An evening of scattered thunderstorms gave way to perfect conditions at the weekend as the Pro Motocross Championships in the United States kicked off its East Coast swing at High Point Raceway.
The 47th running of the High Point National in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania was round four of the 2024 season, where the “Country Club of Motocross” welcomed a massive crowd that saw reigning 450 class champion Jett Lawrence ride to a 1-1 effort for his third round win of the season.
In the 250 class, Ty Masterpool prevailed with a breakthrough maiden victory that also signified an unprecedented 300th victory for the most successful team in the history of the sport.
The Lawrence brothers from Australia led the 450cc class field through the first turn to open race one for the premier class, with points leader Hunter Lawrence inching ahead of Jett to earn the holeshot and hold onto the early lead. Behind them, French rider Dylan Ferrandis battled his way into third.
The Frenchman held the position for just over a lap until Justin Cooper made the pass.
A little more than seven minutes into the moto, Hunter Lawrence lost traction coming out of a turn and stopped briefly, which allowed Jett Lawrence to assume the lead.
Moments later, Cooper endured a similar hiccup, which allowed Chase Sexton to move into third.
As the moto wore on, the Lawrences increased their advantage over the field as some miscues by Sexton allowed the lead to grow to nearly 20 seconds entering the final 10 minutes of the moto.
The distance between Jett and Hunter hovered around two seconds, with some ebb and flow as the pair navigated lapped riders. With three laps to go the intensity picked up, with less than a second between the siblings. They mirrored lap times and took the white flag with eight-tenths separating the team-mates.
Hunter Lawrence went on the attack and looked for alternate lines to attempt a pass, but it was too little too late.
Jett Lawrence captured his fourth moto win of the season a mere seventh tenths ahead of Hunter, while Sexton followed in a distant third, 36 seconds back. Cooper finished fourth, with Aaron Plessinger in fifth.
The final moto of the afternoon started with Phil Nicoletti leading the field to the holeshot before he gave way to Jason Anderson. Jett Lawrence then slotted into third, with Hunter Lawrence following into fourth.
The Lawrences were quick to pass Nicoletti and take over the remaining podium positions. Sexton followed through into fourth and pressured Hunter Lawrence for third. Sexton made quick work of the points leader to slot into the top three five minutes into the moto.
Sexton continued his push and pressured Jett Lawrence for second, which saw the champ close in on Anderson for the lead.
A battle for the top spot ensued and as Anderson looked to fend off Lawrence, it allowed Sexton to make the move past both riders and jump from third to first.
Lawrence completed the pass on Anderson and quickly worked his way around Sexton to seize control of the lead 10 minutes into the moto. From there, Lawrence and Sexton settled into their respective positions through the heart of the moto.
With a little more than 10 minutes to go Sexton mounted an attack on Lawrence and made an easy pass to move into the lead. Lawrence gave chase and passed Sexton back, only for Sexton to do the same and put his himself out front.
Sexton kept a patient Lawrence at bay and as the moto dipped into its final five minutes Sexton lost traction with his front tire and tipped over, which handed the lead back to Lawrence.
Sexton remounted in second, but found himself under fire from Hunter Lawrence in third.
Sexton dug deep to get Jett Lawrence back within his sights but the Honda rider managed the lead through to the finish to wrap up his second sweep of the motos this season.
He crossed the finish line 3.7 seconds ahead of Sexton, with Hunter Lawrence in third.
Jett Lawrence’s second 1-1 effort of the summer resulted in his third overall win in four rounds and the 14th victory of his 450 Class career and provided back-to-back wins to follow up his worst outing in the premier class in which he crashed and suffered minor injuries. Sexton (3-2) earned the tiebreaker over Hunter Lawrence (2-3) for the runner-up spot, while the elder Lawrence, who is the championship leader, remains the only rider to finish on the overall podium at each round thus far.
With his four straight podium results to start the season, Hunter Lawrence remains atop the championship standings. He holds a six-point lead over Sexton, with Jett Lawrence in third, eight points out of the lead.
“Chase had some good lines in race two. It was a bummer to see him go down. It was his race for sure. My shoulder was a bit more fatigued today. I struggled a bit, so it’s good to get the overall and head into the break,” Jett Lawrence said.
The 2024 Pro Motocross Championship will observe its first off weekend of the season before a return to action on Saturday, June 29, with the fifth round from the sands of Southwick, Massachusetts’ legendary The Wick 338.
Photo courtesy Honda
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2024 RESULTS & STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 4:
450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish // Points):
1 Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (1-1 // 50)
2 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., KTM (3-2 // 42)
3 Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (2-3 // 42)
4 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM (5-5 // 34)
5 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (4-6 // 34)
6 Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki (7-4 // 33)
7 Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Honda (6-7 // 31)
8 Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GASGAS (10-8 // 26)
9 Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Husqvarna (9-9 // 26)
10 Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., Suzuki (8-10 // 26)
450 Class Championship Standings (Round 4 of 11):
1 Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 171 Points
2 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., KTM – 165 Points
3 Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 163 Points
4 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 143 Points
5 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM – 134 Points
6 Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki – 130 Points
7 Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GASGAS – 121 Points
8 Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Honda – 120 Points
9 Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Husqvarna – 113 Points
10 Freddie Noren, Lidkoping, Sweden, Kawasaki – 82 Points
250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points):
1 Ty Masterpool, Paradise, Texas., Kawasaki (2-1 // 47)
2 Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (1-2 // 47)
3 Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda (4-3 // 38)
4 Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Honda (3-5 // 37)
5 Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM (8-4 // 32)
6 Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM (6-8 // 30)
7 Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., GASGAS (5-13 // 26)
8 Pierce Brown, Sandy, Utah, GASGAS (13-6 // 25)
9 Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki (10-9 // 25)
10 Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Yamaha (9-10 // 25)
250 Class Championship Standings (Round 4 of 11):
1 Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 191 Points
2 Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda – 159 Points
3 Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM – 153 Points
4 Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki – 144 Points
5 Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Kawasaki – 136 Points
6 Ty Masterpool, Paradise, Texas, Kawasaki – 116 Points
7 Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Triumph – 116 Points
8 Pierce Brown, Sandy, Utah, GASGAS – 109 Points
9 Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM – 103 Points
10 Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Yamaha – 82 Points