Let’s send it at Southwick! We’re back racing after a weekend off for round five of the Pro Motocross Championship here at The Wick 338 in Southwick, Massachusetts. This is one of the most unique tracks on the circuit and there’s a lot to watch today. Let’s get to the action.
450 Moto 1
The 450 riders started the action with the opening moto of the day. Jett Lawrence grabbed the holeshot and led every lap of the race. Instead of holding a small gap, Lawrence laid down a series of fast laps in the early part of the moto and held a seven second lead within the first five minutes. He dominated the field, made it look easy, and won by more than 15 seconds.
Hunter Lawrence crossed the line in second. He started right behind his brother across the holeshot but lost the tow in the early part of the moto. Hunter held off attacks from the rest of the podium contenders and crossed the line in a lonely second.
Eli Tomac finished third after a hard-fought race. He started outside the top 10 but quickly found a strong pace and followed Jorge Prado into podium position. The duo passed Aaron Plessinger for third and Prado crashed in the sand shortly after. This put Tomac into third but the two Lawrences were too far gone at this point in the race.
450 Moto 2
Moto two was another episode of the Jett Lawrence show. This time he had a group of heavy hitters behind him including Jorge Prado, Hunter Lawrence, and Eli Tomac. Despite the close competition, Jett ran away from the rest of the field and was nearly 10 seconds up by the halfway mark. With another big win, Lawrence sweeps the day and extends the points gap with a 1-1 day.
“I didn’t really worry too much about managing the gap and I just had a good flow,” Lawrence said. “In sand it’s a lot harder to ride with less energy so whatever flow you have you just stick with it and that’s what I ended up doing. Just stick with that flow and not use a lot of energy.”
Hunter Lawrence finished second again in moto two. The Honda HRC rider started up front but dropped back off the podium after being passed by Eli Tomac. He put in a strong charge to re-pass Tomac and looked to finished in third. Lawrence bumped up a spot when Jorge Prado fell from second, giving Hunter the spot as well as second overall.
“First moto, I felt like in the first opening laps I needed to be better,” Lawrence said. “He [Jett] was able to bridge a little gap. In the second moto I didn’t get around close enough and then Eli [Tomac] got past me after a few corners so I kind of lost the tow there. That’s in my opinion where I could’ve been better in the opening laps.”
Tomac battled to third in the second moto. He started up front but couldn’t find a way around Prado and settled for third early in the race. Once Lawrence made his way around, Tomac dropped back a spot but regained a position late in the race once Prado fell. 3-3 put Tomac third on the day.
“It’s just Jett and Hunter [Lawrence] riding better today,” Tomac said. “They had an amazing flow on the track, and I just needed to be better out there. It wasn’t what I wanted to do today, but that’s how it goes sometimes.”
Justin Cooper and Jorge Prado swapped results going 6-5 and 5-6 for fourth and fifth respectively. Prado fell in both motos but still put in his best showing of the season.
450MX OVERALL RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 1-1 |
| 2. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 2-2 |
| 3. | Eli Tomac | (Yam) | 3-3 |
| 4. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 6-5 |
| 5. | Jorge Prado | (Kaw) | 5-6 |
| 6. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 8-4 |
| 7. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 4-8 |
| 8. | Cooper Webb | (Yam) | 7-7 |
| 9. | Justin Barcia | (GG) | 10-9 |
| 10. | Malcolm Stewart | (Hus) | 12-10 |
250 Moto 1
Haiden Deegan absolutely dominated the first 250 moto. The defending number one grabbed the holeshot and the early lead and was already up by 16 seconds at the halfway mark. His best lap was three seconds better than anyone else’s and Deegan made it look easy en route to the win.
Levi Kitchen battled his way to second in moto one. He fought hard with Michael Mosiman for nearly the entire moto but gained the spot once Mosiman fell on the final lap. This bumped Kitchen up to the runner-up position late in the moto.
Tom Vialle put in a strong showing in the opening moto. The KTM rider started up front but fell in the early laps before working his way up the running order. Vialle pushed back up to third at the line and gained an extra spot on the final lap once Mosiman washed out.
250 Moto 2
The second moto looked a lot like the first one if your name is Haiden Deegan. The Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha rider again grabbed the holeshot and proceeded to lay the hurt on the rest of the field. Deegan marched away to another win, leading every lap of both motos and sweeping the day’s overall victory.
