The 2023 national motocross championships in the United States nudged past the halfway point at the weekend with round seven of 11 at Millville’s Spring Creek MX Park.
The second half of the 2023 Pro Motocross Championship got underway at the weekend with the series’ annual visit to the Land of 10,000 Lakes and Minnesota’s Spring Creek facility.
After four captivating motos, Australia’s Lawrence brothers prevailed with a sweep of the overall victories for the fifth time this season, as Jett Lawrence extended his perfect season to 14 moto wins and a seventh overall victory in the 450 class while Hunter Lawrence returned to the top step of the podium in the 250 class with his fifth win.
The premier class stormed out the gate for the first time with Adam Cianciarulo leading the field through the first turn and to the holeshot, with Lawrence on his rear fender.
Lawrence applied pressure immediately and was able to take control of the moto before the completion of the opening lap. Lawrence’s Team Honda HRC team-mate Chase Sexton started up front as well but went down and lost several positions.
He remounted quickly and started to claw his way back into contention. He passed Aaron Plessinger for third and then tracked down Cianciarulo for second, making the pass with ease. Nearly five seconds separated the teammates as the moto completed its opening 10 minutes.
It didn’t take long for the Honda riders to gap the field and pull away by double digits, which left the battle for third to be decided between Cianciarulo and Plessinger, while Jason Anderson looked to close in from fifth. As the moto reached its halfway point the battle for third became a three-rider affair as Anderson passed both Plessinger and Cianciarulo.
Back up front, Sexton slowly inched closer and closer to his teammate and soon less than two seconds separated Lawrence from Sexton.
For the first time all season, Lawrence faced a threat from behind as Sexton moved to within striking distance of the lead.
As they approached lapped riders Sexton started to look for an opportunity to make a pass. Lawrence responded and picked up his pace to put the lead back over a second.
Sexton kept Lawrence honest for several laps as the teammates traded momentum, but Lawrence capitalized on a slower rider that held up Sexton and opened the lead to more than 2.5 seconds.
The lead briefly grew to more than three seconds, but Sexton gained a second and looked to make one last push in the closing minutes. On the final lap, Sexton got within two seconds of Lawrence, but he slid out on a downhill and ended the threat.
Lawrence took his 13th moto win by 11.9 seconds over Sexton, while the battle for third stayed intense all the way to the finish.
Anderson fended off heavy pressure from both Plessinger and Frenchman Dylan Ferrandis to secure third, while Plessinger settled four fourth and Ferrandis fifth.
The second and final moto of the afternoon got underway with the Hondas of Sexton and Lawrence leading the way, running side-by-side all the way to the holeshot, which went to Sexton.
After pinching off his team-mate, Sexton had control of the position but applied too much throttle exiting a corner and lost traction with his rear tire, which allowed Lawrence to assume the lead as Sexton resumed in second.
Cianciarulo grabbed another strong start in third, just ahead of Ferrandis. After a third in Moto 1, Anderson was collected in a crash off the start and retired from the moto.
Much like the first moto the Honda teammates easily gapped the rest of the field to set the stage for a head-to-head showdown.
Lawrence established a lead of just over a second on Sexton, who bided his time and settled into the moto with no threat from behind. As he gave pursuit Sexton made a costly error that took him to the ground and allowed Cianciarulo to move into second as Sexton remounted in third.
Lawrence enjoyed a double-digit margin following Sexton’s misfortune as Sexton looked to battle back. The Honda rider closed in on Cianciarulo and made quick work of the Kawasaki to reclaim second.
A battle for third then started to take shape between Cianciarulo and Ferrandis. As the moto reached its halfway point Ferrandis mounted an attack on Cianciarulo and wasted little time in making the pass for third. Plessinger was able to close in from fifth and also made a quick pass on Cianciarulo for fourth.
It was another uneventful moto for Lawrence out front as he wrapped up his 14th win to extend his perfect season, 16.7 seconds ahead of Sexton. The battle for third came down to the wire between Ferrandis and Plessinger, with the Frenchman able to fend off the pressure for the final spot on the moto podium.
For the sixth time this summer, Jett Lawrence led every lap of competition en route to his seventh straight 1-1 performance.
His seven consecutive 450 class wins have allowed him to break into the top 20 on the all-time wins list, where he now sits in a tie with three other riders for 20th.
Sexton’s runner-up effort (2-2) will lead him to wonder what could have been with crashes in each moto, while Ferrandis earned his fifth podium result of the season in third (5-3).
Lawrence’s lead in the championship standings has grown to 81 points over Ferrandis, while Plessinger further strengthened his hold of third with a fourth-place result (4-4), 104 points out of the lead.
“It’s a bummer for Chase in that one [Moto 2]. He got the start on me and I know he can run my speed, so it’s unfortunate for him to have that bad luck. It was another good weekend [for me] and now we’re on to Washougal, where I know Chase will be fast again,” Lawrence said.
The 2023 Pro Motocross Championship continues next weekend with its final visit to the West Coast, where the Pacific Northwest’s scenic Washougal MX Park in Washougal, Washington, awaits.
Photo courtesy Honda USA
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RESULTS & STANDINGS AFTER ROUND SEVEN:
450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish // Points):
1 Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (1-1 // 50)
2 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda (2-2, 44)
3 Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Yamaha (5-3 // 36)
4 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM (4-4 // 36)
5 Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki (7-5 // 30)
6 Ty Masterpool, Fallon, Nev., Kawasaki (8-6 // 28)
7 Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Yamaha (6-8 // 28)
8 Grant Harlan, Justin, Texas, Yamaha (9-7 // 26)
9 Fredrik Noren, Lidköping, Sweden, Suzuki (10-9 // 23)
10 Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki (3-38 // 20)
450 Class Championship Standings (Round 7 of 11):
1 Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 350 Points
2 Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Yamaha – 269 Points
3 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM – 246 Points
4 Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki – 206 Points
5 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda – 174 Points
6 Ty Masterpool, Fallon, Nev., Kawasaki – 162 Points
7 Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM – 147 Points
8 Fredrik Noren, Lidköping, Sweden, Suzuki – 147 Points
9 Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Yamaha – 146 Points
10 Grant Harlan, Justin, Texas, Yamaha – 116 Points
250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points):
1 Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (1-2 // 47)
2 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (4-1 // 43)
3 Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Kawasaki (2-3 // 42)
4 RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (3-6 // 35)
5 Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Yamaha (7-4 // 32)
6 Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM (6-5 // 31)
7 Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (5-8 // 29)
8 Max Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., KTM (10-7 // 25)
9 Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki (11-9 // 22)
10 Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Husqvarna (8-14 // 20)
250 Class Championship Standings (Round 7 of 11):
1 Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 260 Points
2 Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 247 Points
3 RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 240 Points
4 Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Kawasaki – 240 Points
5 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 239 Points
6 Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Yamaha – 214 Points
7 Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM – 210 Points
8 Max Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., KTM – 190 Points
9 Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., Kawasaki – 137 Points
10 Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Husqvarna – 130 Points