The final results show another sweep of the motos in Round 10 of the 2023 Pro Motocross championship and the Budds Creek National at Mechanicsville, Maryland but for the first time this season, Jett Lawrence was seriously challenged in both races. He had to come from outside the top five after a poor start to Moto 1 and made a couple of last-lap mistakes in the second race that allowed Chase Sexton to close to within 0.77 seconds.
“I got to where I could see (Sexton) and then I didn’t see him,” Lawrence described the thrilling last lap of Moto 2. “I looked further down and I couldn’t see him and I knew he was getting close and I got screwed. As soon as I went to roll that triple they pulled the flag and that was a few seconds there. Bit of bad luck with lappers but thankfully we were able to get away with that.
“We even had a little slider trying to look back. That was a close one there.”
Jett Lawrence overcame a bad start in Moto 1 and made his way from the high side of the top 10 to win his 19th consecutive moto. There is now officially nothing Lawrence can’t do in the 2023 Pro Motocross season after riding through the field. His Moto 2 win kept his hopes of a perfect season alive.
Aaron Plessinger prevailed in a thrilling battle for third with Justin Barcia in Moto 2. Benefitting from his podium finish in that race, Plessinger took second overall after finishing fourth in Moto 1.
“We just got out there and I knew (Barcia) was going to be hard to pass,” Plessinger said. “This track is a little bit one line, but man that was such a good race between me and him. He’s such a great competitor for him to come back like that, that was a hell of a run.”
Jason Anderson was third overall with a second-place finish in Moto 1 and fifth in the second race. It was his second Motocross podium of 2023.
“I had to work hard,” Anderson said. “I came from behind a bunch of times today. It’s nice to be up here on the podium, getting ready for SMX. I feel like I’m getting better. I just need to start getting some starts and piece it all together.”
Sexton and Dylan Ferrandis also struggled early in Moto 1 and could not take advantage of Lawrence’s poor start. Ferrandis recovered to finish third, but Sexton nearly crashed once and almost a second time after riding off course, he finished only ninth.
Sexton made up for it in Moto 2. He closed to within a second of Lawrence before the midway point and immediately tipped over. Sexton would not give up and closed the gap to less than a second and a half in the final race. He applied pressure and for the first time this year, it seemed to take Lawrence off his rhythm.
Justin Barcia finished fifth overall with a fifth in Moto 1 and fourth in Moto 2 to round out the overall top-five.
Click here for complete 450 overall results.
In the 250 class, Justin Cooper won Moto 1 and shaved three points off Hunter Lawrence’s 22-point lead, but Lawrence rebounded in Race 2 and reclaimed them. With a three-point gap from first to second, Lawrence could clinch the title early by winning Round 1 in the Ironman National season finale in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
“Tough day; good day at the end,” Lawrence told NBC Sports’ Jason Thomas. “I was happy to finish it off. One more round, baby, one more round.”
Cooper’s first moto win kept his championship hopes alive, but he got mired behind Austin Forkner for several laps in the middle stages.
“I felt like I gave it everything today,” Cooper told Will Christien. “Austin was being stingy with second-place. He was making it hard on me. I got into second and Hunter was riding really good. I put my head down; riding the edge. It was getting really sketchy out there and I was trying to get up to him. I gave it everything. I can’t be mad about that and we’ll see what we can do in the last round.
Jo Shimoda finished seventh in the first race and third in Moto 2 to score his third overall podium of the season. He’s come on strong lately and all three of these podiums came in the last five rounds. Shimoda earned the holeshot in the second race.
In Moto 2, Forkner got the holeshot and rode to an early lead. He needed about an eight-place average finish in the final four motos to earn the points needed to get into the top 30 in points and qualify for the SuperMotocross Championship, but a win would also garner an invitation. Forkner could not hang onto the lead and fell back to fourth so the points’ battle continues. He finished fourth overall.
Tom Vialle scored his first top-five since winning the overall at Southwick two rounds ago. At Budds Creek, he finished fifth in Moto 1 and sixth in Moto 2.
The afternoon was marked by an impressive debut for Julien Beaumer, who was making his first pro start. He finished 11th in Moto 1 and ninth in Moto 2 for ninth in the overall results.
After his bad start in Moto 1, Jett Lawrence takes no chances in the second race. He rockets from the gate and gets the holeshot.
At the end of Lap 1, Lawrence already has a 1.89-second lead over Justin Barcia. Chase Sexton has a much better start than in Moto 1; he rides third.
Sexton has been Lawrence’s closest competitor all season and he’s closing on Lawrence with 21 minutes remaining on the clock. Sexton is 1.59 seconds behind and has the leader in sight. Barcia is a distant third.
Aaron Plessinger rides fourth with 17 minutes to go and Adam Cianciarulo is fifth.
