The biggest round of the Pro Motocross tilt in RedBud also serves as the official midway point of this Championship, but obviously, midweek news put a major damper on the biggest weekend of the summer. Jett Lawrence is now on the shelf until at least the SMX playoffs, and his hopes of sweeping the 2024 450 Title docket are now over. Now, Honda HRC's title hopes solely on the current 250 Champion Hunter Lawrence, who maintained a three-point gap over his brother and Chase Sexton coming into the weekend, but with one major factor out of the picture, who would be able to capitalize?
Daytime Program/Injury Notes:
- Unbelievable break in the weather compared to these last two rounds.
- Broc Tickle was indeed in Michigan to make his first run of the year with Monster Energy Kawi.
- Dean Wilson was another rider who suffered a midweek injury but was also at RedBud for the fans.
- Might just me, but I liked the LaRocco's leap section better when the physical leap ended that sector instead of opening it.
- 250 Fastest Qualifier: No. 16 Tom Vialle (2:09.229) (He, Chance Hymas, and Ty Masterpool were separated by a total of .067 seconds)
- 450 Fastest Qualifier: No. 4 Chase Sexton (2:04.902) (Nearly 1.5 seconds better than anyone else)
250 Class Recap
1st - No. 48 Chance Hymas (Honda HRC) (4-1) (Five Point Post Race Penalty for Jumping on a Red Cross Flag in Moto 1)
Hymas finally broke through yesterday to win his first National in only his 11th career National start for Honda HRC. The 4-1 was ultimately enough to do the trick, but what's crazy to say is that a 1-1 was very much on the table for the Idaho native. He showed great pace early in Moto 1, but it appeared he was hoping that initial surge would be enough to secure things, which was ultimately not the case as he lost three spots total. Hymas ultimately paced himself much better in Moto 2, even getting a second wind over the final three laps to seal the deal over a hard-charging Jo Shimoda in an impressive outing. I said this earlier in the day on Saturday, but I think Roger DeCoster and the AMA should give Hymas some consideration for the Des Nations team. He's genuinely been that impressive through six rounds.
2nd - No. 29 Ty Masterpool (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki) (1-5)
We'll get to the other side of that Moto 1 duel in a few moments, but what a win for Masterpool. He didn't have the late race speed, but what he lacked in pace, Masterpool made up in racecraft and line selection tenfold. Simply a super gritty win by him, probably the grittiest of the summer so far. And although Masterpool realistically would've won the Overall with a better Moto 2 start (scored seventh on lap one), 42 points and second overall isn't a bad day by any means.
3rd - No. 30 Jo Shimoda (Honda HRC) (5-2)
Almost got a Moto 2 Shimoda win two weeks straight, but it wasn't meant to be for last year's points bronze medalist. In many respects, he had the opposite day that Masterpool did, with a bad start in Moto 1 being what cost him the overall, but he was FLYING down the stretch in Moto 2. Going into that final lap, Shimoda was nearly taking down a second per lap for seven laps before that send into that last 180-degree right-hander did him in. A positive sign, though, is that we've seen him on the podium these last two weeks, and he did well at Millville last year, so keep an eye out next weekend.
5th - No. 38 Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) (2-6)
Outside of some line choice calls at the tail end of Moto 1, I think you have to give Deegan a ton of credit for making things exciting down the stretch with Masterpool. Although it felt like he probably could/should've beaten him, I can't give him too much grief, given that he was down a minimum of 3.5 seconds with five to go. Nor can I for the Moto 2 result because, as I had expected looking at the sector times, he did, in fact, crash into that lapped rider who went down right in front of Shimoda and Vialle. It's not the worst day ever, but it's his first non-podium in a National since Budds Creek last summer, and the points he lost aren't exactly anything to scoff at with double-digit Motos remaining.
