Chase Sexton swept the motos in the Hangtown Motocross Classic to end Jett Lawrence’s perfect Pro Motocross Series winning streak. Sexton made the first moto victory look easy, but crashed on Lap 1 of Moto 2 and was forced to come from last place to pass teammate Aaron Plessinger with three turns to go.
“That was a year and a half built up,” Sexton told Peacock’s Jason Thomas from the top spot on the box. “I slid out on the start. I was dead last, and I was like, ‘This is going to be a hard moto. That was wide open from the start to the end. That was the best ride of my life.”
Sexton led only four laps during the afternoon, but they were the ones that counted most.
Along with Jett Lawrence’s trouble in Moto 1, Sexton will have the red plate next week in Colorado. He has an eight-point advantage over Hunter Lawrence.
Hunter finished second in the first moto and fourth in Moto 2 to finish second overall. Hunter scored the holeshot in Moto 1 and led the first 14 laps
“Today was one of the tough days in the office,” Hunter said. “That’s about it. Stoked for the team and everyone who helps out.”
Plessinger landed third after finishing fifth and second. The crowd erupted when he took the stage.
“My teammate’s riding great,” Plessinger said. “Shoot; I don’t even know. I got up front, I pushed as hard as I could and I figured I could back it down just a little bit, but these guys are riding really good. I’m riding good too, but I couldn’t seal the deal. Chase was riding unreal.”
Justin Cooper narrowly missed the podium by one point. He finished fourth overall.
Jason Anderson rounded out the top five with a 3-5.
The story of the afternoon, however, was the crash suffered by Jett in Moto 1 on Lap 1. He hit the ground hard on a downhill section of the course and took a while before regaining his feet. A quick trip to the mechanics straightened his tire, but the bike was not 100 percent after the incident. Neither was Jett, who rode the rest of that race and all of Moto 2 with a minor leg injury.
Jett fell to sixth in the standings with a 24-point differential to Sexton.
Hunter moved into second in the Pro Motocross standings, eight behind Sexton.
Click here for Official 450 results
Another angle of Deegans crash late here in moto 2 👀 #ProMotocross #SMX pic.twitter.com/gn19MiTy3a
— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 1, 2024
In the 250 division, Haiden Deegan crashed out of the lead of Moto 2 but had enough of a gap to Levi Kitchen that he finished second in that race. Along with his win in Moto 1, Deegan scored the overall victory for the second straight week.
“We missed the suspension change a little bit, obviously,” Deegan told Peacock’s Jason Thomas about his Moto 2 setup. “You guys saw that. I went for a helicopter ride but it is what it is. We got going, we got the overall. and we salvaged.”
With the Moto 2 win, Vialle finished second overall.
“I knew I could do it,” Vialle said. “I struggled a little in the first three motos and this one was way better. I felt great on the track. I could push 100 percent on the bike.”
Levi Kitchen finished third in both motos and was third overall.
Chance Hymas matched Kitchen in points’ production, but finished fourth with the tiebreaker.
Finishing 7-5, Jo Shimoda rounded out the top five.
Click here for Overall 250 results
In Race Notes
The Pro Motocross Series remains in California for Round 2 of Pro Motocross, Round 19 of the SuperMotocross World Championship as Jett Lawrence looks to defend his victory in last year’s Hangtown Motocross Classic win and keep his perfect record alive.
Jett Lawrence crashes hard on Lap 1 of Moto 1 after earning the holeshot. He was unable to climb to 21st and earn any points.
“It’s not how I wanted to win my first moto with Jett going down,” Sexton said after winning. “I hope he’s okay; he’s been riding awesome, and I’m sure he will be back for the next moto.”
Lars Lindstrom says Jett got a Charley Horse in the crash, and that contributed to his poor result.
Deegan and Jett pick up where they left off at Fox Raceway by leading Qualification 1.
Deegan swept last week’s 250 motos in Pala, California, but had to wait four hours to be declared the winner. He made a statement by dominating the second 250 race and expects to be just as loudly heard in Hangtown.
Features
450 Moto 2
Jett got a good start off the gate, but gets pushed wide. Lawrence settles into sixth.
Justin Cooper got the holeshot but gives the position over to Hunter on Lap 1.
Our Moto 1 winner, Sexton crashed when his back tire got loose. He’s going to have to come from the back now.