With 18 minutes to go, Sexton closed to within a second and then immediately tips over. He remains second, eight seconds behind.
Ten minutes remain and Lawrence has an eight-second lead over Sexton. Barcia is 20 seconds behind and being challenged by Plessinger.
Jason Anderson takes fifth from Cianciarulo.
Lawrence is not being challenged, but Barcia and Plessinger are keeping the fans attention as they battle for third. With six minutes to go, Plessinger finally gets it done.
Barcia won’t let Plessinger get away with four seconds remaining.
Up front, Sexton closes the gap slightly to 6.56 seconds.
Sexton refuses to give up. He gets a second wind and closes to within 2.29 seconds as time runs off the clock. Sexton can see Lawrence with two laps remaining.
White flag.
Lawrence fishtails on the final lap and Sexton is within a second.
Sexton made it exciting and closed to within 0.77 seconds but Lawrence ekes out the win for his 20th consecutive moto win.
Plessinger held Barcia off in a thrilling battle for third and fourth.
Jason Anderson rounded out the top five.
Click here for complete results.
Here’s what happened to Sexton. #ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #BuddsCreekMX pic.twitter.com/YNjRglW6ee
— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) August 19, 2023
As the field lines up for Moto 2, it was announced Tom Vialle incurred a four-point penalty for jumping on a red cross flag. The penalty will be deducted after the round is tallied and won’t effect his overall standings in the Budds Creek National.
Austin Forkner takes the early lead. He’s been trying to get into the top 30 in points, but he will also get an invitation to the Last Chance Qualifiers for the SuperMotocross championship if he wins a moto. Forkner is still coming up to speed from a torn ACL suffered in the first round of the Supercross season.
That doesn’t last long as Hunter Lawrence takes the lead with 28 minutes remaining.
Justin Cooper settles into third and may give up the points he gained in Moto 1.
Pierce Brown crashes on the start. Haiden Deegan is riding seventh.
With 19 minutes on the clock, Haiden Deegan makes a pass for sixth on Tom Vialle.
To keep from losing points to Lawrence, Cooper wants to get around Forkner with 17 minutes on the clock, but Forkner is fighting hard.
If Deegan finishes in sixth and Lawrence wins, Deegan will be mathematically eliminated.
Moto 2 lacks the drama of Moto 1 and at the halfway point it’s Lawrence ahead of Forkner, Cooper, Jo Shimoda and Ryder DiFrancesco.
Just past the halfway point, Deegan makes the pass for fifth. Cooper finally gets around Forkner but has lost 4.39 seconds to the leader.
With nine minutes remaining, Forkner loses third to his teammate Jo Shimoda.
Cooper is unable to close on Lawrence and falls five seconds behind the leader.
Problems continue for Deegan. He goes down as time runs off the clock. His lead on Vialle for Vialle was enough that he maintains fifth. Later on that same lap, he crashes a second time. Still fifth.
Cooper closes in on the last lap, but can’t get it done. Lawrence wins by 1.52 seconds.
With the Moto 2 win, Lawrence takes back what he lost in Moto 1.
Shimoda takes the final podium spot with Forkner in fourth and Deegan fifth.
Deegan has now been mathematically eliminated from championship contention.
The 450 Moto 1 is up next. Riders are doing their sight lap.
Adam Cianciarulo gets the early lead, but the big news is that Jett Lawrence gets a terrible start. He’ll have to come from deep in the field for the first time this year. He’s on the high side of the top 10 during the first few turns.
With 27 minutes remaining, Lawrence moves up to sixth.
With 24 minutes on the clock, Cianciarulo leads Aaron Plessinger, Justin Barcia, Garrett Marchbanks and Jason Anderson. Lawrence is still outside the top five.
Lawrence makes the pass on Anderson for fifth with 23 minutes remaining.
With 22 minutes on the clock, Plessinger passes Cianciarulo for the lead. On minute later, Lawrence passes Marchbanks for fourth.
Lawrence knows he has plenty of time to get to the front and will be patiently aggressive.
There are 16 minutes on the clock as Lawrence passes Barcia for third.
At the halfway mark, Lawrence passes Cianciarulo for the lead and sets his sight on Plessinger.
The field can’t take advantage of his bad start: Lawrence passes Plessinger for the lead with 14 minutes remaining.
Lost in the shuffle at the beginning of the moto, Chase Sexton must be frustrated that he could not take advantage of Lawrence’s bad start. He’s ninth with five minutes remaining. Dylan Ferrandis is fifth.
Replays will show Sexton crashed once and rode off course a second time.
Four minutes to go and Lawrence not only overcame his bad start, but he has an eight-second advantage over second-place Anderson.
Anderson closed the gap to Lawrence to 4.38 seconds, but Lawrence wins his 19th consecutive moto after overcoming the bad start. He made a statement with this win, saying he can win despite any circumstance.
