For the second consecutive week, Jett Lawrence had perfect results in the Pro Motocross round at Hangtown in Rancho Cordova, California with a pair of moto wins and the overall victory, only this time he didn’t have Chase Sexton, who sat out the round with a concussion, to keep him honest in the second race.
Jett Lawrence’s performance in the first two Motocross rounds has him thinking of a rookie championship. – Align Media
Lawrence led all 16 laps of both races after taking the holeshot in the second moto and grabbing the lead from Dylan Ferrandis in Turn 2 of Moto 1. Lawrence claimed a four-second lead in Moto 1 and five seconds in Moto 2, but as dominant as it seems on paper, there were some exciting moments during the weekend. In the second race, Lawrence wanted to build an advantage that would allow him to maintain his pace and he nearly high-sided a couple of times in heavy ruts.
RESULTS: Click here for full 450 Results; Click here for 250 Results
In his second race back from a concussion, Ferrandis finished in the runner-up spot with a second in Moto 1 and a third in Moto 2. While his finish of second overall goes into the record books, Pro Motocross points are rewarded for each individual race and that meant Ferrandis lost eight points in championship battle to Lawrence. With Sexton failing to mount up for the race, Ferrandis advanced to second in the standings with an 18-point gap to Lawrence. Equally important, Ferrandis gained ground in the SuperMotocross World Championship (WSX) points and now has a gap of 44 over 21st-place Justin Starling.
Cooper Webb is also in his second round since returning from a Supercross injury suffered in Nashville at the end of their season. Claiming results of fourth and second in the two races, Webb earned 40 SuperMotocross points at Hangtown and closed in on Sexton in the WSX battle. Sexton entered Hangtown with a large enough lead that he could not be overtaken, but he is now only 38 points up and could face a difficult decision next week at Thunder Valley in Lakewood, Colorado if he wants to hold onto his lead.
Moto 1 Results | Lap Chart | Fastest Segment Laps | Moto 2 Results | Lap Chart | Fastest Segment Laps | Consolation Race
Aaron Plessinger had an adventurous weekend in which he seemed to close on Lawrence in his second race before crashing and dropping to fourth. Coupled with a fifth-place finish in Moto 1, he earned 35 points and was credited with fourth overall.
Cashing in on confidence he gained in the final rounds of the Supercross season, Adam Cianciarulo earned his first top-five of the Pro Motocross championship after narrowly missing out last week with a sixth. He earned the distinction with consistent results of fifth in Moto 1 and fourth in Moto 2.
Click here for 450 Overall results | Rider Points | Manufacturer Points
Hunter Lawrence showed his back to the competition at Hangtown, just as he did the week prior at Fox Raceway. – Align Media
The Lawrence brothers made history last week as the first siblings to win in two Pro Motocross divisions on the same day. Fans should get accustomed to seeing this happen with some regularity as Hunter Lawrence posted identical results in Hangtown to those he had at Fox Raceway in the season opener.
In both races, Lawrence got off to a slow start in Moto 1 and had to claw his way back to the podium. He dominated Moto 2 in both rounds to earn the overall victories.
Justin Cooper did not allow Lawrence to gain much of an advantage in the Motocross points’ standings, however. Finishing second in both motos, the earned only one point less than Lawrence. His modest showing in Round 1 of the outdoor season has him 12 points out of first in the championship standings.
Moto 1 Results | Lap Chart | Fastest Segment Laps | Moto 2 Results | Lap Chart | Fastest Segment Laps | Consolation Race
Haiden Deegan scored his first moto win in just his fourth start in the series. In the first race of the day, he had to withstand constant pressure from Cooper, but when his teammate closed in on him, Deegan reached down and found a little more speed. Now that he’s won one of these races, he has his sight set on challenging Lawrence for the title. Deegan is second in the Pro Motocross championship standings with a 10-point deficit to the leader.
Haiden Deegan scored podiums in both Motocross rounds of 2023. – Align Media
Tom Vialle tied his career-best finish of fourth overall with a seventh-place finish in Moto 1 and a third in Moto 2. Vialle was fourth last week in overall ranking and has one fourth-place finish in the Supercross series that came in the Triple Crown format at Arlington.
Click here for 250 Overall results | Rider Points | Manufacturer Points
RJ Hampshire rounded out the top five with a pair of fifth-place results and 32 points for the round. Even though the deficit is a whopping 61 points, Hampshire climbed to second in the SuperMotocross championship standings now that Jett Lawrence has moved to the big bikes.
Jalek Swoll struggled last week and finished 21st overall at Fox Raceway. This week, he finished on the cusp of 10th in both races with a ninth in Moto 1 and 11th in Moto 2. In the SuperMotocross standings, he has a lot of ground to make up. He currently sits 49th on the chart with a 70-point gap to Chance Hymas, who is on the bubble to earn a guaranteed position in the SMX Mains for the three playoff races that will be held on September.
Round 17: Chase Sexton, Jett Lawrence win Round 16: Chase Sexton, RJ Hampshire win Round 15: Chase Sexton, Hunter Lawrence win Round 14: Justin Barcia, Max Anstie win Round 13: Chase Sexton, Hunter Lawrence win Round 12: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win Round 11: Eli Tomac bounces back with sixth win Round 10: Chace Sexton wins, penalized Round 9: Ken Roczen wins Round 8: Eli Tomac wins 7th Daytona Round 7: Cooper Webb wins second race Race 6: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win Race 5: Webb, Hunter Lawrence win Race 4: Eli Tomac, Hunter Lawrence win Race 3: Chase Sexton, Levi Kitchen win Race 2: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win Round 1: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win
2023 SuperMotocross Power Rankings
Week 18: Jett Lawrence rockets to the top Week 16: Chase Sexton takes SX title Week 15: Eli Tomac is back on top Week 14: Justin Barcia, most of top 20, hold steady Week 13: Barcia leapfrogs the Big Three Week 12: Eli Tomac gains momentum Week 11: Cooper Webb, Tomac overtake Chase Sexton Week 10: Sexton leads with consistency Week 8: Sexton unseats Tomac Week 7: Jason Anderson narrowly trails Tomac Week 6: Perfect Oakland night keeps Tomac first Week 5: Webb, Sexton close gap Week 4: Tomac retakes lead Week 3: Ken Roczen takes the top spot Week 2: Roczen moves up; Sexton falls Week 1: Tomac tops 450s; Jett Lawrence 250s
