Perfection squared: Jett Lawrence wins 24th moto at Fox Raceway and 12th overall MX, has never lost in Pala
PALA, California: Jett Lawrence had to fend off fierce competition from Chase Sexton and his brother Hunter Lawrence, but at the end of Round 1 of the 2024 Pro Motocross season at Fox Raceway, he remains undefeated in the outdoor series.
"Mid-race, I looked back and Ronald McDonald was behind me with [Hunter] in the yellow and red," Jett said. "Two laps later I looked back and it was Chase, so I had to keep my head down and stay focused."
With his 24th consecutive moto win, Jett tied James Stewart for third on the all-time list. Ricky Carmichael has the record at 31 straight wins on one occasion and second-place with 30 another time.
Jett has still never been beaten in an overall finish at Fox Raceway.
With eight Supercross wins and to moto victories in Motocross, Jett has a 54-point lead in the combined SuperMotocross standings. The maximum number of points awarded in a Motocross round is 50.
Hunter got great starts in both motos and pressured Jett in the second race after earning the holeshot. As the race closed into the halfway point, Hunter showed his front wheel to Jett but that only served to motivate the 2023 Motocross champion. At the end of the race, Hunter faded and finished more than 40 seconds off the pace, but with his second-place finish in Moto 1, he claimed second overall.
"I knew the points' situation," Hunter said about losing time in the closing laps. "We made a change and will keep getting better on that. I took what it gave me, honestly."
This is the first 1-2 finish for brothers in Motocross 450 division since 1973 when Gary and Dewayne Jones performed the feat.
Sexton overcame a poor Moto 1 start to advance to fourth in that race. He was second in Moto 2 to finish third overall.
"I went off the track at the top of the hill and thought the race was over," Sexton said. "And then with two laps to go I picked up the pace, got close and he turned it up again."
After scoring a 7-5, Dylan Ferrandis finished fourth overall.
Justin Barcia rounded out the fifth position overall with a 6-6.
In the 250 division, Haiden Deegan crossed the finish line first in both motos, but an official announcement has not been made as to the winner of Moto 2 or the overall. The 250 results are under review after Deegan rode wide in the closing laps and failed to slow while off course.
Prior to the race, Deegan noted that with Hunter Lawrence and Justin Cooper moving to the 450 class, he expected to be the rider to beat in 2024 and he made good on his prediction.
"I just put a lot of work and I'm done with people talking sh*t," Deegan told Peacock's Jason Thomas. "Sorry for my language but it's true. I go and grind, man. I put my heart in this sport and I grind every single day. You guys are seeing that right now."
Levi Kitchen finished runner-up in both motos to finish second overall, unless Deegan is penalized a position for failing to slow after going off course. He will have the tiebreaker if he is awarded the Moto 2 victory.
"Good job to Levi," Deegan continued. "I swear the hole race on my pit board it was four-tenths, seven-tenths, four tenths. We were pogoing the whole time."
Deegan and Kitchen both finished second in their respective 250 divisions in Supercross and wanted to make statements in the first outdoor round.
"I wouldn't say we were flat out, but we know each other pretty well from training," Kitchen said. "I didn't know if I could really make a push at the end because we both kind of wicked it up. I tried; he tried. It's going to be a fun summer."
With a fourth place finish in Moto 1 and third in Moto 2, Vialle took the final spot on the box.
Hymas finished fourth overall with a 3-4. He lost the tiebreaker to Vialle but earned the same number of points.
In Race Notes
It's a beautiful day as the Pro Motocross series begins their 11-round championship with a high of 70 and no rain in the forecast. This is Round 18 of the SuperMotocross season with points from both Supercross and Motocross contributing to the playoff seeding.
Press Day was active with Garrett Marchbanks and the 250 West Supercross champion RJ Hampshire crashing. They will not be in today's race. Christian Craig was swept into that incident but was not injured. He and Aaron Plessinger will return to action.
Jett Lawrence is the defending winner. He began his quest for the perfect season here by winning both motos.
Moto 2
450s
Hunter Lawrence gets the holeshot with Jett Lawrence close behind.
