Jett Lawrence Prevails in Extreme Heat of Hangtown to Open Pro Motocross Championship with Back-to-Back Wins

Haiden Deegan Remains Unbeaten Two Races into 250 Title Defense

The story of the day for the second race of the Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, was the weather, as a weekend heatwave pushed temperatures into the triple digits for Round 19 of the SMX World Championship and the Michael’s Reno Powersports Hangtown Motocross Classic Presented by Seven MX. While racers were tested even further across each pair of motos in the 450 Class and 250 Class, in the end the respective points leaders rose to the occasion to take firm hold of the early championship battles. In the 450 Class, Team Honda HRC Progressive’s Jett Lawrence made a statement in the final moto to prevail with the win, while Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan remained unbeaten four motos into his 250 Class title defense.

450 Class

Moto 1

The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing machine of Justin Cooper led the field through the first turn to open Moto 1 with the Pro Motocross Holeshot, but an aggressive Aaron Plessinger was able to wrestle the lead away aboard his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing ride. Slotting into third was Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac, followed by the Team Honda HRC Progressive mounted siblings of Hunter and Jett Lawrence.
 
Tomac pushed the pace early and got around his teammate for second. He then looked to erase the two-second deficit Plessinger established through his early laps sprint. Behind the lead duo, Cooper and Jett Lawrence engaged in a battle for third, with the Australian rider able to get the upper hand. The top three then settled in through the middle portion of the moto.
 
All was relatively quiet until the final five minutes, when Tomac picked up the pace and began to close in on Plessinger. The KTM rider responded initially and re-extended the lead, but Tomac didn’t relent. As time ran out on the moto clock and they crossed the line with two laps to go, the Yamaha rider gave it all he had to get onto Plessinger’s rear fender and make the pass. Once out front, Tomac ran away to his first moto win of the season and the first since his championship-winning 2022 campaign. Plessinger dropped well back for second, just ahead of Lawrence in third, and later admitted he misjudged how much time remained and made too soon of a push to keep Tomac at bay. Cooper parlayed his holeshot into a fourth-place finish, with Hunter Lawrence rounding out the top five.

Moto 2

The final moto of the afternoon featured the hottest temperatures of the day and was shortened by five minutes as a precautionary measure. Out of the gate, it was the Hondas of Jett and Hunter Lawrence alongside Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Cooper Webb, who inched ahead for the Pro Motocross Holeshot. Meanwhile, Tomac made contact with another rider off the start and was mired outside the top 20 in the running order. Back up front, Jett Lawrence sprinted out to a multi-second lead as teammates Cooper and Webb moved into second and third, respectively.
 
With Lawrence pacing the field, all eyes were on Tomac and his journey through the running order, as the Moto 1 winner was on the cusp of the top 10 after just five minutes. Back up front, Hunter Lawrence made a move around Webb to take third, while Plessinger followed into fourth. Lawrence and Plessinger then engaged in a battle for third for several laps, from which Plessinger got the upper hand. At this point, Tomac had climbed up to eighth and had three riders within his sights to break into the top five. However, as he looked to make a move, he lost traction with his front tire and went down. He remounted in 12th with a little more than 10 minutes remaining.
 
Back up front, Jett Lawrence went unchallenged from the conclusion of the opening lap and put an exclamation point on an impressive performance with a wire-to-wire moto victory. Cooper equaled his career-best moto finish from one week prior in second, 10.9 seconds behind Lawrence, while Plessinger wrapped up a solid afternoon in third. Tomac soldiered home in ninth.

Overall

Lawrence’s 3-1 effort gives him back-to-back overall wins to open the season, with 17 career victories in 18 starts, the lone blemish on his record coming at Hangtown one year ago. Plessinger’s 2-3 finishes landed him in the runner-up spot for the sixth time in his career, while Cooper completed the top three (4-2) with his third career podium result. Tomac just missed the overall podium in fourth (1-9).
 
Another win for Lawrence, combined with Tomac’s challenging second moto, extended the Honda rider’s lead in the championship standings to 16 points over Plessinger, who moved up to second, with Tomac one additional point behind in third.

1st Place: Jett Lawrence, Team Honda HRC (3-1)
“The main obstacle today was the heat, and I did what I wanted to do [in Moto 2]. I wanted to get the start and then sprint in the opening laps to get a gap that I could manage the rest of the way. My plan worked, so I’m happy.”
 
2nd Place: Aaron Plessinger, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (2-3)
“On days like today, as sweet as it is to be on the podium, being out there on that last lap, you don’t want to be out there. It takes a lot of heart. I was hurting, but I knew I needed to make the passes I did. I’m really proud of myself today and what we’ve done so far after two races.”
 
