in the first 250 moto as rivals Hunter Lawrence and Justin Cooper suffered poor starts, with Cooper crashing in turn two. Lawrence saw his rival down and eventually clawed his way from 20th to fifth to secure the title with one race to go. Cooper made his way to 13th but saw his championship hopes slip away.
Hunter Lawrence clinched the title in moto one.
Up front the battle for the lead raged on. Tom Vialle took over the top spot after Ryder Difrancesco led the first four laps. Vialle was on a charge and passed for the lead while holding off Jo Shimoda and Haiden Deegan.
Tom Vialle led laps in race one.
Shimoda eventually passed both Deegan and Vialle and ran off with the rest of the race. Shimoda was easily the fastest of the front group as he claimed his second moto win of the year.
Deegan made his way around Vialle as the two finished second and third respectively.
Your 2023 250MX champion, Hunter Lawrence.
Moto 2
A flood of Kawasaki’s started up front again in moto two with Ryder Difrancesco and Jo Shimoda leading the way. Shimoda battled his teammate early on and eventually sealed a pass which put him into the top spot. From there, Shimoda rode a clean race to take his first 1-1 overall of the year.
Jo Shimoda swept the day with 1-1 finishes.
Justin Cooper rebounded from his first moto mistakes and landed second in moto two. He started seventh but made his way to third where he ran for most of the race. After a big crash from teammate Levi Kitchen, Cooper inherited the bridesmaid position.
Haiden Deegan looked strong again in moto two and rounded out the podium in third. 2-3 scores earned Deegan second overall for the day.
Deegan rode strong all day to take second overall.
Tom Vialle finished fourth in the race but logged third in the overall results. 3-4 for Vialle seems like a positive way to end the season.
Hunter Lawrence wrapped up the title in the first moto. So with no pressure, he stayed out of trouble and finished ninth. 5-9 for the day put him fifth overall.
250 Podium.
250MX Overall Results (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Kaw) |
1-1 |
| 2. |
Haiden Deegan |
(Yam) |
2-3 |
| 3. |
Tom Vialle |
(KTM) |
3-4 |
| 4. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
13-2 |
| 5. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
5-9 |
| 6. |
Ryder Difrancesco |
(Kaw) |
9-6 |
| 7. |
Jalek Swoll |
(Hus) |
11-5 |
| 8. |
Max Vohland |
(KTM) |
8-8 |
| 9. |
Seth Hammaker |
(Kaw) |
6-12 |
| 10. |
Stilez Robertson |
(Yam) |
12-11 |
QUALIFYING
450MX
The perfect season is on the line today as Jett Lawrence logged the best time of both 450 qualifying sessions, a full second clear of Chase Sexton. Dylan Ferrandis edged out Jason Anderson for third.
Jett Lawrence grabbed the top time, one second up on Chase Sexton.
450MX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
1:46:131 |
| 2. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
1:47:163 |
| 3. |
Dylan Ferrandis |
(Yam) |
1:49:211 |
| 4. |
Jason Anderson |
(Kaw) |
1:49:229 |
| 5. |
Adam Cianciarulo |
(Kaw) |
1:49:425 |
| 6. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(KTM) |
1:49:655 |
| 7. |
Dylan Wright |
(Hon) |
1:50:753 |
| 8. |
Justin Barcia |
(GG) |
1:51:054 |
| 9. |
Stephen Rubini |
(Kaw) |
1:51:312 |
| 10. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Yam) |
1:51:399 |
250MX
Levi Kitchen held down the top spot in 250 qualifying. Times were quicker in the first session as the track wore down and allowed Kitchen to keep the fast lap. Haiden Deegan clocked second just a tenth off his teammate Kitchen. Seth Hammaker put in the best time of session two, and rounded out the top three overall.
Justin Cooper was fourth with Hunter Lawrence back in sixth.
Levi Kitchen was the fastest 250 rider.
250MX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. |
Levi Kitchen |
(Yam) |
1:49.119 |
| 2. |
Haiden Deegan |
(Yam) |
1:49.821 |
| 3. |
Seth Hammaker |
(Kaw) |
1:49.982 |
| 4. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
1:50.042 |
| 5. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Kaw) |
1:50.692 |
| 6. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
1:50.754 |
| 7. |
Tom Vialle |
(KTM) |
1:51.351 |
| 8. |
Max Vohland |
(KTM) |
1:51.430 |
| 9. |
Ryder Difrancesco |
(Kaw) |
1:51.685 |
| 10. |
Stilez Robertson |
(Yam) |
1:51.712 |
