Features 18 Jun 2022

Racefeed: 2022 Pro Motocross Rd4 High Point

Direct updates from round four of the season in Pennsylvania.

Follow the 2022 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship with direct updates from round four of the season at High Point through Racefeed.

Image: Octopi Media.

250MX qualifying:
Quick times were set in the opening 250MX qualifying session, where Jett Lawrence posted a benchmark of 2m02.664s and that’s where it would remain. Brother and teammate Hunter Lawrence made it a Team Honda HRC 1-2 with his 2m02.714s lap-time, with Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha duo Justin Cooper and Nate Thrasher next in line in the 2m03s. Seth Hammaker and Jo Shimoda were also in the 2m03s, the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders fifth and sixth, respectively, while Michael Mosiman (TLD Red Bull GasGas), Nick Romano (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha), Stilez Robertson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) and Pierce Brown (TLD Red Bull GasGas) were the top 10. Also of note, RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) has made his return and qualified in P13 after missing much of the first session with a bike issue, while teammate Jalek Swoll is absent this weekend.

450MX qualifying:
Slower track conditions weren’t able to slow Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson in the final qualifier as he recorded a 2m02.662s to marginally better the time of Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) set earlier by 0.030s. That bumped Anderson up from P4 in the first outing to P1, which in turn placed Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton and Ken Roczen third and fourth overall. In what is expected to be his final appearance – at least for now – in the US, Tony Cairoli (Red Bull KTM) qualified fifth, followed by Joey Savatgy (Monster Energy Kawasaki), Christian Craig (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha), Ryan Dungey (Red Bull KTM), his teammate Aaron Plessinger and Garrett Marchbanks (Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha) the top 10.

250MX moto one:
The opening portion of 250MX moto one was led by Hammaker, before Mosiman took his turn at the front, only to make an unforced error just past the halfway mark. That enabled Hunter Lawrence to take control at the front, which is where he would remain by going on to win by 4.425s from younger brother Jett, who in turn climbed his way from outside of the top-five into the runner-up position. Third was a strong performance from Shimoda, directly behind Lawrence and ahead of Hammaker, while Mosiman eventually finished in fifth. Sixth came Max Vohland (Red Bull KTM) in an inspiring result, the top 10 completed by Hampshire on return from injury, Cooper, Thrasher and Brown. Both Robertson and Kitchen went down early in separate incidents, working their way back to claim 14th and 15th places, respectively.

450MX moto one:
It was a dominant opening 450MX moto for Sexton as he powered away to a winning margin of 11.652s ahead of Tomac and with Anderson third. Sexton jumped out front from the outset and led by almost 20 seconds in the middle stages, before controlling things from there. Meanwhile, Tomac got the better of Anderson – who made a mistake while in P2 earlier on – for the runner-up result, and Barcia put in one of his better rides for the year so far for fourth. It was the battle for fifth that stole much of the spotlight, with the fast-starting Savatgy edging Dungey and Roczen from 11th on lap one – the trio cross the finish in formation following an intense contest. Craig, Plessinger and Marchbanks were the top 10, while Cairoli was a high-profile non-finisher after going down in the early laps and exiting soon afterwards.

250MX moto two:
The second 250 class moto marked the on-track battle we’ve been waiting for as the Lawrence brothers went head-to-head. It was Hunter who led the first six laps before Jett took charge for a few, but then Hunter countered for to lead a couple more of his own. Defending champion Jett ultimately took control on lap 12 and remained there when it counted – crossing the line just 0.553s ahead of Hunter for the moto win and overall on countback to make it four-straight this season. Over 35 seconds back, Cooper rebounded for third and ahead of Mosiman in fourth, but there in P5 was enough for Shimoda to seal a place on the podium overall. Positions six through 10 in the moto included Hammaker, Hampshire, Vohland and Brown. In terms of the points, Jett Lawrence maintains a 12-point advantage over Hunter leading into RedBud.

450MX moto two:
Moto two of the 450 class lit up when Dungey scored the holeshot and led the opening lap, before Roczen then moved by for his share at the front. Sexton then briefly took his turn at the head of the pack, but Roczen was able to counter and Tomac soon stormed past all of them at the midway point. Tomac pulled away to a 3.558s win, which resulted in his first overall since joining Yamaha ahead of Sexton and Roczen, who got by Dungey on the final lap to deny him of a moto and round podium. Fifth was enough for Anderson to land a podium overall, while the top 10 included Craig, Barcia, Savatgy, Shane McElrath (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) and Marchbanks. Cairoli was again a non-finisher after tweaking his knee in the first outing. The round podium was topped by Tomac over Sexton and Anderson, with Sexton holding a 13-point buffer in the standings leading into next weekend off and then RedBud on Saturday, 2 July.

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