3rd Place: Justin Cooper, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing (4-2)
“Two good starts today and we did well to adapt to the track [with bike setup]. It was really hot weather and a dry, hard track, but everyone worked together well, and we came home with a great result. We all suffered a bit today, but I know I did all I could and I’m happy with the result.”
 
4th Place: Eli Tomac, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing (1-9)
“A couple things happened to me [in Moto 2]. Bad luck on the start as I hit the guy next to me off the gate. Then I made a mistake on my own and washed the front end. I think I would have had a good shot to make the podium had I not made that mistake, but it was just too much to overcome in the end.”

250 Class

Moto 1

The first moto of the afternoon began with Team Honda HRC Progressive’s Chance Hymas surging to the Pro Motocross Holeshot ahead of the Rockstar Energy GASGAS Factory Racing duo Casey Cochran and Ryder DiFrancesco, in addition to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle, who crashed out of the moto early on. Deegan started just outside the top five aboard his Yamaha. Hymas then gave up the lead after he miscalculated a jump and went off track, reentering the fray in second as Cochran assumed the lead. Behind them, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker fought his way up into third.
 
Deegan’s march forward began a little more than five minutes into the moto as he made a series of passes to slot into the top three. That pushed Hymas’ pace onto the rear of Cochran, which ignited a three-rider battle for the lead. Deegan made the move around Hymas and gave pursuit to Cochran, taking control of first just before the halfway point. Once out front, Deegan sprinted to a lead of more than two seconds.
 
Deegan continued to build on his lead and soon moved out to an advantage of more than five seconds as Cochran fell into the clutches of a hard charging Jo Shimoda and his Team Honda HRC Progressive machine. The Japanese rider made the move into second and asserted his hold on the position. As the race entered its final five minutes, Cochran continued to lose ground and eventually dropped off the podium as the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki trio of Ty Masterpool, Levi Kitchen, and Hammaker all got by.
 
Deegan cruised to his third straight moto win, 6.9 seconds ahead of Shimoda, while Kitchen made a late pass to secure third. Masterpool finished fourth, followed by Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Michael Mosiman in fifth.

Moto 2

Due to the increasing temperatures entering the final moto, the race was reduced by five minutes. As the field stormed out the gate and through the first turn it was Cochran out front once again, but he conceded the lead to privateer Honda rider Lance Kobusch, who led the first laps of his career. Deegan started in third and was able to make the move around Cochran into second. A little more than a lap later, Deegan took control of the moto. Kobusch then dropped outside the top 10 over the next few laps.
 
With Deegan out front, the attention shifted to the likes of Shimoda and Kitchen, who were making moves to break into the top three. Kitchen was able to move up to third and then got around Cochran for second just before the halfway point of the moto. Shimoda then passed Cochran for third a couple laps later and continued his march past Kitchen to grab second with a little more than 10 minutes remaining. Deegan, meanwhile, managed a lead approaching seven seconds.
 
The gap over the field continued to grow for Deegan, up to nearly 10 seconds, as he emphatically put the finishing touch on another moto sweep by a margin of 9.1 seconds over Shimoda. Kitchen finished a distant third.

Overall

Deegan’s second straight 1-1 effort brought him the ninth win of his career, while Shimoda once again minimized the damage with his second 2-2 performance and 21st career podium result. Kitchen enjoyed an impressive rebound from 16th at the opening race to complete the overall podium third (3-3) for a landmark 10th career podium finish.
 
Deegan doubled his lead in the 250 Class standings, which now sits at 12 points over Shimoda. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Julien Beaumer, who finished a quiet fourth (8-4), moved into third and sits 34 points behind Deegan. Kitchen’s podium finish vaulted him into a tie for fifth, 48 points out of the lead.

1st Place: Haiden Deegan, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing (1-1)
“I woke up pretty sick today and my throat is pretty shot right now. I could barely swallow in the second moto. But this sport is pretty much all mental and I’m willing to push through it and do what it takes.”
 
2nd Place: Jo Shimoda, Team Honda HRC Progressive (2-2)
“There’s a little bit of pace and fitness that I can still improve on. Haiden [Deegan] is really strong [in those areas]. We will keep working on those things. Everything went great today and we’re going to keep pushing.”
 
3rd Place: Levi Kitchen, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki (3-3)
“I just had to get my butt in gear [on the track]. I fought hard today. I can still get better, but things have been tough for me lately. All in all, it was a big bounce back from last weekend. We’ll just keep plugging away and fight for this thing.”