Image: Octopi Media.

Teenager Jett Lawrence was able to hang on and capture the 2021 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship in 250MX after the series went down to the wire in Hangtown’s second moto.

Lawrence, 18, wrapped up the title with 8-3 finishes this afternoon, holding on to clinch the crown following 12 rounds.

It was a challenging end to the season for the Team Honda HRC rider, crashing twice in the opening encounter and then falling once again in the final moto of the year.

Meanwhile, championship rival Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) maintained pressure all the way with a 1-1 for the round victory.

Moto one saw Cooper grabbed the holeshot with RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna), Austin Forkner (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki), Joshua Varize (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) and Dilan Schwartz (BarX Chaparral Suzuki) in the top five.

Jett Lawrence was buried outside of the top 10 and hit the ground hard a half lap in. Picking the bike up without a visor, Lawrence picked the bike up and made his way back toward the top 10, eventually getting collected by a rider who crashed in front of him.

With 25 minutes left, Lawrence was mired in 22nd, while Cooper sailed away at the front with Hampshire a few seconds behind. While running in third, Forkner encountered an issue with the bike and was forced to push the bike back to the paddock, leaving Schwartz in third.

With 18 minutes to go, Jett Lawrence had worked his way into 16th, while Cooper was 2.6s ahead of the pack. At the halfway point, Cooper was out front by 2.8s over Hampshire with Schwartz still in third as Jett Lawrence had worked his way into 11th.

Schwartz and Michael Mosiman (TLD Red Bull GasGas) came together, with Mosiman dropping deep in the order while Schwartz was able to pick his bike up and get back into ninth ahead of Lawrence in 10th. Lawrence worked his way around Schwartz, with seven seconds between him and Jarrett Frye (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) ahead of him.

With a lap to go, Cooper had a few moments, but not enough let Hampshire close the gap. Lawrence caught Frye for eighth, making the pass as Cooper came across the line to take the win.

Second was Hampshire with Hunter Lawrence, Jo Shimoda (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) and Max Vohland (Red Bull KTM) rounding out the top five. Sixth was Kitchen with Varize, Lawrence, Frye, and Schwartz rounding out the top 10.

Come moto two, it was Varize with the holeshot ahead of Cooper with Ty Masterpool (AEO Powersports GasGas), Forkner, Shimoda, Vohland and Jett Lawrence just behind. Jett caught the back of Vohland and found himself back in 13th place with a lot of work to do to make it up.

After three laps, Cooper was out front ahead of Varize, Forkner, Shimoda, Schwartz, Vohland, Jett Lawrence, Masterpool and Hunter Lawrence in the top 10.

At the halfway point it was Cooper, Shimoda, Forkner, Vohland and Lawrence in the top five, as Jett caught the trio of riders in front of him. Lawrence followed Vohland past Forkner to get into fourth just after.

With two minutes and two laps to go, Cooper was out front with Shimoda second while Lawrence made his way around Vohland for third. The win went to Cooper from Shimoda, Lawerence, Vohland, Forkner, Hampshire, Schwartz, Hunter Lawrence and Frye in the top 10.

Overall, while Cooper won the round from Shimoda and Hampshire, it was Lawrence who clinched the championship by six points in the end, holding on for the title in fifth overall at the finals. Cooper took second, with Hunter Lawrence P3 in the points.

Image: Octopi Media.

In a final display of dominance in the 2021 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, Dylan Ferrandis overcame the most adversity he’d seen all season to take home the final win of the season at Hangtown.

It was another hot day in Northern California, the newly-crowned champion started the day by qualifying fourth as Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM) took the top qualifying spot to kick off the 12th round of the season.

In the opening moto, three riders were side by side through the holeshot line, with Ken Roczen (Team Honda HRC) grabbing the lead and immediately putting a gap between him and Webb, with Christian Craig (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) just behind.

As things settled out it looked as though a battle between the fastest four riders was going to unfold, as Roczen, Ferrandis, Webb and Tomac all hit the front. Ferrandis eventually worked his way past Roczen at the halfway point and never looked back.

Tomac powered forward and began to reel in the leaders, eventually crashing, allowing Ferrandis, Roczen and Webb to take the podium, with Tomac taking fourth heading into the final moto.

In moto two, a chaotic start saw multiple riders hit the ground, leaving Roczen out early with a leg injury and Ferrandis in last. Craig hit the front ahead of Webb, Max Anstie (Twisted Tea HEP Suzuki) and Tomac.

10 minutes into the moto, Webb took over the lead from Craig, with Tomac taking second quickly after. Tomac then charged a downhill section to get past Webb and take over the lead, as Ferrandis had worked his way into fifth.

Tomac took the moto win as Ferrandis eventually charged through to take third, securing yet another overall victory, just edging out Tomac’s 4-1 scores.

The moto’s end signified the end of an era in the sport, as Tomac departs Monster Energy Kawasaki at the end of the day for the final time after a highly successful tenure with the manufacturer.

Webb managed third overall via 3-2 moto scores, in what he claimed was his best day of the season. Webb now heads into the offseason to prepare to defend his 450SX title aboard a new KTM 450.

Fourth on the day was Craig who notched his best result of the season with 5-4 scores in just his second race back from injury, while Brandon Hartranft (Twisted Tea HEP Suzuki) rounded out the top five with 6-7 finishes.

Max Anstie continued his run of form in his last race for the Twisted Tea HEP Suzuki team, taking home sixth overall by going 9-5 in the motos.

Seventh was a sensational ride from true privateer Ryan Surratt (Kawasaki), as the Southern California native managed 8-8 finishes to finish just ahead of Justin Bogle who went 10-7 on the day aboard his Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM.

Roczen had a day to forget in ninth after going 2-DNF, luckily the Team Honda HRC rider escaped any broken bones in his foot following getting his wheel caught in Coty Schock’s rear wheel off the start of moto two.

Roczen was followed by another great privateer ride, this one by Robbie Wageman who took home 12-9 finishes for a career best finish of 10th place.

Ferrandis’ win now puts him as the 16th rider ever to find his way to an overall podium in every round of the championship in his incredible rookie season. The offseason is now in full effect as the riders take a break before Supercross testing begins later this fall.

Detailed results