Image: Octopi Media.

Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin made it count at the final Monster Energy Supercross Triple Crown of the 2022 season in St. Louis for the overall, as RJ Hampshire broke through in 250SX.

The first 450SX race of the night saw Sexton recover from a quiet effort in qualifying to get out front from the outset and stay there.

The lone Team Honda HRC rider was four seconds clear of Musquin in the end, with top-qualifier Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) managing to hold Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) at bay in the closing stages and keep P3.

That left Justin Barcia (TLD Red Bull GasGas) by himself in fifth, as Jason Anderson (Monster Energy Kawasaki) was sixth despite falling mid-race and not losing any positions. MotoConcepts duo Brayton and Vince Friese were next in line, with Brandon Hartranft (Twisted Tea Suzuki) and Ryan Breece (Yamaha) ninth and 10th.

Unfortunately for Dean Wilson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna), he crashed heavily in the opening laps and appeared injured, ending his outing prematurely, as did Alex Martin (Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha).

A win from Musquin in the second race put him in prime position for the overall tonight, but it was third from Sexton that will keep both in close proximity going into the final outing.

In between them, Anderson was solid for second, which also increases his hopes for at least a podium on the night. Fourth and fifth was once again Tomac, followed by Barcia, with places six through 10 including Friese, Brayton, Hartranft, Bogle and Fredrik Noren (KTM).

A high-profile non-finisher was Stewart, but he’s intending on returning for the final race after walking off any leg pain he was displaying, while Wilson didn’t return, nor did Martin – night over for both.

The final gate-drop of the round in 450SX saw Tomac power away at the front to a 6.845s win and to become the third different rider to do so tonight, however, it was Musquin who held strong for the overall in his and Red Bull KTM’s first of the year.

Finishing P2 in the final moto ahead of opening race winner Sexton was enough to seal the deal, while fourth was Barcia ahead of Anderson. Stewart managed to return for race three and rode to sixth place, beating Brayton, Bogle, Hartranft and Friese the top 10.

Overall, Musquin made it count on top of the podium ahead of Sexton and Tomac, who also wrapped up the Triple Crown for the season on 73 points. The championship tally leading into Atlanta has Tomac 56 points ahead of Anderson, with Barcia another six behind in third position.

Image: Octopi Media.

A career-first 250SX victory belonged to Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Hampshire on an unpredictable night in St. Louis, edging races one and two winner Jett Lawrence for the overall.

While the field has thinned out coming into this weekend, the opening race of the night produced action aplenty. It was Hampshire who led early from Mitchell Oldenburg (Smartop Bullfrog Spas MCR Honda) and Jordon Smith (Fire Power Honda Racing).

The attention quickly turned to Josh Varize (Husqvarna) and Pierce Brown (TLD Red Bull GasGas) crashing, which forced the latter out with a technical issue. Fastest from this afternoon, Hampshire then went down while still leading at halfway and by that time, Team Honda HRC’s Lawrence had recovered from a slow start to take over at the front soon afterwards.

Lawrence won comfortably, 5.321s up on Hampshire, who overcame Oldenburg for the runner-up position. Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha’s Kyle Chisholm was next best ahead of Phil Nicoletti (Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha), with Smith, Kyle Peters (Phoenix Racing Honda), Jace Owen (Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha), Michael Hicks (KTM) and Ramyller Alves (KTM) the top 10.

In race two, the initial start was red-flagged while Lawrence was leading at halfway after Peters went down, requiring immediate medical attention. In that portion, Brown again experienced bike troubles that ruled him out and he wasn’t permitted to line-up for the restart.

Once they did get going again, Hampshire led the opening five laps and put up a fight, but Lawrence was too strong, making his way by and going to win again with over six seconds up his sleeve.

It was a repeat of the race one podium as Lawrence led Hampshire and Oldenburg, with Chisholm and Smith the top five. The top 10 were Enzo Lopes (Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha), Varize, Owen, Derek Drake (BarX Suzuki) and Nicoletti.

In what looked to be a perfect night for Lawrence, an error in the final race allowed Hampshire to steal his thunder as he went on to win the final main event and overall.

It was Brown who led in the early stages before Hampshire took control – the former falling around that same point – and behind him came Nicoletti, who in turn was ahead of Chisholm. Fourth was another convincing ride from Oldenburg, while Lawrence charged from the back of the pack to P5, leading Brown, Drake, Varize, Owen and John Short (Honda).

Overall, however, it was Hampshire who brought home his first-career 250SX victory, joined on the podium by Lawrence and Oldenburg. The standings are still led by Lawrence, 34 points clear of Cameron McAdoo (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) despite him being injured yesterday, with Hampshire a further seven markers back in third.

Next up will be the 250SX Showdown at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, round 14 of the 2022 Monster Energy Supercross season on Saturday, 16 April.

Detailed results