Honda rider Jett Lawrence has extended his remarkable win streak to 10 races, this time going 1-1 at round five of the AMA motocross nationals at RedBud, Michigan, at the weekend.
An overcast morning with some light, intermittent showers gave way to abundant sunshine for the motos as the reign of 450 Class dominance by Lawrence continued with another perfect outing in which he led every lap to go 1-1 in the motos and capture his fifth straight victory.
In the 250cc class, an unpredictable afternoon in which heartbreak befell the championship leader Hunter Lawrence (Jett Lawrence’s brother) opened the door for a breakthrough performance for rookie Haiden Deegan as the second-generation racer emerged with the first win of his promising career.
The first 450cc premier class moto of the day saw a familiar trend as Lawrence prevailed with his seventh holeshot of the season ahead of Ty Masterpool and Dylan Ferrandis.
The clear track allowed Lawrence to drop the hammer on the opening lap and establish a lead of more than two seconds from the outset of the moto. He continued to add to that margin through the opening stages of the race.
As the moto completed its initial 10 minutes four different riders sat within striking distance of second as Masterpool had to fend off pressure from Ferrandis, Chase Sexton and Adam Cianciarulo.
The Yamaha-mounted Frenchman was relentless in his pursuit of Masterpool but couldn’t find a clean enough line to make a pass happen. That ultimately allowed Sexton, making his first start since the opening round, to take advantage of the opportunity to grab third. Sexton then took his turn in battling Masterpool and was able to take control of second just before the halfway point.
The battle for third saw a renewed fight between Masterpool and Ferrandis, while Cianciarulo lurked in fifth.
A bobble by Ferrandis briefly halted his momentum and allowed Cianciarulo to slip past for fourth. The front-runners then settled into their respective positions through the heart of the moto.
The final five minutes saw the action ramp up once again as Ferrandis picked up the pace and was able to find a way around both Cianciarulo and Masterpool to fight his way from fifth to third and inch away from his rivals.
Cianciarulo looked to get around Masterpool for fourth and as he attempted to make the pass he slid out and went down, contacting Masterpool whose bike flipped over and launched the rider onto his back.
The incident allowed both Aaron Plessinger and Jason Anderson to get by.
Back out front, Lawrence’s dominance over the division continued with his seventh wire-to-wire outing of the season and his ninth straight moto win.
He took the chequered flag 17.9 seconds ahead of Sexton, with Ferrandis completing the moto podium in third. Plessinger followed in fourth while Anderson, in his first start of the summer, rounded out the top five.
The second and final race of the afternoon started with a sweep of the holeshots for Lawrence, once again ahead of Masterpool and Ferrandis, who made quick work in making the pass on Masterpool for second and brought both Plessinger and Sexton along with him into third and fourth, respectively.
As has been the case all season, the clear track paid big dividends for Lawrence as he completed the opening lap with a 2.5 second advantage on the field.
As Lawrence’s lead continued to grow Sexton looked to put the pressure on Ferrandis, but he lost traction with his front tire and slid out.
He remounted quickly but resumed in fourth behind Plessinger, who assumed third. The pressure from Sexton was a spark for Ferrandis who found himself within striking distance of Lawrence. The points leader responded with his fastest lap of the moto to open the lead back up and establish an even larger margin.
Sexton’s recovery from his misfortune saw him reclaim third from Plessinger and set his sights on trying to track down a six-second deficit to Ferrandis.
As the moto surpassed the halfway point, the top three had settled in and the margins stabilised. When time on the clock ran out the battle for second was on between Ferrandis and Sexton as a showdown between the two headlined the final two laps.
Lawrence’s lead was never in doubt as he wrapped up another wire-to-wire ride to complete the sweep of the motos, finishing 4.8 seconds ahead of Ferrandis, who dug deep to keep his Honda rival at bay and hold on for second. Sexton finished strong in third.
Lawrence’s unblemished record has him 10-0 in motos this summer, making for a historic start to a class career having surpassed the previous 8-0 mark established by David Bailey in the 500cc division during the 1984 season.
Ferrandis’ stand in the final moto was a difference maker in the overall classification as it gave him the tiebreaker for the runner-up spot (3-2) and forced Sexton to settle for third (2-3).
With maximum points thus far through five rounds Lawrence’s lead in the championship standings has increased to 57 points over Ferrandis, giving the Australian a full race advantage over his competitors. Plessinger moved into third, 76 points out of the lead.
“Another good moto and another good start. That’s key,” Lawrence said. “I didn’t know Dylan [Ferrandis] was there at first but then I saw my pit board. I looked behind and saw he was right there, so I picked it up. The lappers made it difficult, but it was another good day.”
Ferrandis felt his day was a step in the right direction, “This is a good step in the right direction. We needed time with the new Yamaha to make it better and the time off helped. We’re improving and that’s good. I was hoping to keep pace with Jett [Lawrence] but he was just too good today.”
Sexton was glad to be back racing after sitting out the previous round and was happy with third.
“It’s nice to be back,” Sexton said. “That was not a good performance out of me. It was kind of embarrassing and I’ve got to be better. We’ve still got some work to do but I’m looking forward to getting back to the level I know I’m capable of. It’s going to be fun the rest of the season.”
Photo courtesy Honda USA
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RESULTS & STANDINGS:
450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish // Points):
1 Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (1-1 // 50)
2 Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Yamaha (3-2 // 42)
3 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda (2-3, 42)
4 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM (4-4 // 36)
5 Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki (5-7 // 30)
6 Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Yamaha (9-5 // 28)
7 Fredrik Noren, Lidköping, Sweden, Suzuki (7-8 // 27)
8 Phil Nicoletti, Cochecton, N.Y., Yamaha (10-9 // 23)
9 Jose Butron, Cadiz, Spain, GASGAS (11-10 // 21)
10 Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki (31-6 // 15)
450 Class Championship Standings (Round 5 of 11):
1 Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 250
2 Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Yamaha – 193
3 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM – 174
4 Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki – 149
5 Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM – 147
6 Fredrik Noren, Lidköping, Sweden, Suzuki – 108
7 Ty Masterpool, Fallon, Nev., Kawasaki – 107
8 Lorenzo Locurcio, Valencia, Venezuela, GASGAS – 98
9 Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Yamaha – 91
10 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda – 86
250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points):
1 Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (2-3 // 42)
2 Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Yamaha (7-1 // 39)
3 Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM (9-2 // 34)
4 RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (3-7 // 34)
5 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (4-4 // 31)
6 Max Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., KTM (6-6 // 30)
7 Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Kawasaki (8-5 // 29)
8 Seth Hammaker, Bainbridge, Pa., Kawasaki (5-10 // 27)
9 Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (1-40 // 25)
10 Daxton Bennick, Morganton, N.C., Yamaha (10-9 // 23)
250 Class Championship Standings (Round 5 of 11):
1 Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 200
2 Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 189
3 RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 167
4 Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Kawasaki – 158
5 Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Yamaha – 154
6 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 152
7 Max Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., KTM – 137
8 Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM – 134
9 Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., Kawasaki – 106
10 Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda – 92