Buchanan, Michigan - After bobbling ever so slightly at High Point, Jett Lawrence was back to perfection in Round 5 of the Pro Motocross season, Round 22 of SuperMotocross with a pair of hole shots and flag-to-flag victories in both motos.
With his 10th consecutive moto win, Lawrence now has sole possession of the record for the fastest start in a new Motocross division, besting David Bailey’s mark from 1984 in the 500cc class.
“It was another good moto; another good start,” Lawrence told NBC Sports’ Jason Thomas. “I didn’t know Dylan [Ferrandis] was there [in Moto 2], so I was kind of chilling and I looked at the pit board and it had 1.5 seconds on it and I was like, ‘What?’ I looked behind and Dylan was right there so I picked it up. We got pretty close a couple of times but the lappers were like, they see the blue flag and think it’s like let’s jump the leader.”
With teammate Chase Sexton and Jason Anderson returning, the field is getting some of its star power back after a rash of injuries, but that is not making the slightest impact on a rider who rarely hears another bike behind him.
Ferrandis kept his streak of top-five overall finishes alive with a second, but it was his first podium in the last three rounds.
“It was a step in the right direction,” Ferrandis said. “With this new Yamaha bike, we needed some time and that week off helped us a lot. We tried a couple of things.”
Lawrence now has a 57-point lead over Ferrandis, which is more than one complete round as the series nears its halfway point.
Chase Sexton has been wondering for the last three rounds if he had anything for Jett Lawrence. He didn’t at RedBud, but in each moto he was able to pass a lot of riders after getting a slow start. The silver lining is that he will improve as he gets more comfortable on the bike.
RESULTS: How they finished in the 450 Overall at RedBud
“It’s nice to be back, but it was not a good performance from me today,” Sexton said. “It was embarrassing on my part. I just have to be better. We’re going to Southwick next week. Overall, [the team is] awesome. Good or bad results, they don’t change.”
The good news is that Sexton had pace. After he settled into second in Moto 1, he was able to maintain the gap to Lawrence until he had a minor incident on track. The same was true of the second moto, although he was not able to get around Ferrandis in the closing laps and finished third in that race.
Sexton tips it over while pressuring for 2nd 🥲 #ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #RedBudMX pic.twitter.com/4KsEwEjFWx
— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) July 1, 2023
Cooper Webb was forced to miss RedBud after a practice crash midweek, which allowed Sexton to reclaim the No. 1 seed in the SuperMotocross standings.
Aaron Plessinger stumbled at High Point last week and snapped a four-race, top-five streak when his combined motos placed him eighth overall. He rebounded to finish fourth with results of fourth in each moto.
Also returning from injury, Jason Anderson had a consistent performance and finished fifth overall with a fifth in Moto 1 and a seventh in Moto 2.
One of the feel-good moments of the RedBud Nationals was Garrett Marchbanks. He got a slow start in Moto 1 but climbed into the top 10 at the end and finished ninth. That was enough to put him in a position to score his third straight overall top-10 and a fifth in Moto 2 put him sixth in the order.
Hunter Lawrence won Moto 1 and Levi Kitchen won Moto 2, but with a pair of podium finishes, Haiden Deegan scored the most points and won his first overall Pro Motocross round at RedBud.
Deegan earned his first moto win at Hangtown in Round 2 and as soon as that happened, he began to eye the overall victory. He came close at Fox Raceway in the season opener with a second-place finish. He was third in Hangtown and again at High Point in Round 4.
“Dude this is awesome,” Deegan said after the race. “I’m through the roof right now. I knew it would come with consistency and I was riding smooth. I’m glad I could put an American boy on top for the first time in this outdoor season. I’m hyped; this is sick.”
Hailing from Australia, the Lawrence brothers have won overall through four rounds.
Click here for complete 250 results
Opening the door for Deegan, Lawrence crashed in Turn 1 of Moto 2 and for the first time this year, failed to win the overall. Lawrence walked off the track on his own power, but was holding his arm and wrist on his way to the Alpinestars Medical hauler. Lawrence was knocked down when the field narrowed to make the corner as Deegan won the holeshot.
