Mindset of Lawrence unchanged entering Pala finals

News 29 Aug 2022

 Competition Post: Troy Guenther

Australian targeting overall victory to conclude 250MX season.

Image: Octopi Media.

The mindset of Hunter Lawrence remains unchanged entering the final round of the 2022 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship at Fox Raceway as he trails Jo Shimoda by seven points for P2 in the 250MX standings.

Lawrence started the year in fine form, scoring a worst result of P4 across the opening 10 motos of the season.

Misfortune sporadically throughout the rounds since has seen the number 96 lose crucial points to the red plate and come under pressure from the in-form Jo Shimoda, who relegated Lawrence to third in the standings following Budds Creek.

Lawrence has scored three race wins and 13 podiums across the 11 rounds this season but has been unable to land a 250MX overall victory in 2022. Achieving such is at the forefront of his mentality entering the Fox Raceway finals.

“Just same as it has been, go in and try to win,” explained Lawrence. “That’s all it has been. We have had a bit of bad luck this season, it is what it is, second or third, it’s not first.

“Regardless I’m going there to try and win, get an overall and it will be what it will be, like I said, we came in with goals to win [the championship], and it is looking like it is pretty slim now. So we will just go in and try to get an overall win, and yeah, just do me.”

Despite additional bonus money awarded to Lawrence if he can secure second in the championship, he stated that is not his motivation and looks forward to successful years ahead with an improved 2022.

After 11 rounds last year in 250MX, Lawrence had 349 points, two moto wins and five podiums to his credit. While he was also P3 in the standings then, the CRF250R rider has 430 points now entering the 12th stop in the 2022 series, highlighting the steps made in the last 12 months.

The Australian notched 3-2 results at Ironman on Saturday but was demoted two points from the opening moto for jumping under a wheels on the ground flag, which ultimately demoted him to third overall on the day.

Round 12 of this year’s Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship takes place this Saturday in Pala, CA.

Motocross riders head to Badlands for Day 2 of Red Bull Outliers

More than 500 meters of track were installed at Olympic Plaza Friday, helping turn downtown Calgary into a motocross track.

That's because the city hosted the first leg of the Red Bull Outliers event Saturday, until heavy rain wiped out the late afternoon portion of the competition.

"Safety and security of the participants and spectators is always a primary focus for Red Bull," said spokesperson Alexandra Martineau in a release. "Therefore, following discussions with local authorities, we have decided to discontinue Red Bull Outliers in Olympic Plaza – Calgary downtown."

That early shutdown didn't change the plan for Sunday, however, when Red Bull Outliers switches to the Badlands, near Steveville.

More than 250 drivers from around the world are taking part in the event, which had its Calgary debut in 2019, before being shut down the past two summers due to the pandemic.

One of the drivers is Lexi Pechout, a Calgarian, who spoke to CTV News Friday.

"Because it's part of the World Enduro series, we have lots of people coming in from Europe, the U.S., all over the world to come to this event, so it's a really big deal for it to be in the city," Pechout said.

Lexi Pechout is a Calgary motocross rider competing in the Red Bull Outliers event

It was a really big deal for Pechout to be competing at home, too.

"It's fun to compete with friends and family here too," she said. "Having an event in your home city is always fun.

"And being able to connect with people that way too."

Sunday's Badlands event has free admission.

Steveville is a ghost town in southeastern Alberta near Brooks, on Township Road 2204.

Foxhill: Team USA wins Senior MXDN/Motocross

America, featuring superstars like Ryan Villopoto, Mike Brown and Zach Osborne, took the overall win at the Veterans Motocross at Foxhill.

The famous Foxhill British Grand Prix circuit was home to the Veteran Nations Motocross (VMXDN) over the weekend. With its long climbs and descents, the traditional slope near Swindon in County Wiltshire is very dry and relatively slippery.

A highlight of the event was the team race for the legends on retro two-stroke bikes from different eras. In this race, American stars Ryan Villopoto, Mike Brown (both Yamaha 250) and Zach Osborne (Husqvarna) finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th consecutively after winning the opening race.

Nevertheless, the local heroes showed plenty of fighting spirit in front of their home crowd as the fans cheered them on. Brad Anderson in particular showed himself strongly with his 250cc Honda. During his chase, he overtook his team-mate Mel Pocock – the two Brits finishing the race in 3rd and 5th respectively.

At the end of the race, Anderson and Villopoto were in a fierce battle for P3, which Anderson narrowly won. Race victory went to Northern Ireland’s Neville Bradshaw with a 500 two-stroke Honda. A third Briton – Kurt Nicol – finished 16th. In the end, however, America secured overall victory.

2022 Team USA Motocross of Nations Team

Pickerington, Ohio — The United States will be represented by three of its fastest motocross racers at the 2022 Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) Motocross of Nations, which returns to American soil at RedBud MX in Buchanan, Mich., on Sept. 23-25.

The 2022 U.S. Motocross of Nations team includes 2022 AMA Supercross 450SX Champion Eli Tomac, 2021 AMA Supercross 250SX West Champion Justin Cooper, and AMA Supercross 450SX competitor Chase Sexton.

