One week away from becoming the eighth different rider in the history of the Pro Motocross Championships to capture the 450 class title his first year in the division, Jett Lawrence’s perfect season moved one round closer to completion at the weekend.
The young Australian withstood his toughest challenge to date at Southern Maryland’s Budds Creek Motocross Park but ultimately prevailed with his 10th consecutive 1-1 outing to move within two motos of the fourth unbeaten campaign in series history.
In the 250 class, Hunter Lawrence once again complemented his younger brother’s victorious effort with his seventh victory of the season, to put the Gary Jones Cup within reach ahead of next weekend’s finale.
The first 450 class moto got underway with Adam Cianciarulo leading the way to the holeshot, followed by Australian Jay Wilson and Aaron Plessinger, who soon moved into second. Third was then occupied by Justin Barcia. A bit further back, Lawrence started sixth.
The top three settled in through the opening portion of the moto but Plessinger started to chip away at the deficit and was able to make the pass for the lead a little more than eight minutes into the moto.
Cianciarulo and Barcia gave chase from second and third, respectively, while Lawrence closed in from fourth. The champ persistently pressured Barcia for a few laps and made the move for third just before the halfway point. He then made quick work of Cianciarulo to move into second.
Less than a second separated Plessinger and Lawrence, but the Australian quickly closed onto the rear fender of the KTM and relied on some savvy race-craft to slip into the lead and seize control of the moto with 13 minutes remaining.
From there he quickly moved out to a multi-second advantage. As Lawrence pulled away, the battle for the remaining podium spots tightened up between Plessinger, Cianciarulo, Barcia, and Jason Anderson.
Anderson made the first move of the group with a pass on Barcia to drop the GasGas rider to fifth.
The Kawasaki rider’s forward momentum continued with a pass on his teammate for third and continued with a quick push to pass Plessinger for second. This late battle added a new rider in Dylan Ferrandis, as the Frenchman was on a charge into podium contention.
The former champ marched his way past multiple riders and moved within striking distance of Plessinger as time expired on the moto. Ferrandis went on the attack and completed the pass.
Lawrence easily controlled the second half of the race to bring home moto win 19 by 4.3 seconds over Anderson, followed by Ferrandis in third. Plessinger and Barcia battled all the way to the checkered flag for fourth, with the KTM coming out ahead of the GasGas.
The second and final 450cc moto of the day began with Lawrence clear of the field to easily grab the holeshot over Cianciarulo and Barcia.
Barcia quickly slotted into second, followed by Plessinger in third, while Cianciarulo settled into fourth.
After a challenging first moto filled with adversity, Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton started fifth but made quick work to jump up to third behind Barcia and his team-mate.
Sexton showed patience in his pursuit of Barcia for second but once he went on the attack he wasted no time making the pass and moved into second just a handful of minutes into the moto.
From there Sexton inched closer to his team-mate and as the moto surpassed the 10-minute mark less than 1.5 seconds separated the Honda duo.
As they traded momentum, Sexton appeared to have slightly more speed and closed in to within less than a second. However, the battle ended when Sexton tipped over while navigating one of the track’s many downhills.
The lead duo was well ahead of the rest of the field, but a multi-ride affair for third headlined the halfway point of the moto as Barcia was forced to contend with Plessinger, Cianciarulo, and Anderson.
As the moto wore on Barcia and Plessinger were able to inch away from the Kawasakis, but their battle persisted.
No matter what Plessinger tried Barcia seemed to have an answer, but as the moto reached its final five minutes Plessinger finally got the upper hand and made the pass, while Barcia stayed close.
Back up front, Sexton’s never-give-up mentality saw him erase an eight-second deficit to close within striking distance of Lawrence.
Mere bike lengths separated the team-mates on the final lap, but Lawrence did enough to keep Sexton at bay and secure his 20th moto win to extend the perfect season.
The 10th overall victory of the season for Lawrence was arguably his toughest of the summer, as he was forced to dig deep to pull out the 1-1 sweep and keep his unblemished record intact.
With his third-place finish in the final moto, Plessinger was able to secure a season-best runner-up finish (4-3), while Anderson’s resilient charges through the field in both motos were rewarded with third overall (2-5).
Lawrence needs to win the final two motos of the summer to become the third different rider to amass a perfect season, in what has been a historic first season of premier-class competition.
“I had a spot where I could see Chase [Sexton] each lap, but then [one lap] I just didn’t see him there. Then I knew he was closing in.
“I had a bit of bad luck with lappers, but we got away with it. It was a close one there, but that was good at the end.” Lawrence said.
Photo courtesy Honda USA
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RESULTS & STANDINGS AFTER ROUND TEN:
450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish // Points):
1 Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (1-1 // 50)
2 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM (4-3 // 38)
3 Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki (2-5 // 38)
4 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda (9-2, 34)
5 Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GASGAS (5-4 // 34)
6 Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Yamaha (3-9 // 32)
7 Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki (7-6 // 29)
8 Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Yamaha (6-8 // 28)
9 Ty Masterpool, Fallon, Nev., Kawasaki (8-7 // 27)
10 Phil Nicoletti, Cochecton, N.Y., Yamaha (10-11 // 21)
450 Class Championship Standings (Round 10 of 11):
1 Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 500 Points
2 Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Yamaha – 379 Points
3 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM – 350 Points
4 Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki – 298 Points
5 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda – 294 Points
6 Ty Masterpool, Fallon, Nev., Kawasaki – 242 Points
7 Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Yamaha – 228 Points
8 Fredrik Noren, Lidköping, Sweden, Suzuki – 208 Points
9 Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki – 171 Points
10 Grant Harlan, Justin, Texas, Yamaha – 162 Points
250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points):
1 Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (2-1 // 47)
2 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (1-2 // 47)
3 Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Kawasaki (7-3 // 34)
4 Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki (8-4 // 31)
5 Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM (5-6 // 31)
6 Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Husqvarna (3-12 // 29)
7 Daxton Bennick, Morganton, N.C., Yamaha (4-11 // 28)
8 Carson Mumford, Simi Valley, Calif., Kawasaki (12-8 // 22)
9 Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM (11-9 // 22)
10 Seth Hammaker, Bainbridge, Pa., Kawasaki (6-14 // 22)
250 Class Championship Standings (Round 10 of 11):
1 Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 391 Points
2 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 369 Points
3 Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Kawasaki – 343 Points
4 Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 329 Points
5 Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Yamaha – 308 Points
6 RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 288 Points
7 Max Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., KTM – 269 Points
8 Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM – 264 Points
9 Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Husqvarna – 195 Points
10 Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., Kawasaki – 181 Points