Australian Jett Lawrence grabbed the holeshot and was never challenged for the lead to win round 15 of the 2024 US supercross season at the weekend.
The victory, the Team Honda HRC rider’s seventh of the year, extends the rookie’s championship lead to 12 points over American Yamaha rider Cooper Webb with just two of the 17 rounds remaining.
This was Lincoln Financial Field hosting its first supercross event, marking the return of the sport to Philadelphia for the first time since 1980.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Chase Sexton put down impressive laps late in the race to claw his way up to second place inside Lincoln Financial Field, while Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson used a risky charge on an outside line going into the final corner to grab the final spot on the podium.
Lawrence (pictured above) said: “There’s only really one option with the start is: get a good start and be up there. And on this track, that’s a little difficult to pass [on], it definitely helped [to get the holeshot]. Nailed my start finally and I know we’re still focusing on each race. I mean, [the] job’s not done yet so we’re going to stay focused and make sure we execute these last two rounds.”
The Eastern Regional 250SX class held its final non-showdown event of the season and it was one of the most exciting races the class has yet to deliver.
Fire Power Honda’s Max Anstie, from England, fought forward for the 250SX class win after exiting the first turn in fifth place.
It was Anstie’s first win of the season. The series points-leader, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle, got off to a bad start and had to push forward from outside the top ten. He eventually reached second place to extend his points lead to 15 with one round left in the season, the East/West Showdown at the finale in Salt Lake City.
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan stalked Vialle as they both moved through the pack throughout the race. Deegan secured a third-place finish at the chequered flag and sits second in points in the championship.
“Man, I know you Philly crowd were cheering for Seth [Hammaker, who lead early in his hometown race]… It was so loud. It was crazy,” said Anstie.
“I heard the crowd going wild and then I looked back and he wasn’t there, and I don’t know what happened. But man, obviously it was an exciting race.
“We needed this, my whole crew: Firepower, Yarrive (Kronsky) my boss is over [from Australia], Marty [Davalos]; we’ve had a great couple of years, and we needed this this week. They’ve had a bit of rough week so [I’m] proud to give it to ‘em. I’m happy to get this done and looking forward to the final round in Salt Lake in a couple of weeks.”
With only two rounds now remaining, the 2024 Monster Energy Supercross season sprints toward its climax with two rounds over the next two consecutive weekends. Round 16 hits Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on May 4.
Every Supercross race in the 17-round season also pays points toward the SuperMotocross World Championship, which brings the heightened excitement of a post-season to the sport.
The SuperMotocross League, in only its second year, totals up the Monster Energy AMA Supercross points and the AMA Pro Motocross season points.
The post-season racing seeds the top 20 riders in each class, enters riders in positions 21-30 into a Last Chance Qualifier race at each post-season round, then re-sets the points to the equivalent of one Supercross event payout.
Riders outside the top 30 who win a Supercross Main Event (or Triple Crown overall) or a Pro Motocross moto will also be seeded into the LCQ group of riders.
Point payouts escalate over three rounds in September with the Final determining one SuperMotocross World Champion in each class.
Photo courtesy Honda
Find BikesportNZ.com on FACEBOOK here