Chance Hymas’ big break was supposed to come with the start of the 2023 Pro Motocross season but chance in another form intervened.
Scheduled to take over the ride vacated when Jett Lawrence graduated to the 450 class for the outdoor season, Hymas knew expectations were high. But after sweeping the top 10 in four 250 Monster Energy Supercross races earlier in the year and nearly getting a top-five on the infield course of the Daytona International Speedway, he also knew he was up for the challenge.
In late June, Hymas tore his ACL in a training accident in Florida and the team decided the most prudent course of action was to defer his first full professional season to 2024.
“It was tough because I just started doing better results wise,” Hymas told NBC Sports as he prepared for the start of the 2024 Supercross season. “Motivation is definitely high right now and where it belongs. Trying to manage emotions.”
Hymas hovered in the mid-teens in his first three outdoor motos, finishing 15th and 12th in the two races at Fox Raceway in Pala, California. He was 12th overall. The following week at Hangtown in Rancho Cordova, California he was 18th in the first moto and finished 12th overall once more - but this time he came close to cracking the top five in the second moto with a sixth-place finish.
Hymas’ first podium came in the second moto of Round 3, which coupled with an 11th in the first race provided his first professional top-five. He had confidence more would follow.
“Once you get injured, it’s kind of like a mental reset a little bit,” Hymas said. “Once you’re injured, you kind of go through it and play the thing in your head, and then by the time you’re healthy and ready to ride again, you’re fully set - you’re very excited to go ride and just want to go ride the dirt bike. That’s just kind of a good reset, just kind of naturally.”
Consistency at the front came in Round 4 with an eighth-place finish in Moto 1 and a fifth in Moto 2.
Hymas was finding his comfort zone on a bike that was clearly up to the challenge. One year previous, Jett Lawrence won the outdoor championship for Honda in this same program. And only a few months earlier, the big red brigade swept the three championships offered in Supercross.
“It’s definitely big shoes to fill, but I have no doubt that I’m able to do it,” Hymas continued. “It’s my training with Hunter [Lawrence] and Jett. The motivation and the grit is there; it’s just trying to put all puzzle pieces together. But I have some good mentors behind me and I feel like I can be at the top of the class and be competitive with the top guys.”
Competing at the top level of dirt bike racing is mental as well as physical. While Hymas was forced to stay off the bike until after the season was complete, (he didn’t start riding again until November), he was often seen at the track, chatting with the Lawrence brothers about racing lines and strategy.
Hymas believes that will contribute to his success in 2024.
“It kind of gives you an opportunity to study a little bit and see what other guys are doing,” Hymas said about his off-track matriculation. “That’s the reason I was there. I (was) kind of walking around to see what other people were doing. Everyone’s kind of hiding in their base, not showing much, but you can kind of see how everyone’s interacting.
“Once you’re out there watching them race, you can see the different strategies of how they’re behind people or how they’re passing people. You kind of just have to break it down and go in depth with it a little bit. Obviously, I’m learning as I go. This is still all new to me. It’s good to see it on the other end of things. As much as I’d rather be racing and learning it that way, you can kind of break it down from that point of view.”
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