A pileup in Turn 1 collects Aaron Plessinger among others.
Phil Nicoletti had a remarkable start and passes Hunter for second on Lap 1.
Hunter gets back around Nicoletti for second.
After a fierce fight, Sexton takes third on Lap 2.
Nicoletti continues to fall back and gives up fourth to Jason Anderson with 26 minutes on the clock.
Justin Barcia moves into fifth.
The battle on the track is for second between Hunter and Sexton.
Hunter gaps Sexton and is closing in on Jett. With 18 minutes to go, they are bar-to-bar.
At halfway, Jett settles down after a couple of sketchy laps. He's now just a little over one second ahead of Hunter with Sexton one second further back in third.
With 10 minutes on the clock, Sexton takes second from Hunter.
If he can catch him, Sexton won't be as patient with Jett.
Jason Anderson and Dylan Ferrandis round out the top five.
Jett cannot shake Sexton. The gap is less than a second with two minutes remaining.
Sexton rides off course and loses four seconds. Unless Jett makes a mistake, Sexton is going to run out of time.
Hunter remains third with one minute to go but is well off the pace 22 seconds behind.
Click here for complete 450 Moto 2 results
Click here for complete overall results
250s
Tom Vialle was penalized one position for an off-course excursion.
Moto 1 winner Haiden Deegan gets the holeshot.
Jalek Swoll has second for a few turns until Levi Kitchen takes the spot. Kitchen wants to avenge his Race 1 loss.
With 24 minutes on the clock, Swoll and Tom Vialle battle for third, but Vialle goes down and hands fourth to Nate Thrasher.
The battle for fourth heats up with Thrasher, Vialle and Chance Hymas only a little more than a second apart.
Swoll begins to fade with three minutes remaining and Vialle is surging.
Deegan and Kitchen are still deciding the victory between them with Vialle in third, Swoll in fourth, and Hymas in fifth.
As time runs off the clock, Deegan goes wide and leaves the track. He maintains the lead, but Vialle was penalized one position for the same infraction in Moto 1.
Deegan wins by nearly two seconds over Kitchen. They were in a class of their own.
Vialle takes the final spot on the podium.
Fourth place Hymas and Swoll round out the top five.
Click here for complete 250 Moto 2 results
Moto 1
450s
Jett Lawrence has never lost an overall at Fox Raceway and never finished worse than second in a moto. He gets the holeshot.
In his first race back, Aaron Plessinger settles into second with Hunter Lawrence third.
Chase Sexton falls from seventh on Lap 1 after clipping the back tire of Dylan Ferrandis.
Jett stretches his advantage to nearly three seconds with 21 minutes remaining.
Plessinger and Hunter maintain their podium stakes.
Just Cooper rides fourth.
The battle with 17 minutes on the clock is between Ferrandis and Justin Barcia. Ferrandis takes fifth.
With 10 to go, Hunter gets around Plessinger. The Lawrence brothers are now running 1-2.
Christian Craig is still knocking the rust off. He's riding 20th.
Hunter is six seconds behind with six minutes remaining but he's keeping the gap steady. Plessinger, Ferrandis and Cooper round out the top five.
Time is off the clock and Jett has a 4.6-second lead over Hunter.
Plessinger has fallen 13 seconds off the pace.
After crashing twice, Sexton has moved up to fifth.
Jett wins his 23rd straight moto.
Hunter finishes second in his first 450 Motocross race.
Plessinger holds onto the final podium position.
Sexton made his way up to fourth with a last lap pass on Cooper.
Click here for complete 450 Moto 1 results
This line from Jett #ProMotocross #SMX pic.twitter.com/gFcATX4fbd
— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) May 25, 2024
250s
The 250 East Supercross champion Tom Vialle takes the early lead with Levi Kitchen and Haiden Deegan giving chase.
We have our first pass seven minutes into the moto: Kitchen takes it away from Vialle.
Vialle continues to fall back. Haiden Deegan makes the pass at the 10-minute mark. He's 3.8 seconds behind.
Deegan is closing. He's now 2.3 seconds behind Kitchen.
