SOUTHWICK, Mass. — The Pro Motocross Championship reached its halfway point on Saturday with its annual foray to the motocross hotbed of New England.
The 42nd running of the Crestview Construction Southwick National presented the most challenging test of the season thus far, where high temperatures and humidity combined with the demanding sand track of legendary The Wick 338 resulted in a grueling afternoon of racing.
The perfect season by 450 Class rookie Jett Lawrence continued with another dominant outing by the Team Honda HRC rider, who went 1-1 yet again for his sixth straight victory, while two-time MX2 World Champion Tom Vialle emerged with his first win in U.S. competition in the 250 Class.
450 Moto 1 Recap
It was the Team Honda HRC duo of Chase Sexton and Lawrence leading the field into the first turn to start the first moto, as Sexton stormed to the MotoSport.com Holeshot only to be passed by Lawrence by the time they reached the second turn.
Both riders dropped the hammer to open a gap on the field while Lawrence moved out nearly two seconds ahead of his teammate. Behind them, Sport Clips/Beachview Treatment/HBI Racing Kawasaki’s Ty Masterpool settled into third ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Dylan Ferrandis.
As the lead pair checked out on the field an exciting battle for third unfolded amongst Masterpool, Plessinger and Ferrandis. The Yamaha-mounted Frenchman found himself in an opportunistic position and was able to slip past Plessinger as he pressured Masterpool. Ferrandis then set his sights on Masterpool for third.
The privateer racer didn’t flinch and made the former series champion go to work. After a persistent attack Ferrandis finally got the upper hand and took control of third, leaving Masterpool and Plessinger to battle it out for fourth.
Near the halfway point of the moto, Sexton had chipped away at the deficit to Lawrence and moved within striking distance of his teammate. However, Lawrence picked up the pace again and built the lead back out to more than four seconds.
Lawrence continued to add to his lead through the remainder of the moto and rode to his 11th straight moto win with ease, crossing the finish line seven seconds ahead of Sexton, who was never pressured en route to second, while Ferrandis finished a distant third. Plessinger was fourth, while Masterpool rounded out the top five.
450 Moto 2 Recap
The final moto got underway with the Yamaha of Ferrandis leading the field out of the first turn for the MotoSport.com Holeshot, but he was quickly overcome by Lawrence who proceeded to sprint out to an early lead.
Plessinger slotted into third, with Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo and Sexton in tow.
While Lawrence took advantage of the clear track it was Sexton who was making moves as he got around Cianciarulo for fourth and then made quick work of Plessinger to take over third. It didn’t take long for him to close in on Ferrandis for second as the lead trio checked out on the rest of the field.
Ten minutes into the moto less than 3.5 seconds separated the top three and that’s when Sexton made his move on Ferrandis to grab second.
Sexton was able to gain a few tenths on Lawrence initially, but the Aussie’s advantage grew over the second half of the moto. The lead surpassed double digits in the closing minutes and grew to nearly 20 seconds before he backed down the pace.
As has been the case for much of the season, Lawrence led every lap of action across both motos and wrapped up another perfect afternoon 14.7 seconds ahead of Sexton, with Ferrandis well back in third.
450 Overall Results
Another 1-1 effort gave Lawrence his sixth consecutive overall win and further extended the record start to his 450 Class career. He now sits tied with both Sexton and Ferrandis as the winningest active riders in the division and has led every lap in five of six rounds this season.
Sexton earned an assertive runner-up effort (2-2) for his third podium result in three starts, while Ferrandis rounded out the top three overall in third (3-3) with his fourth podium of the summer.
Lawrence’s lead in the championship standings now sits at 67 points over Ferrandis, while Plessinger, who finished fourth (4-4), is third, 90 points out of the lead.
250 Overall Results
Vialle’s consistent 1-3 moto finishes were enough to land him atop the overall podium for the first time here in the States in just his sixth Pro Motocross start and makes it back-to-back first-time winners this season.
He’s the latest World Champion to make the full-time move to America and achieve success, following in the footsteps of the likes of fellow Frenchman Marvin Musquin and German Ken Roczen. Vialle is the 91st different winner in 250 Class history.
Justin Cooper narrowly missed out on his first win of the year in second (2-2), while Jo Shimoda’s second moto victory vaulted him to his first overall podium result of the season in third (6-1).
With the mixed fortunes of Hunter Lawrence and Haiden Deegan, the championship standings saw a dramatic shakeup with five rounds remaining. Deegan’s sixth-place finish (4-10) was enough to put him atop the 250 Class standings for the first time, where he now holds a five-point lead over Lawrence, who finished 13th (26-8).
R.J. Hampshire’s fourth place finish (3-4) moved him to within 13 points of the lead in third.