Things are heating up in Thunder Valley for round three of the Pro Motocross Championship in Lakewood, Colorado just outside of Denver. Rains throughout the week soaked the track and conditions are DEEEP for the morning practice and qualifying sessions. Today there’s not a cloud in the sky and things should dry up as the day wears on. Here’s a rundown from race day.
450 Moto 1
The first 450 kicked off the day with action that the fans paid to see. The top four in the championship started inside the top four and the race was on from the get go as Jett Lawrence took over the lead on lap one.
Jett held the top spot for most of the race but he felt pressure throughout the 30+2. Aaron Plessinger applied the pace in the first half of the moto before Hunter Lawrence passed for second and challenged his brother. Still, Jett never wavered and held down the lead.
Plessinger caught a second wind with three laps left and put in a final charge to re-pass both of the Lawrence brothers. A key inside line allowed him make the move around Jett and Plessinger led for a handful of sectors before dropping back to second. This battle had the fans on their feet as Lawrence ultimately took the win over AP.
Eli Tomac crossed the line third after staying in the hunt for the entire race. He battled with Hunter Lawrence for the first half of the moto and later gained the position once Lawrence crashed out of third on the final lap.
450 Moto 2
The second 450 moto was one for the books as the showdown of Jett Lawrence and Eli Tomac materialized late in the race. Both riders started outside the top five but worked their way through the pack and found themselves at the front by the halfway mark.
Justin Cooper moved to the lead early on and the fast qualifier used his opening race speed to hold the rest of the field at bay. He sprinted in the early laps to build a lead over both Lawrences and Tomac and would later finish third in the race.
Jett Lawrence finally made a pass stick with 10 minutes left in the race while Tomac slotted into second in quick succession. The two rivals stayed close for the final leg of the moto and were separated by only two seconds.
The race was on until Tomac stuffed the front end and fell with two laps remaining. This effectively ended his shot at the win and the overall, as he remounted for second. Lawrence went on to take the race win and the overall.
Aaron Plessinger made some bike changes between the motos and went on to finish fifth in race two. Still his 2-5 results beat out Justin Cooper for third on the overall podium.
450MX OVERALL RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 1-1 |
| 2. | Eli Tomac | (Yam) | 3-2 |
| 3. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 2-5 |
| 4. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 5-3 |
| 5. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 4-4 |
| 6. | Cooper Webb | (Yam) | 7-6 |
| 7. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 6-7 |
| 8. | Malcolm Stewart | (Hus) | 10-10 |
| 9. | Valentin Guillod | (Yam) | 14-8 |
| 10. | Joey Savatgy | (Hon) | 9-16 |
250 Moto 1
Chance Hymas continued his momentum from this morning’s qualifying session and kicked off moto one with a great start and the early lead. the #10 HRC Honda rider held the top spot over Haiden Deegan for the whole first half of the race despite multiple charges from the current points leader.
Deegan ran second for the whole race but his bike began to smoke towards the end of the moto. He put things in conservation mode and luckily had a near-minute gap to third place. Deegan cruised around for the final three laps and nursed his bike to the finish, ultimately taking second just ahead of Garrett Marchbanks.
Marchbanks battled with his teammate Ty Masterpool for most of the race but gained the advantage for the final spot on the box. He caught up to the back of Deegan on the final lap but was unable to make a pass on the number-one.
250 Moto 2
Chance Hymas again kicked things off again in race two with a crucial holeshot in the final gate drop of the day. The number-10 machine led every lap of the 35-minute moto to take a clean sweep of the day here in Colorado.
He held off pressure from Deegan throughout the race but the final blow came when Deegan fell after the halfway mark. Hymas’ 1-1 ends Deegan’s streak and gains some much-needed points for the Honda rider.
Deegan finished the day with 2-2 results. He again started behind Hymas in race two and looked to pressure the leader in the second half of the moto. Unfortunately, Deegan tucked the front in the first turn with 10 minutes left on the clock. This mistake essentially ended his shot at the overall. Despite this he still leads the points by 25 over Shimoda.
Levi Kitchen fought to the line to take third in the moto. He passed Jo Shimoda with two laps left in the race but came away with third overall thanks to 8-3 results.
250MX OVERALL RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Chance Hymas | (Hon) | 1-1 |
| 2. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 2-2 |
| 3. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 8-3 |
| 4. | Garrett Marchbanks | (Kaw) | 3-8 |
| 5. | Tom Vialle | (KTM) | 6-5 |
| 6. | Jo Shimoda | (Hon) | 9-4 |
| 7. | Casey Cochran | (GG) | 13-6 |
| 8. | Dilan Schwartz | (Yam) | 10-10 |
| 9. | Mikkel Haarup | (Tri) | 7-13 |
| 10. | Ty Masterpool | (Kaw) | 4-16 |
QUALIFYING
450MX
450 riders will race first this morning as they take on the chocolate pudding along with the altitude. Justin Cooper clocked the fastest time of the day in session two and was more than a full second faster than Aaron Plessinger in second place. Eli Tomac grabbed the best time in the first session but finished third overall. Jett Lawrence, the current points leader, was fourth overall which is his worst qualifying position ever – he’s only ever qualified first or second in 450MX.
450MX OVERALL QUALIFYING (Top 10)
| 1. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 2:10.829 |
| 2. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 2:12.007 |
| 3. | Eli Tomac | (Yam) | 2:12.457 |
| 4. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 2:13.390 |
| 5. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 2:14.449 |
| 6. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 2:15.274 |
| 7. | Cooper Webb | (Yam) | 2:16.095 |
| 8. | Brad Todd | (Hon) | 2:16.753 |
| 9. | Coty Schock | (Yam) | 2:17.373 |
| 10. | Jason Anderson | (Kaw) | 2:17.513 |
250MX
Chance Hymas looked fast for the third week in a row. The Honda HRC rider has had strong rides here in the past with his first podium and first moto win taking place at Thunder Valley. Today he qualified fastest by nearly a second over Haiden Deegan. Ty Masterpool, another rider who’s had break out rides in Colorado, was third overall.
250MX OVERALL QUALIFYING (Top 10)
| 1. | Chance Hymas | (Hon) | 2:15.861 |
| 2. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 2:16.993 |
| 3. | Ty Masterpool | (Kaw) | 2:17.094 |
| 4. | Garrett Marchbanks | (Kaw) | 2:17.563 |
| 5. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 2:18.066 |
| 6. | Julien Beaumer | (KTM) | 2:18.259 |
| 7. | Drew Adams | (Kaw) | 2:18.316 |
| 8. | Mikkel Haarup | (Tri) | 2:18.964 |
| 9. | Jo Shimoda | (Hon) | 2:19.135 |
| 10. | Crockett Myers | (KTM) | 2:19.558 |
