Image: Octopi Media.

With the top time in qualifying and dominant wins in both motos, Jett Lawrence ensured the 2023 Pro Motocross Championship visit to Southwick was another perfect day and marked the continuation of his outstanding rookie season, while Tom Vialle brought Red Bull KTM top honors in 250MX with his first win on American soil.

To start the first 450MX moto, Lawrence rocketed out of the gate and masterfully pinched off the riders to his inside, but a mistake through the first turn allowed his Team Honda HRC teammate Chase Sexton to dart ahead a few bike lengths.

With an inside move into the second turn, however, Lawrence immediately took back control of the race.

Sexton limited Lawrence’s advantage to around 2s before letting the rookie pull more than 10s forward entering the closing laps.

Adding to the challenge of the sandy track, countless rollers and ruts perhaps encouraged Lawrence to tone it back slightly leading to the checkered flag, with the final margin of victory standing at 7.003s. Regardless, Lawrence successfully reached the halfway mark of his 2023 campaign yet to lose a moto.

After the Honda 1-2 delivered by Lawrence and Sexton, Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) raced to third after spending an early period behind privateer Ty Masterpool, who put up a strong fight before relinquishing his starting position of third to Ferrandis and being leapfrogged by Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM) who finished fourth.

Masterpool in fifth beat the Monster Energy Kawasaki duo of Jason Anderson and Adam Cianciarulo along with local rider Chris Canning, Wildcat Racing’s Jose Butron, and Garrett Marchbanks (Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha) to the checkered flag in the top 10.

Ferrandis was first out of the first turn after the day’s final gate drop, but Lawrence took over at his next opportunity, just as he did to Sexton in moto one.

Plessinger, Cianciarulo, and Sexton were the other riders up front as the race began to unfold. Sexton moved into second, but not soon enough to keep the size of Lawrence’s lead from eclipsing 5s.

Positions changing hands was limited among this group through to the checkered flag, with Lawrence ultimately securing his 12th consecutive moto win of 2023 by 14.711s over his teammate.

Ferrandis was third, finalizing his 3-3 performance on the day. Plessinger held fourth, taking the checkered flag a ways up the track from ClubMX rider Marchbanks who turned a better start into a fifth-place result in moto two. Butron, Canning, Cianciarulo, Grant Harlan, and Masterpool were the other riders in the top 10 as the field took the checkers.

With Millville on Saturday, July 15 the next stop on the Pro Motocross calendar, Lawrence will travel to Minnesota with a 67-point lead over Ferrandis in the 450MX standings. Plessinger is third, a further 23 points back.

Image: Octopi Media.

The 250MX class delivered a first-time winner for the second consecutive 2023 Pro Motocross Championship round with Tom Vialle making Southwick the site of his first win on American soil.

An initially dominant moto one performance for Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) turned into the rider of the No. 32 Yamaha YZ250F settling for second 30 minutes and two laps after the day’s first gate drop.

Cooper secured the holeshot and kept Vialle behind until he lost the front and hit the ground just before the final quarter of the race. Vialle slipped by and built a lead of more than 10s entering the final laps.

The Frenchman, competing in his first Pro Motocross Championship season, finalized the moto win over Cooper by a margin of 17.41s.

Hunter Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) moved forward following a start near the back of the top 10, but did not finish the moto due to an apparent engine problem as the final lap began.

Seemingly in pain, Lawrence took a seat off to the side of the track near his fallen Honda CRF250R before his team fetched the bike and he began the trip back to the paddock to prepare for the second moto.

Even with an unideal start and a late tip over, Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) pushed forward to fourth at the checkered flag, increasing the impact of Lawrence’s engine failure in terms of the 250MX points standings.

RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) finished about 7s up the track from Deegan to claim third, while Deegan’s teammate Levi Kitchen, winner last time out at Redbud, finished fifth.

Jo Shimoda (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki), Maximus Vohland (Red Bull KTM), Caden Braswell (TLD Red Bull GasGas), and Talon Hawkins (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) filled the rest of the top 10.

Jalek Swoll finished 11th after running near the front early, while fastest qualifier and local favorite Jimmy DeCotis came home 12th ahead of Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s young rider Ryder DiFrancesco.

Similar to the first moto for the quarter-liter Pro Motocross class, unideal starts for primary championship contenders Lawrence and Deegan allowed other riders to surface and contend for the frontmost positions to conclude their day.

A masterful start for moto one winner Vialle seemed to be the setup for a 1-1 result on the day for the former MX2 rider, but a strong opening stanza to the race for Shimoda had the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider near Vialle’s rear tire and looking capable of swiping the race lead.

Shimoda did so on the sixth lap and went on to lead the remaining 10 of 15 total, capturing his first moto win of the 2023 Pro Motocross season.

Despite a fall, Cooper stayed ahead of a battle behind him and finished second, 4.079s in arrears of the victorious young Japanese rider.

Vialle held off a charging Hampshire, who battled through mistakes and no eye protection after ditching his goggles as rain began to fall mid-moto.

After Hampshire in fourth, Hammaker closed out a strong day aboard his Pro Circuit-branded Kawasaki KX250 with fifth in moto two, ahead of Vohland, Swoll, Lawrence, Kitchen, and Deegan in the top 10.

Set to head next to Spring Creek MX Park in Millville, Minnesota for the 12th round in a week’s time, the 250MX class is now led by Deegan, who will take the track on Saturday, July 15 with the red plate. Lawrence will aim to overcome his new five-point deficit and take it back, while also keeping Hampshire, Shimoda, and Cooper behind.

Detailed results