It’s an opportunity race. Plessinger passes Cooper for the lead.
A lot happened on that first lap.
Phil Nicoletti falls from third. He’s slow to rise.
Hunter takes the spot and Jett advances to fourth.
Jason Anderson rounds out the top five.
Jett moves into third on Lap 3.
Sexton recovers from his fall to ride eighth on Lap 4.
With 21 minutes on the clock, Anderson passes Hunter for fourth.
As they run with 20 minutes to go, Plessinger would have the overall win over Cooper with 40 points.
Sexton would be third on the tiebreaker. If he gets one more position, he’ll move into second. Two passes will give Sexton the overall win. Justin Barcia is next in line, but he’s almost 10 seconds ahead.
Sexton is flying and still has a chance to win the overall.
With 15 minutes on the clock, Sexton gets Barcia.
Jett gets to second with 13 minutes to go. He’ll make a statement if he can close the seven-second gap to start a new moto win streak.
Jett’s leg may be slowing him down. He gets passed by Cooper.
Sexton is fast but squirrely. Six minutes remain.
Sexton isn’t content with the overall victory. He has time to catch Plessinger if he gets around Hunter quickly enough.
Sexton makes the pass on Plessinger on the last lap to sweep the motos.
Plessinger holds onto second with Justin Cooper third.
Hunter finishes fourth overall. Jason Anderson rounds out the top five.
Jett’s leg pain keeps him from finishing in the top five. He was sixth.
Click here for complete 450 Moto 2 results
250 Moto 2
Deegan earns the holeshot as he seeks to keep his moto win streak alive.
Ty Masterpool slots into second with Levi Kitchen third
Hymas and Julien Beaumer round out the top five.
Masterpool held Kitchen off for nearly 10 minutes before giving up the spot. Kitchen is now two seconds behind Deegan.
Masterpool remains third, with Hymas fourth. Vialle has made his way to fifth.
One minute later, Vialle gets around Hymas.
Deegan is comfortably in the lead, but it’s now over Vialle at 4.7 seconds with 13 minutes to go.
Kitchen fades to third. Masterpool is fourth with Hymas in the final top-five position.
Triumph reports it was an electrical issue on Savatgy’s bike in Moto 1. They changed everything and he rides 10th with six minutes to go.
Deegan falls in Moto 2. That hands the lead to Vialle. He’s up by nine seconds.
Kitchen was too far back to take advantage.
Hymas is fourth with Jo Shimoda up to fifth.
Vialle wins Moto 2.
Deegan’s fall dropped him to second, but he gets the overall win.
Kitchen finished third in this race with Hymas in fourth and Shimoda rounding out the top five.
Click here for complete 250 Moto 2 results
450 Moto 1
Jett was fastest in qualification. Now he sets his sight on a 25th consecutive moto victory.
Jett gets the holeshot but crashes on a downhill segment.
Hunter takes the lead with Anderson and Nicoletti giving chase.
The field takes a breath and tries to figure out who will take advantage of Jett’s mistake.
Hunter has a 2.4-second lead over Anderson.
Sexton slots into third with Cooper and Plessinger rounding out the top five.
Jett has made up only one position on his wounded bike. He rides 39th — well outside the points.
With 14 minutes remaining, Jett moves to 33rd. He needs to get to 21st to earn any points.
Nothing has changed up front as Jett climbs to 25th. He’s about 15 seconds out of the points.
Anderson falls with nine minutes on the clock. He gives up second to Sexton but remounts before Cooper comes along.
Hunter rides comfortably in the lead with a gap of 3.5 seconds over Sexton. Last week, Hunter faded late in Moto 2.
With time running out, Sexton gets all the way to second. Cooper falls back to third and will lose his overall podium.
Hunter will have the last spot on the box as they run.
Sexton is closing on Hunter. He’s now 1.6 seconds behind.
Two minutes remain and Sexton is now on Hunter’s back wheel. (Jett loses a lap.)
One minute to go as Sexton and Hunter swap the lead. Sexton ends up with it.
Sexton is the rider who ends Jett’s moto winning streak but another Lawrence will finish second. Hunter ends the race more than six seconds back.
Anderson takes the final spot on the podium.
Cooper and Plessinger round out the top five.
The biggest news, however, is that Jett fails to score points in Moto 1.
