Image: Octopi Media.

The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross championship returned to action after a two-weekend break and it was Ken Roczen dominating the 450MX class, while Jett Lawrence grabbed his second overall victory of the season.

A dominant second moto performance put Jett Lawrence back on the top step of the overall podium in 250MX for the first time since the season-opening round of Pro Motocross at Fox Raceway.

As the day got underway, momentum appeared to be in 250MX red-plate holder Justin Cooper’s favor, setting the fastest lap in qualifying with Lawrence nearly five seconds off the pace in eighth.

When the gate dropped on moto one, Cooper launched to the lead with a commanding holeshot as Lawrence filed in behind in second. For the opening half of the moto, the duo set a rapid pace and gapped the field, with Lawrence hounding Cooper for the lead.

As the laps wore on, however, Cooper reeled off a series of fast laps, eventually stretching out a five-second lead over Lawrence, and went on to take a wire-to-wire win, with Lawrence and Alex Martin (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) rounding out the podium.

With another flawless start in moto two, Cooper found the front and was flanked by his teammate Martin, with Lawrence making quick work of RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) to take over third.

Martin wasted no time attacking his teammate for the lead, taking the top spot from Cooper for the first time all day just a few laps into the race and leaving him in the clutches of a charging Lawrence.

Lawrence pulled the trigger on an impressive pass around the outside of Cooper almost immediately, the two swapping positions before Lawrence was eventually able to find a way by and set out after Martin at the front.

The lead duo stretched out a sizeable lead over Cooper, and Lawrence then went to work on Martin, eventually making the same outside maneuver near the halfway point.

Lawrence went on to gap the field and maintain the lead to take home the moto win and the overall victory on the day via 2-1 moto scores. Cooper eventually succumbed to pressure from Hampshire, with his 1-4 moto scores giving him second place overall.

Third place on the day went to Martin who’s 3-2 finishes at what was the roughest track of the season so far prove that his early-season injuries aren’t hindering him much as the season wears on.

Hampshire continued his consistent run inside the top five taking home fourth on the day with 4-3 scores, edging out the 6-5 finishes of impressive rookie Max Vohland (Red Bull KTM) who rounded out the top five.

Hunter Lawrence had a quiet day at the office for round eight, the Team Honda HRC man scoring 5-11 in the motos after a mishap in moto two dropped him down the order.

Seventh on the day went to Jalek Swoll aboard his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna. Swoll who won an overall earlier in the season grabbed 8-9 finishes and overcame a mid-pack start in the second moto to put himself inside the top 10.

Fresh off of winning the final two amateur championships of his career, Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) took the first overall top 10 of his career with an eighth place. In just his second race in the pro ranks, Kitchen took home 12-7 scores and ran inside the top five late in the second moto.

His teammate Jarrett Frye had his best outing of the season as well, finishing just one place behind his rookie teammate in both motos, with 13-8 moto scores giving him ninth overall.

AEO Powersports GasGas rider Ty Masterpool put together a solid day for his second top 10 overall of the season. The rider out of Texas notched 11-14 finishes to round out the top 10.

The points chase heading into the final four rounds has tightened up to just four points between Cooper and Jett Lawrence as the series heads to Budds Creek next Saturday.

Image: Octopi Media.

In 450MX action, Roczen started off the day by setting the fastest lap in qualifying, foreshadowing what was to come in the motos as he would dominate the proceedings through the rest of the day.

After qualifying fastest, Roczen launched out of the gate to grab the holeshot in moto one ahead of Aaron Plessinger (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) and red-plate holder and title rival Dylan Ferrandis.

Roczen and Plessinger ran from the chasing pack in the opening few laps, putting nearly 10 seconds on Ferrandis by the halfway point. Plessinger’s day would end abruptly with 10 minutes to go in the moto, looping out and hitting the ground hard, destroying his motorcycle in the process.

The Ohio rider would later head to the local hospital for further evaluation, and a relatively uneventful end to the moto saw Roczen cruise to the victory with 10 seconds between himself and Ferrandis as Tomac rounded out the top three.

As the gate dropped in moto two it was Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) rebounding from a first turn crash in moto one to take the holeshot, followed by Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM) and Ferrandis.

Roczen made quick work of both Ferrandis and Webb with some crafty passes, slotting in behind his teammate and the duo darted out to a big advantage over third, which was then occupied by Ferrandis.

Roczen pulled the trigger after a mistake by Sexton, taking the lead with 20 minutes to go, stretching out a lead, and maintaining it for the rest of the moto.

Sexton mounted multiple charges to reel in Roczen to no avail, eventually taking second, with Ferrandis holding of Musquin for third. Webb maintained a solid pace throughout the moto and rounded out the top five.

Ferrandis’ season-long podium streak continued with a 2-3 finish on the day that gave him second overall. Ferrandis lost eight points to Roczen, leaving the gap at 39 points with just four rounds to go.

Third overall went to Musquin who notched 4-4 moto scores to round out the podium. This result was just his first podium of the year in what’s proven to be a season full of ups and downs for the Frenchman.

Eli Tomac put in 3-7 finishes for fourth overall in what was a quiet day for the multi-time champion, with Chase Sexton’s 11-2 scores giving him a fifth-place result on the day.

After what’s been a tough go in the outdoor championship so far, Cooper Webb put in a pair of solid rides, taking fifth in both motos which gave him sixth place on the day.

Christian Craig (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) showed great speed throughout the day but was mired by a tough start in moto one, eventually rallying to finish 7-6 in the motos to bring home seventh place.

Eighth place went to Englishman Max Anstie aboard his Twisted Tea HEP Suzuki. Anstie scoring back to back top 10 finishes, going 8-9 on the day to edge out Justin Bogle (Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM) who scored 9-12 finishes for ninth.

The final spot in the top 10 went to Coty Schock (FXR Chaparral Honda) who continues to impress. Schock qualified inside the top 10 and went on to take 12-10 moto scores for his first top 10 overall of the season.

As the series now sets its sights on Budds Creek next weekend for round nine, Ferrandis leads the championship over Roczen by 39 points.

Detailed results