“I really just came out and rode like how I have been,” Deegan said. “Nothing special to it today. I’ve been training hard doing what I do and evidently I was pretty good in the sand today.”
Jo Shimoda looked to have much more intensity in the second moto. He pushed to third early in the race and easily passed Levi Kitchen for second. From here it was smooth sailing for the Honda HRC rider as he ended the day with on the box.
Tom Vialle again put in a strong showing to finish third. The Red Bull KTM rider followed Shimoda to the podium and looked comfortable on the worst track of the day. Two thirds on the day put Vialle second overall.
“I made it tough on myself in moto one,” Vialle said. “I was in third and then tried to make a quick pass on the first lap, but I fell. Crashing on the first lap loses you a lot of positions, so I think I remounted in 12th or 13th. I had a tough race from there, came back to P3, and I felt like my speed was really good, but I used a lot of energy. Second moto, good start and I passed a couple of guys, but I was tired from the first moto using all that energy.”
Levi Kitchen finished fourth in the second moto but still took third overall with 2-4 scores. “I had decent starts in both motos and made some quick passes early on,” Kitchen said. “That’s four third-place finishes in a row now, so I’m just trying to keep building. In the second moto, I felt a lot better, but I cramped up pretty bad a few laps in. I need to get some things figured out with my nutrition and recovery, eating better and staying on top of it. But aside from that, it was a solid day.”
250MX OVERALL RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 1-1 |
| 2. | Tom Vialle | (KTM) | 3-3 |
| 3. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 2-4 |
| 4. | Michael Mosiman | (Yam) | 4-5 |
| 5. | Jo Shimoda | (Hon) | 10-2 |
| 6. | Mikkel Haarup | (Tri) | 5-6 |
| 7. | Garrett Marchbanks | (Kaw) | 6-8 |
| 8. | Seth Hammaker | (Kaw) | 9-9 |
| 9. | Ty Masterpool | (Kaw) | 8-11 |
| 10. | Jordon Smith | (Tri) | 14-7 |
QUALIFYING
450MX
As usual, Southwick qualifying is its own unique beast. Since the B Group goes first when the track is at its best, locals riders or those yet to be discovered often land at the top of the time charts. This week Justin Cooper again qualified first, just one tenth quicker than the points leader Jett Lawrence. Cornenlius Tondel, an MXGP regular, grabbed the third best time with a heater lap from the B qualifying. Jorge Prado was the fastest rider in the second session but was fourth overall.
450MX OVERALL QUALIFYING (Top 10)
| 1. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 2:01.330 |
| 2. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 2:01.455 |
| 3. | Cornenlius Tondel | (Hon) | 2:01.550 |
| 4. | Jorge Prado | (Kaw) | 2:01.616 |
| 5. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 2:02.393 |
| 6. | Eli Tomac | (Yam) | 2:03.264 |
| 7. | Jason Brooks | (Yam) | 2:04.041 |
| 8. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 2:04.850 |
| 9. | Justin Cokinos | (Yam) | 2:05.336 |
| 10. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 2:05.505 |
250MX
Points leader Haiden Deegan continues to turn up the heat with another fastest qualifier. The number-one was a full two seconds faster than any other 250 rider and on pole heading into today’s motos. Tom Vialle has won here before and qualified second with Michael Mosiman in third.
250MX OVERALL QUALIFYING (Top 10)
| 1. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 2:04.748 |
| 2. | Tom Vialle | (KTM) | 2:06.815 |
| 3. | Michael Mosiman | (Yam) | 2:06.952 |
| 4. | Seth Hammaker | (Kaw) | 2:07.347 |
| 5. | Mikkel Haarup | (Tri) | 2:08.175 |
| 6. | Ty Masterpool | (Kaw) | 2:08.321 |
| 7. | Julien Beaumer | (KTM) | 2:09.400 |
| 8. | Jalek Swoll | (Tri) | 2:09.744 |
| 9. | Casey Cochran | (GG) | 2:09.759 |
| 10. | Jo Shimoda | (Hon) | 2:09.865 |
Southwick notes:
- Chance Hymas is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury
- Justin Barcia is back in action after a knee injury during Supercross
- Two GNCC racers Josh Toth and Mike Witkowski both qualified for the 450MX motos
