Welcome to The Wick! Today is round five of the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship and the riders are ready to surf the sands of Southwick. This notoriously rough track is an iconic venue and brought some exciting racing during every moto. Let’s get to the action!
Highlights
450MX
Moto 1
The first 450 moto was all about Jett Lawrence. The reigning champ got out to the early lead and never looked back, leading all 16 laps and setting the fastest time of the race. His brother Hunter Lawrence finished second with Chase Sexton finishing a distant third.
Moto 2
Moto two brought out the excitement with a number of lead changes and passed. Jett and Hunter again started up front with Sexton hanging closely behind in third. Hunter turned up the pace in the early stages and made a pass for the lead but later relinquished and dropped back to third. A 2-3 gave him third overall as he keeps the championship points lead.
Jett Lawrence reclaimed the lead with eight minutes left and looked to be catching a second wind late in the moto. However, Chase Sexton caught fire and made his run for the lead, trading spots back and forth with Lawrence.
Sexton dropped Jett in the final laps and claimed the win by more than eight seconds. The KTM riders’ 3-1 gave him second overall while Jett’s 1-2 earned him the overall victory. Sexton and Lawrence are now tied in the championship points, three back from Hunter.
450MX Overall Results (Top 10)
| 1. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 1-2 |
| 2. | Chase Sexton | (KTM) | 3-1 |
| 3. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 2-3 |
| 4. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 5-6 |
| 5. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Hon) | 7-5 |
| 6. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 12-4 |
| 7. | Justin Barcia | (GG) | 6-11 |
| 8. | Phil Nicoletti | (Yam) | 9-9 |
| 9. | Harri Kullas | (KTM) | 10-10 |
| 10. | Kyle Webster | (Hon) | 17-7 |
250MX
Moto 1
Haiden Deegan controlled all of the first 250 moto by leading wire to wire. The Yamaha rider grabbed the crucial holeshot before taking off for the next 16 laps. Deegan further extended his points lead and won by 15 seconds over second place.
Tom Vialle finished second to Deegan in moto one. Vialle was last year’s winner but realized the gap was insurmountable near the half-way mark. With a healthy cushion back to third, Vialle cruised it in for second and conserved some energy for the second moto.
Chance Hymas finished a lonely third after battling early on in the race.
Moto 2
After a red flag restart, both Levi Kitchen and Haiden Deegan slugged it out for the start of moto two. Deegan quickly jumped to the lead but fell just a few laps later and was forced to charge from the back of the pack.
This crash allowed Vialle to take over the lead with a five second gap back to Jo Shimoda. It looked to be Vialle’s race but Shimoda and Deegan continued to chip away at the gap. With three laps to go all three riders found themselves battling for the win.
Shimoda made his way around Vialle for the lead with two laps left and Vialle slid out just one lap later. His crash dropped any chance of an overall win as Deegan moved through to second. Vialle still remounted for third in the moto.
A 1-2 gave Deegan another overall win with Vialle’s 2-3 giving him second on the day. Shimoda’s win earned him third overall after a ninth in moto one.
250MX Overall Results (Top 10)
| 1. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 1-2 |
| 2. | Tom Vialle | (KTM) | 2-3 |
| 3. | Jo Shimoda | (Hon) | 9-1 |
| 4. | Chance Hymas | (Hon) | 3-5 |
| 5. | Joey Savatgy | (Tri) | 5-6 |
| 6. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 4-7 |
| 7. | Jordon Smith | (Yam) | 7-4 |
| 8. | Ty Masterpool | (Kaw) | 6-8 |
| 9. | Pierce Brown | (GG) | 8-12 |
| 10. | Casey Cochran | (Hus) | 11-10 |
QUALIFYING
Chase Sexton made his mark early this morning with the fastest lap of the 450MX competitors, more than a second quicker than Jett Lawrence. He’s looking for some redemption after falls at round four held him back from a race win. Jett Lawrence clocked the second best time and pulled off early in the session, likely to rest his shoulder ahead of the two demanding motos. Justin Cooper rounded out the top three times.
450MX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. | Chase Sexton | (KTM) | 2:04.370 |
| 2. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 2:04.507 |
| 3. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 2:05.228 |
| 4. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 2:05.906 |
| 5. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Hon) | 2:06.296 |
| 6. | Garrett Marchbanks | (Yam) | 2:06.399 |
| 7. | Justin Barcia | (GG) | 2:06.421 |
| 8. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 2:06.999 |
| 9. | Jason Anderson | (Kaw) | 2:07.073 |
| 10. | Kyle Webster | (Hon) | 2:07.112 |
250MX
The 250MX class is notorious for seeing an underdog take the fastest qualifying time and today that rider was France’s Tom Guyon. The GasGas rider is competing in his first AMA Pro Motocross event and grabbed the top time out of the 250B practice. Haiden Deegan clocked second overall with Joey Savatgy logging the third fastest time. Another French rider, Tom Vialle, topped the second session but landed sixth overall.
250MX Combined Qualifying (Top 10)
| 1. | Tom Guyon | (GG) | 2:05.091 |
| 2. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 2:05.228 |
| 3. | Joseph Savatgy | (Tri) | 2:05.753 |
| 4. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 2:05.874 |
| 5. | Ty Masterpool | (Kaw) | 2:06.177 |
| 6. | Tom Vialle | (KTM) | 2:06.231 |
| 7. | Chance Hymas | (Hon) | 2:06.397 |
| 8. | Julien Beaumer | (KTM) | 2:06.969 |
| 9. | Geran Stapleton | (Kaw) | 2:07.156 |
| 10. | Pierce Brown | (GG) | 2:07.302 |