250 Class RedBud Top 10
1st No. 48 Chance Hymas (4-1)
2nd No. 29 Ty Masterpool (1-5)
3rd No. 30 Jo Shimoda (5-2)
4th No. 16 Tom Vialle (3-4)
5th No. 38 Haiden Deegan (2-6)
6th No. 47 Levi Kitchen (6-3)
7th No. 166 Casey Cochran (7-9)
8th No. 34 Ryder DiFrancesco (13-7)
9th No. 37 Max Anstie (9-13)
10th No. 705 Mark Fineis (11-12)
250 Class Points After RedBud
1st No. 38 Haiden Deegan (276 Points)
2nd No. 48 Chance Hymas (239 Points)
4th No. 47 Levi Kitchen (213 Points)
5th No. 30 Jo Shimoda (213 Points)
6th No. 29 Ty Masterpool (188 Points)
7th No. 39 Pierce Brown (145 Points)
8th No. 33 Jalek Swoll (138 Points)
9th No. 31 Jordon Smith (124 Points)
10th No. 34 Ryder DiFrancesco (120 Points)
450 Class Recap
1st - No. 4 Chase Sexton (Red Bull KTM) (1-1)
It was a statement ride by Sexton in Moto 2 that has the potential to really set the table for these final five rounds. Winning in a big spot is one thing, but turning a seven-second lead on lap 10 to an over 21-second win six laps later is one hell of a tone-setter for Hunter Lawrence and everyone else in this field. I mentioned this earlier in the week, but Sexton has been nails on the East Coast these last two seasons, and Washougal is the only West Coast round remaining. Things could snowball here in short order if this field allows it to.
3rd - No. 96 Hunter Lawrence (Honda HRC) (2-4)
You can say the exact same thing for Justin Cooper here, but you have to wonder how quickly HLaw regretted not going to the scoop tire in Moto 2. Statistically, he had been the best starter in the class all season by a wide margin, and the bottom line is that he didn't execute. You now also have to wonder how much that crash at the end of Moto 1 took out of him, not just in the context of Saturday but looking forward as well. Lawrence looked a bit shaken getting back on the bike (and deserves all the credit in the world for still coming home second), and he's potentially now less than 100 percent without the red plate. It's a disaster of a weekend, no matter how you want to look at it, but you hope he's ok for the long haul.
6th - No. 27 Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) (6-7)
It's been far too long since I've had a case of Mookie Fever, and although it didn't last in Moto 2, seeing him relatively in the mix early in Moto 2 was quite a positive development. Even then, his sixth-place run is his best in Pro Motocross, dating back to Budds Creek in TWENTY-THIRTEEN (2013), where he finished fourth overall behind Trey Canard and the two Ryans, Villopto, and Dungey. We should do this more often.
13th - No. 938 Broc Tickle (Monster Energy Kawasaki) (12-13)
Not to be outdone himself, a 13th Overall run for Tickle in his first National in nearly four years is one hell of an accomplishment. I don't know what Kawi's plans are internally or if they have the budget to do it, but I wouldn't mind seeing Tickle run the rest of these Motos. Assuming he can get his race legs back underneath him, I don't know why he couldn't be a consistent top-10 overall guy.
450 Class RedBud Top 10
1st No. 4 Chase Sexton (1-1)
2nd No. 7 Aaron Plessinger (4-2)
3rd No. 96 Hunter Lawrence (2-4)
4th No. 21 Jason Anderson (5-3)
5th No. 32 Justin Cooper (3-6)
6th No. 27 Malcolm Stewart (6-7)
7th No. 26 Garrett Marchbanks (7-8)
8th No. 762 Kyle Webster (10-9)
9th No. 79 Harri Kullas (9-12)
10th No. 28 Christian Craig (8-13)
450 Class Points After RedBud
1st No. 4 Chase Sexton (260 Points) (New Points Leader)
2nd No. 96 Hunter Lawrence (253 Points)
4th No. 32 Justin Cooper (212 Points)
4th No. 1 Jett Lawrence (210 Points) (Out for Season)
5th No. 7 Aaron Plessinger (202 Points)
6th No. 21 Jason Anderson (185 Points)
7th No. 14 Dylan Ferrandis (172 Points)
8th No. 27 Malcolm Stewart (133 Points)
9th No. 51 Justin Barcia (148 Points)
10th No. 28 Christian Craig (90 Points)
Main Image via KTM
Comments