The Triumph riders are running well. Joey Savatgy is fifth and Jalek Swoll sixth.
At the halfway point, the closest battle is between Chance Hymas and Savatgy.
Kitchen loses a little ground and Deegan is within a second with 11 minutes remaining.
Ty Masterpool puts his new Pro Circuit Kawasaki on the ground. He was riding 13th.
Deegan is right on Kitchen's back tire with nine minutes remaining on the clock.
Deegan is pressing but Kitchen hands onto the lead.
Vialle is still third with five minute to go.
Deegan goes wide and jumps the berm. He leaves the track for a moment but doesn't lose much time. He's 1.6 seconds behind now.
Time runs off the clock and two laps remain. Kitchen leads Deegan by .767 seconds.
A track marker gets stuck in Kitchen's boot. He loses the lead while he reaches down to free it.
Deegan makes a statement by winning the first moto. Kitchen lost seven seconds in the final laps to finish second.
Vialle will stand on the bottom step of the podium.
Fourth-place Hymas and Savatgy round out the top five.
On the other Triumph, Swoll finishes sixth.
Click here for complete 250 Moto 1 results
Garrett Marchbanks was involved in a three-rider pileup in 450 practice. RJ Hampshire hit a rock on course and injured his wrist.
Dan Beaver
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Dan Beaver
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Last Chance Qualifier
450s
Brad West finishes more than four seconds ahead of Bryce Shelly, Dayton Briggs and Josh Mosiman.
Click here for complete 450 LCQ results
250s
Slade Varola wins over Marcos Phelps, Gavin Brough and Slade Smith.
Click here for complete 250 LCQ results
Qualification
450s
Chase Sexton was one of the few riders to push Jett Lawrence in Motocross. He finished second in this race last year and picks up where he left off. Sexton (2:20.988) posts the fastest speed in the Qualification 1.
Jett Lawrence and Hunter Lawrence slot into second and third respectively.
Justin Barcia and Dylan Ferrandis round out the top five.
Aaron Plessinger rejoins the field for the outdoor races and lands sixth on the chart.
Back from an elbow injury, Christian Craig is 19th in the first session.
Click here for complete 450 Group A Qualification 1 results
In Qualification 2, Jett has a close call with Dean Wilson and came close to crashing.
At the end of the session, Jett (2:18.467) finds speed and jumps to the top of the board by more than a second over Sexton back to second. Q2 was the faster session, so Jett has first gate pick.
Hunter slots into third with Ferrandis and Justin Cooper rounding out the top five.
Click here for complete 450 Group A Qualification 2 results
Click here for combined 450 Qualification
250s
The 250 riders take to the track early with Chance Hymas (2:24.780) leading the riders in their first session. Today is Hymas' birthday
Haiden Deegan and Levi Kitchen follow with Tom Vialle and Jo Shimoda rounding out the top five.
Joey Savatgy finally gets a chance to ride his new Triumph and he slots into eighth, one tenth of a second behind teammate Jalek Swoll.
Click here for complete 250 Group A, Qualification 1 results
In Qualification 2, Levi Kitchen posts the fastest Lap 1 but Hymas is not far behind. This session will be faster than Q1.
The top spot was in question until the final lap but Kitchen (2:22.285) ended up on top, narrowly edging Joey Savatgy in his first attempt this season on the new Triumph bike.
Pierce Brown was third with Hymas fourth . Jordon Smith was fifth.
Click here for complete 250 Group A, Qualification 2 results
Click here for combined 250 Qualification
More SuperMotocross News
While we wait on the motos, check out some recent SuperMotocross news:
Cameron McAdoo suffers setback, Ty Masterpool steps in
Garrett Marchbanks, RJ Hampshire crash in Pala
Jeremy Martin not ready to return to MX
Motocross: Fox Raceway by the numbers
RJ Hampshire suggests changes to SX
Jett Lawrence’s 2024 450 title highs and lows
Tom Vialle: Sophomore sensation wins 250E
RJ Hampshire: 2024 is the year of 24
Jason Anderson, Hunter Lawrence warned and fined
Cooper Webb undergoes thumb surgery
