The newest national motocross champion in the United States was crowned at the penultimate round of the 2024 Pro Motocross Championships, round 10 of 11, at Budds Creek in Maryland at the weekend.
Californian Haiden Deegan captured the 250 class title and the coveted Gary Jones Cup at the weekend, while Illinois rider Chase Sexton extended his points lead in the premier 450cc class.
A morning of rain gave way to partly sunny skies with high temperatures and high humidity for a challenging afternoon at Southern Maryland’s Budds Creek Motocross Park, where the 10th round of the summer saw points leader Sexton secure his fifth straight 450 class victory to move one step closer to the Edison Dye Cup, while Kawasaki rider Levi Kitchen grabbed his third 250 class win of the season amidst Deegan’s title clinching ride.
The opening moto got underway with Australia Hunter Lawrence and Justin Cooper side by side exiting the first turn, with Lawrence edging ahead for the holeshot.
As they cleared the first jump, Cooper made contact with Lawrence and crashed hard. The incident pushed Lawrence off the track and allowed Aaron Plessinger to move out front as Lawrence rejoined in second. Christian Craig started third, with Sexton in fourth.
After a couple of laps, Sexton was able to get around Craig for third.
Back up front, a battle for the lead was brewing as Lawrence closed back in and applied pressure on Plessinger. The Honda rider was patient and waited for his opportunity to attack.
He then made the move with relative ease a little less than 10 minutes into the moto. Once out front, Lawrence posted his fastest lap of the moto to establish a 2.5-second lead. On the following lap, Sexton dropped his pace to pass Plessinger for second. At that point, 13 minutes into the moto, 3.9 seconds separated the title combatants.
The margin stabilised at just over three seconds for most of the moto, but Sexton picked up the pace approaching the final five minutes. The KTM rider moved to within 1.8 seconds of the lead as they navigated lapped riders, but Sexton tipped over and remounted in second, eight seconds back.
Lawrence went unchallenged the rest of the way and brought home his third moto win of the season by seven seconds over Sexton. Plessinger finished in a distant third, followed by Eli Tomac in fourth in his first race of the season, and Jason Anderson in fifth.
The final moto started the same way as race one, with Lawrence leading the field out of the first turn and sprinting towards the holeshot. Plessinger tucked into second with Malcolm Stewart in third.
Sexton started fifth but made passes to quickly close in on Stewart.
Plessinger went on the attack on the opening lap and made the pass on Lawrence briefly, but the Honda rider responded to reclaim the position and solidify his hold of the lead. Sexton, meanwhile, passed Stewart for third.
Lawrence, Plessinger, and Sexton were able to distance themselves from the rest of the field in the opening laps and set the stage for a three-rider battle.
Just over 10 minutes into the moto, Plessinger mounted another challenge for the lead and showed a wheel to Lawrence at several parts of the track.
However, Lawrence held him off to stay out front. That allowed Sexton to apply pressure on Plessinger for second but was unable to make a move.
The points leader bided his time and then pulled the trigger on a pass that allowed him to move into second. However, he gave the position up with a tip over a quarter lap later, remounting in fourth before quickly making the pass on Stewart to move back up third.
With the final 10 minutes approaching, Sexton closed back in on Plessinger and made another quick pass on his team-mate to once again grab second.
The leaders were separated by 4.5 seconds as the race clock continued to count down.
Sexton laid down lap times more than a second quicker than Lawrence to begin taking chunks out of his deficit. Soon enough, Sexton had closed to within striking distance of Lawrence as a battle for the win took shape with a little more than six minutes remaining.
Sexton closed in and jumped at his first opportunity to make a pass, storming by Lawrence to move out front with five minutes to go. With the lead in hand, Sexton quickly gapped Lawrence and moved out to a margin of more than two seconds.
Sexton never looked back and stormed to his 11th moto win of the season, and his ninth over the last 11 motos. He took the chequered flag 9.4 seconds ahead of Lawrence, with Plessinger a distant third.
For the second week in a row a tiebreaker was needed to determine the overall winner, as Sexton’s 2-1 effort continued his dominant run with his fifth straight victory and his sixth win of the season. Lawrence was forced to settle for his sixth runner-up result of the summer (1-2), which has included back-to-back tiebreakers.
Lawrence led 25 laps over the course of the afternoon, compared to Sexton’s five, all in the second moto. Plessinger rounded out the podium (3-3) to extend his streak to three.
Sexton’s lead over Lawrence in the championship standings sits at 28 points entering the final round, with Lawrence the only rider mathematically eligible for the title. Plessinger sits third, 95 points behind Sexton.
“The first motos have been tough on me, but second motos I come around,” Sexton said. “Even though I couldn’t keep it on two wheels today, it was a good race. That second moto was awesome. I found a good flow and I’m excited to be back on top.”
The 2024 Pro Motocross Championship will come to an exciting conclusion next Saturday, August 24, from the motorsports capital of the greater Indianapolis area, where a 450 class champion will be crowned at the Ironman National Finals from Crawfordsville, Indiana’s Ironman Raceway.
Photo courtesy KTM
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450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish // Points):
1 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., KTM (2-1 // 47)
2 Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (1-2 // 47)
3 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM (3-3 // 40)
4 Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Husqvarna (6-5 // 33)
5 Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki (5-6 // 33)
6 Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Husqvarna (7-8 // 29)
7 Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (4-11 // 29)
8 Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki (9-10 // 25)
9 Phil Nicoletti, Cochecton, N.Y., Yamaha (8-12 // 24)
10 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (4-7 // 33)
450 Class Championship Standings (Round 10 of 11):
1 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., KTM – 454 Points
2 Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 426 Points
3 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM – 359 Points
4 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 337 Points
5 Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki – 328 Points
6 Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Honda – 288 Points
7 Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Husqvarna – 271 Points
8 Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Husqvarna – 217 Points
9 Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 210 Points
10 Fredrik Noren, Lidköping, Sweden, Kawasaki – 178 Points
250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points):
1 Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki (3-1 // 45)
2 Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM (2-3 // 42)
3 Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (1-10 // 37)
4 Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda (8-2 // 36)
5 Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Triumph (6-4 // 34)
6 Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM (4-7 // 33)
7 Pierce Brown, Sandy, Utah, GASGAS (7-5 // 32)
8 Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Yamaha (10-6 // 28)
9 RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (9-8 // 27)
10 Ty Masterpool, Paradise, Texas, Kawasaki (11-9 // 24)
250 Class Championship Standings (Round 10 of 11):
1 Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 445 Points
2 Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki – 383 Points
3 Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM – 369 Points
4 Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda – 311 Points
5 Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Kawasaki – 289 Points
6 Ty Masterpool, Paradise, Texas, Kawasaki – 283 Points
7 Pierce Brown, Sandy, Utah, GASGAS – 257 Points
8 Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Triumph – 255 Points
9 Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Yamaha – 219 Points
10 Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., GASGAS – 218 Points