Click here for complete 450 Moto 1 results
250 Moto 1
Hymas grabs the holeshot.
Deegan did not get the start he wanted and was outside the top 10 briefly on Lap 1.
Kitchen settles into second, but Hymas is pulling away slightly.
After two laps, last week’s winner, Deegan, runs sixth, nine seconds behind Hymas.
Deegan moves up to fourth with 23 minutes remaining, but he’s 11 seconds behind Hymas.
Kitchen remains second, with Beaumer in third.
On the new Triumph, Savatgy rounds out the top five.
Deegan is not closing on the leader but moves into third with 19 minutes on the clock. This opens up opportunities for Moto 2.
Kitchen is still second.
Savatgy’s bike makes strange sounds and quits. He won’t earn any points for Moto 1.
Hymas begins to lose pace, and Deegan is catching Kitchen in second and Hymas. With 13 to go, Deegan is 6.6 seconds back.
Beaumer gets taken down by Shimoda as they battle for sixth.
Deegan catches Kitchen with seven minutes remaining. They can see Hymas but may get distracted by this battle.
Deegan makes the pass for second with four minutes remaining. He is now two seconds behind Hymas and has plenty of time to catch the leader.
Hymas loses the lead to Deegan with one minute on the clock.
Deegan climbs from outside the top 10 to take the victory by 1.7 seconds over Hymas, who gets his third career podium.
Kitchen takes the final podium position. It is the ninth of his career.
Vialle and Pierce Brown round out the top five.
Click here for complete 250 Moto 1 results
Last Chance Qualifiers
450s
Tyler Stepek paces the 450 LCQ field after four laps, beating Ayden Shive by 1.5 seconds.
Zack Williams and Max Miller also advance.
Click here for complete LCQ results
250s
Preston Boespflug had to make his way through the 250 LCQ. He won by more than two seconds over Marcus Phelps.
Stav Orland and Thomas Welch also advance.
Click here for complete 250 LCQ results
Qualification
450s
Jett (1:56.408) picks up where he left off in Pala, California. He tops the leaderboard in Qualification 1.
Cooper (1:57.333) and Hunter (1:57.578) settle into second and third, respectively.
Sexton and Anderson round out the top five.
Click here for complete results from 450 Qualification 1
As with the 250 division, times are faster in Q2, but Jett (1:56.408) still tops the chart.
Anderson (1:57.178) and Cooper (1:57.305) slot into second and third.
Sexton and Hunter round out the top five.
Click here for complete results from 450 Qualification 2
Click here for complete results from 450 Q1 and Q2 combined
250s
Deegan and Vialle were centerstage in last week’s controversial finish but that has not distracted them. Deegan (1:58.557) was fastest in Qualification 1, with Vialle (1:59.891) close behind.
On the new Triumph, Savatgy (1:59.974) slots into third.
Masterpool moved to the Kawasaki Pro Circuit team last week and struggled. He’s fourth on the chart in Q1.
Hymas rounds out the top five.
Click here for complete results from 250 Qualification 1
In the opening laps of Qualification 2. Brown (1:59.093) is fastest and moves up to second overall. Deegan’s Q1 time is still the fastest.
Midway through this session, Casey Cochran (1:57.994) set the fastest lap, got displaced for a lap, and answered with the quickest time.
Savatgy (1:58.492) backed up his fast Q1 speed by landing second on the chart.
Shimoda (1:58.863) winds up third.
Masterpool and Vialle round out the top five in this session.
Cochran’s and Savatgy’s speed put them at the top of the chart, with Deegan’s Q1 time fast enough for third.
Shimoda and Masterpool round out the top five overall.
Click here for complete results of 250 Qualification 2
Click here for complete results of 250 Q1 and 2 combined
More SuperMotocross News
While we wait for the features, check out some of the recent news you may have missed:
AMA explains Haiden Deegan, Tom Vialle decision
Dave Prater wants to keep SMX riders guessing
Hangtown by the numbers
450 results from Fox Raceway | 250 results
Haiden Deegan waits four hours for Fox victory.
Jett Lawrence remains perfect at Pala and in MX
Cameron McAdoo suffers setback, Ty Masterpool steps in
Garrett Marchbanks, RJ Hampshire crash in Pala
Jeremy Martin not ready to return to MX
RJ Hampshire suggests changes to 250 SX