Honda HRC team manager Lars Lindstrom provided an update on Lawrence’s condition.
“It looks like we avoided major injuries,” Lindstrom told NBC’s Jason Thomas. “The start, as you know, is the most dangerous part of the race. All 40 riders are going for the same holeshot. We got banged up pretty good, went through all the protocol. Looks like he’s going to be okay. He had a pretty big hit to his right arm that kind of scared him, but he’s already feeling better.”
With his solid runs, Deegan closed to within nine of the leader. If Lawrence struggles at Southwick next week, he could join Jett as a rookie points’ leader in his class.
Levi Kitchen got a poor start in Moto 1 and it appeared his hopes of a strong overall run were in jeopardy with a seventh-place finish. Passing Deegan early in the second race, he salvaged a second-place in the overall with that moto win.
“I dyed my hair for the damn race so I knew we’d be good,” Kitchen said. “The first start was pretty bad. The second one, I lined up all the way inside. I knew it was a gamble, but I got a good jump off and it came out pretty good.”
Justin Cooper missed High Point after getting injured in qualification. He rebounded and rounded out the podium.
“I always want to win, but I’ll take it today,” Cooper said. “We worked hard from the back, but I just didn’t get off the gate that well. A couple of mistakes, but overall I felt my riding was pretty good. I did the best I could to bridge those gaps to those front guys, but I just hit a wall with 10 minutes to go.”
Scary collision for Vialle and Ryder D early 🫣 #ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #RedBudMX pic.twitter.com/WNFblc7bYt
— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) July 1, 2023
Finishing fourth, Tom Vialle had a similar race to Cooper. He crashed in the first moto after colliding with Ryder DiFrancesco on Lap 2 before scoring an impressive runner-up finish in the second race.
RJ Hampshire rounded out the top five.
Daxton Bennick made an impressive 250 debut by setting the fastest time in qualification and finishing in the top 10 in both motos. He finished 10th overall. Bennick won two Supercross Futures races last year at Anaheim 2 and Arlington. Was fastest in qualification and got off to a solid start in the top 10, moved up as high as seventh and finished 10th in Moto 1. Finished 10th overall with a 10-9
2023 Motocross Race Recaps
High Point: Jett Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence keep winning
Thunder Valley: Jett Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence win again
Hangtown: Jett Lawrence goes two-for-two
Fox Raceway: Jett Lawrence wins in first 450 start
2023 Supercross Race Recaps
Salt Lake City: Chase Sexton ends the season with win
Denver: Chase Sexton wins, takes points’ lead with Eli Tomac injury
Nashville: Chase Sexton keeps hope alive; Cooper Webb out
New Jersey: Justin Barcia wins muddy race; first in two years
Atlanta: Chase Sexton is back in the championship picture
Glendale: Eli Tomac wins 51st, breaks tie with James Stewart
Seattle: Eli Tomac wins and ties Webb for first
Detroit: Chase Sexton inherits win after Aaron Plessinger falls
Indianapolis: Ken Roczen gets first win in more than a year
Daytona: Eli Tomac extends Daytona record with seventh win
Arlington: Cooper Webb wins for second time, closes to two of Tomac
Oakland: Eli Tomac ties Ricky Carmichael with 48 wins
Tampa: Cooper Webb gets first 2023 win
Houston: Eli Tomac bounces back from A2 crash to win third race of 2023
Anaheim 2: Triple Crown produces new winners Chase Sexton, Levi Kitchen
San Diego: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence double down
Anaheim 1: Eli Tomac wins opener for the first time
NBC SPORTS’ COVERAGE OF SUPERMOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Chase Sexton returns in best shape of the season
Cooper Webb will miss RedBud after practice crash
RedBud celebrates 50 years
RedBud by the numbers
Chance Hymas out for remainder of season
Jordon Smith sidelined by injury
Jason Anderson returns for RedBud
SuperMotocross Power Rankings after High Point
