For a brief moment in Moto 1 at Spring Creek MX Park in Millville, Minnesota it appeared Jett Lawrence would have some competition, but he kept his composure while being pressured by Chase Sexton and pulled away. Through seven rounds of the 2023 Pro Motocross, Lawrence remains perfect with 14 moto wins and a point lead of 81 over the field. While he has not yet wrapped up the title, solid top-10 finishes in the final four rounds is all it will take.
Lawrence began the Pro Motocross season with zero points in the SuperMotocross World Championship battle. In seven rounds, he now sits fifth in the overall standings and will pass at least Cooper Webb in the next three rounds. If he continues to finish consistently six or seven positions ahead of Adam Cianciarulo, he could move up as high as third on that chart.
RESULTS: Click here for full 450 Results; Click here for 250 Results
Sexton has been the only rider to seriously challenge Lawrence this season. He kept the pressure on in Moto 2 of the season-opener at Fox Raceway in Pala, California before sustaining a concussion in a practice crash after that race. In Round 7 at Spring Creek, he had his best opportunity to spoil Lawrence’s perfect record, but he pushed too hard in both motos and crashed. The Honda dominance has been enough to allow him to pick his bike up and still finish second in both motos for second overall.
Dylan Ferrandis kept a perfect record of top-five finishes alive with his fifth podium in seven rounds. Poor starts in at least one moto each week have kept him from mounting a serious charge on Lawrence, but it will pay to remember that Ferrandis missed most of the Supercross season with a pair of concussions. He’s overcome almost every start to climb into the top five with only two moto results outside that mark.
Moto 1 Results | Lap Chart | Fastest Segment Times
Moto 2 Results | Lap Chart | Fastest Segment Times
Consolation Race
Four has been the operative number for Aaron Plessinger. For the third consecutive round, he finished fourth in both motos and was fourth overall. He is stacking points and unless he misses a couple of rounds, is going to head into the SuperMotocross World Championship with the second seed. Still, one supposes he is extremely hungry for that one additional position that will put him on a race podium.
With results of seventh in Moto 1 and fifth in the second race, Cianciarulo rounded out the top five at Spring Creek. He’s been forced to learn to ride differently since he began losing grip strength in one of his hands and for him to show this much consistency with that handicap is remarkable. The highlight of his weekend in Millville was the holeshot he earned in Moto 1.
Click here for 450 Overall results | Rider Points | Manufacturer Points
Combined SMX points
It was another solid week for privateers Ty Masterpool and Garrett Marchbanks. Both riders finished eighth in one moto and sixth in the other to earn 28 points. Masterpool’s sixth-place finish came in Moto 2 to give him the tiebreaker.
Points are more important right now than the overall position and both riders are now among the top 20 in combined SuperMotocross points. Marchbanks ascended to 20th with his pair of top-10s as he looks to fend off Jose Butron (31 points back in 22nd) and Lorenzo Locurcio (36 points back in 23rd).
Hunter Lawrence returned from two bad rounds at RedBud and Southwick with a chip on his shoulder. For the briefest time, he was not being discussed as the overwhelming favorite to win the 250 Pro Motocross championship and even lost the red plate to Haiden Deegan last week in Massachusetts.
For most of the season, Moto 1 has been his Achilles heel. Lawrence has struggled with his starts to come from deep in the pack almost every time. Spring Creek was no different, but instead of settling for a solid podium result like he has in most rounds, he rode all the way to the front and was eyeing a perfect weekend. It appeared he would get in until he came across a four-rider battle at the back of the pack and crashed while trying to pass the lappers. Lawrence finished second in Moto 2 and easily took the overall win.
Lawrence now has seven Supercross and six Motocross wins to his credit.
Moto 1 Results | Lap Chart | Fastest Segment Times
Moto 2 Results | Lap Chart | Fastest Segment Times
Consolation Race
In the final lap of Moto 2, Justin Cooper kept looking over his shoulder wondering where Lawrence was. The extra points that accompany a win keep Cooper in contention for the championship despite missing High Point with an injury in qualification. He is only one point behind RJ Hampshire and Jo Shimoda, who are tied for third. Deegan is also within reach, but he’s going to need more help from Lawrence to get all the way to the top.
Cooper failed to earn any points at High Point, but Lawrence was also shut out of two motos with his misfortune.
Jo Shimoda earned his second consecutive overall podium with a second-place finish in Moto 1 and a third in Moto 2. He was not thinking about points, however, as he led the first 15 laps of the 17-lap Moto 1. For the final three laps before time ran off the clock and set up the two-lap showdown, Shimoda had Lawrence on his back wheel with a margin of less than a second.
Click here for 250 Overall results | Rider Points | Manufacturer Points
Combined SMX points
Hampshire finished third in Moto 1, but slipped outside the top five in the second race. His sixth-place finish there relegated him to fourth overall, but more importantly he lost 12 points to Lawrence in the battle for the Pro Motocross championship.
With a 7-4, Levi Kitchen rounded out the top five. He now has seven consecutive top-10s in motos highlighted by a RedBud victory.
Deegan had the red plate for one weekend after Lawrence’s accident at RedBud and mechanical failure at Southwick. He didn’t have the pace needed to hang onto it as he finished fifth in Moto 1 and eight in Moto 2 to land seventh overall. With those results, he lost 18 points in the race to Lawrence and now trails by 13 in the championship.
2023 Motocross Results
Round 6: Jett Lawrence, Tom Vialle win
Round 5: Jett Lawrence, Haiden Deegan win
Round 4: Jett Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence still winning
Round 3: Jett Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence continue to win
Round 2: Jett Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence win again
Round 1: Jett Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence win
2023 Supercross Results
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: Cooper 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 23: Justin Cooper is now most powerful in 250s
Week 21: The Lawrence brothers remain perfect
Week 20: Cooper Webb moves up
Week 19: Jett Lawrence pulls away
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: Justin Barcia leapfrogs the Big Three
Week 12: Eli Tomac gains momentum
Week 11: Cooper Webb, Eli Tomac overtake Chase Sexton
Week 10: Chase Sexton leads with consistency
Week 8: Chase Sexton unseats Eli Tomac
Week 7: Jason Anderson narrowly trails Eli Tomac
Week 6: Perfect Oakland night keeps Eli Tomac first
Week 5: Cooper Webb, Chase Sexton close gap
Week 4: Eli Tomac retakes lead
Week 3: Ken Roczen takes the top spot
Week 2: Ken Roczen moves up; Chase Sexton falls
Week 1: Eli Tomac tops 450s; Jett Lawrence 250s