Ferrandis takes the final podium position with fourth-place. Plessinger and Barcia rounding out the top five.
“That one was a lot different,” Lawrence told NBC Sports’ Will Christien. “I didn’t quite get my jump and I was running a knobby tire on that one, so I didn’t quite drive in the deep stuff. I had to think more than normal. Thankfully I had Chase and Dylan right in front of me so I was able to get them in the first few laps while everyone was sorting themselves out.
“From there, it was pretty difficult to pass so you really have to plan out your passes. I did that not too bad. ... We can come through the pack; hopefully we don’t have to do that again.”
Click here for complete results.
Jett SLAMS the door on AP to get into first 👊#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #BuddsCreekMX pic.twitter.com/tUQeYDslKA
— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) August 19, 2023
Haiden Deegan’s mechanical problems last week left him well down in the points and it’s imperative that he make up some ground on Hunter Lawrence in both motos. He gets off to a strong start and battles Jo Shimoda for the lead.
Lawrence rides fourth in the opening laps.
Seth Hammaker tips over with 26 minutes remaining on the clock.
Tom Vialle is having a good day so far. With 22 minutes on the clock, he rides third and is keeping Lawrence at bay.
With 20 minutes remaining, Jalek Swoll jumps wide while riding sixth. It took a lap, but Justin Cooper gets around him. Cooper has 22 points to make up on Lawrence and is losing ground at the moment.
Cooper passes Ryder DiFrancesco and picks up one more point just before a red-flag waves for downed rider Hardy Munoz, just before the halfway point. The field has a fresh chance to catch Deegan as the field.
AMA’s Mike Pelletier tells the broadcast crew that the restart will be a full gate drop to finish off the last 15 minutes.
At the time of the red flag, Deegan (on a Yamaha) leads Shimoda (Kawasaki), Vialle (KTM), Lawrence (Honda) and DiFrancesco (Kawasaki). In sixth, Swoll will try to get his Husqvarna into the top-five.
How quickly things change: It’s a horrible start for Deegan as he crashes on the restart and gets run over. He’s last among active riders.
DRAMA off the restart‼️#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #BuddsCreek pic.twitter.com/2j1Li1U18f
— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) August 19, 2023
Meanwhile, Swoll grabs the early lead with Cooper and Lawrence chasing.
Julien Beaumer is making his pro debut now that the Loretta Lynn’s National is in the books and he doesn’t need the amateur status. He takes advantage of the restart and rides fifth.
With seven minutes on the clock, the top-three are nose-to-tail: Swoll leads Cooper and Lawrence still.
Cooper dives to the inside (with six minutes remaining). The difference between second and first is three points and Cooper needs them. Lawrence follows him through to second.
Deegan has cracked the top 20 and is barely in the points.
Daxton Bennick is in position to climb into a top-30 position in SuperMotocross points if he can retain fourth as time runs off the clock. Two laps remain.
Cooper wins and shaves three points off second-place Lawrence’s championship lead.
Swoll takes the final spot of the podium.
Daxton Bennick in fourth and Vialle round out the top five.
Deegan climbed to 16th and will earn only five points after spending the first half of the race in the lead.
“It’s do or die now,” Cooper told NBC Sports’ Jason Thomas. “I’ve got to get up front and we have to do whatever it takes to get there.”
Beaumer fell to 11th in the final laps, but that is still a strong debut.
Also debuting this week, Casey Cochran scores points in 19th.
DiFrancesco also suffered from the restart. He dropped from the top five before the red flag to 21st.
Click Here for complete results.
250 moto 1 starting off with a bang 💥#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #BuddsCreek pic.twitter.com/axAGwjbKw3
— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) August 19, 2023
Jett Lawrence continues his domination with the fastest overall qualification lap of 1:57.084, but Chase Sexton (1:58:500) has a glimmer of hope after edging him in the first session. It will continue to come down to the gate drop and who can get into clean air first.
Click here for combined 450 qualification times
In the 250 class, Justin Cooper set fast time at 1:59.545 over Haiden Deegan with a 1:59.608. Hunter Lawrence was a distant 10th. more than four-tenths of a second back with a 2:02.001.
In case you missed any of these recent posts, here is your chance to catchup:
Budds Creek by the numbers
SuperMotocross Power Rankings after Unadilla
Christian Craig rides again, return date unknown
Watershed Now: Carrie Coombs-Russell discusses changes in the sport
Aaron Plessinger returns to Red Bull KTM
Justin Barcia returns to action at Unadilla
Combining two historic series and the impact on production
Results and points for Unadilla Nationals
Rookie Jett Lawrence clinches Pro Motocross title
Colt Nichols joins Beta Motorcycle Factory team for 2024 SX
Chasing the playoff bubble
Carson Brown wins 2-stroke challenge in Washougal