“We’ve put together a strong team of riders for the Motocross of Nations this year,” said AMA Director of Racing Mike Pelletier, “and we believe Eli, Justin and Chase — all talented, accomplished racers — can put the U.S. on the top step of the podium in front of the home crowd at RedBud. I look forward to watching them take on the world for the United States this September.”

Team captain Tomac will be competing on the U.S. Motocross of Nations team for the fourth time and will race in the event’s MXGP Class.

“It’s an honor to be racing for Team USA this year at Motocross of Nations,” Tomac said. “I believe our team is very strong this year and we have a great shot at winning, but we will never underestimate our competitors and the challenge of the event itself. The race pace has been at an all-time high in the [Pro Motocross] series, so I’m looking forward to putting our speed, pace, and consistency to the test. With the race at RedBud we will be more motivated than ever to have a top-step result.”

Cooper will be competing on the team for the second time, racing in the MX2 Class.

“It means a lot to me to be picked to represent Team USA,” Cooper said, “especially because it’s in our country this year. Just like in 2019, I will give everything I have to represent my country right. It’s an honor and I’m so excited to be picked for the MX2 Class.”

It will be Sexton’s inaugural appearance in Motocross of Nations competition, and he will race in the Open Class.

“I’m super-stoked to be picked for the Motocross of Nations,” Sexton said. “It’s been a dream of mine ever since I was little, watching Ricky Carmichael, Travis Pastrana, James Stewart and the other Team USA riders. It’s such a cool race —something like no other. I went to the Motocross of Nations at RedBud in 2018 and got to watch, and now I’m excited to race it. It’s going to be special for me, having grown up like two hours away from RedBud, because it’s my home race. I’m stoked about it, and the goal is to hopefully go there and win.”

AMA Motocross Hall of Fame Legend Roger DeCoster will again manage the U.S. team as it strives to secure the world championship. DeCoster, who heads up KTM, GASGAS and Husqvarna’s racing efforts in AMA Supercross and the Pro Motocross series, took part in six victorious FIM Motocross of Nations teams back in the 1960s and 1970s, and is a five-time motocross World Champion.

“I am really happy with the way things are coming along for the Motocross of Nations at Red Bud,” said Roger DeCoster. “Clearly there is a different feel than recent past years. We now have the best three riders, and their teams are excited to go. Nine events have gone by since we won in France and the pressure will be enormous, but I feel that the way they have been racing, Eli, Chase and Justin will be up to the task.”

The FIM Motocross of Nations — which emerged in post-war Europe in 1947 — is one of the world’s most high-profile motorsports events. National teams from across the globe compete for a combined score to determine the overall championship-winning country.

The U.S. team still holds the record as all-time leader in FIM Motocross of Nations overall team victories, having won the event 22 times — 20 of them with DeCoster as team manager. The last time the U.S. team claimed a Motocross of Nations victory was in 2011.

Malcolm Is Back

Malcolm Stewart on Return to Pro Motocross: “I’m Happy to be Back, But We Have Some Work To Do”

by Slaw Dog August 15, 2022, 10:17 am

Crazy to think, but prior to Unadilla this past weekend, Malcolm Stewart hadn’t raced a round of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross since finishing 17th in the 450 Class at Budds Creek in 2014!!!!!!

After missing the opening eight rounds this year due to a knee injury, Mook Dog was back in action at Dilla and went 14-16 for 15th overall.

Our man Garth Milan caught this insane crash Mookie suffered, which, yeah, probably not the best welcome back.

2022 TKO Hard Enduro

2022 TKO Hard Enduro in a nutshell:

• If anyone was in any doubt Trystan Hart wanted to take back the TKO crown and claim his first HEWC win, his race day pace on the tough TKO course at teh Sequatchie Trials Training Center was as clear as it gets. Fastest in qualifying, then fastest in both knockout races – the Canadian was in flying form straight out the truck.
• With the Thursday night straight rhythm races for the fans in downtown Nashville a distant memory for winner Alfredo Gomez, the unique TKO single day format for the HEWC Pro riders is a busy one with qualifying and two knockout races to sift the entry down to size for a multi-lap final.
• Behind the US Hard Enduro champ in the knockout races, Taddy Blazusiak was looking good not for the first time on American soil along with Teo Kabakchiev and Mani Lettenbichler who were the only other riders dipping under the hour for their first long lap race runs.
• The top 26 qualified through to race two where they set off in groups of five and Hart again went fastest with Kabakchiev and Mario Roman the riders dipping under the one hour mark for that lap. Lettenbichler was fourth quickest with 2022 GNCC points standings leader Jordan Ashburn next best in fifth and showing his enduro skills are transferable.
• The grand final for the weekend raced on the shorter course with the top 20 riders facing what was, by the standards of other HEWC rounds, a sprint race of five laps.
• Hart was again the rider setting standard time, completing lap one just under 20 seconds better than his KTM teammate Mani with Roman matching their pace in third.
• Lettenbichler showed he wasn’t keen to repeat the 2021 defeat on the same course without a fight but the German was struggling with an injury. By the fourth and fifth laps Hart had stretched the gap to half a minute, was unbeatable over the rocks and took a popular win in front of the US crowd.
• The win backs up the 2020 TKO title for Hart and but this time adds some serious scalps from the Hard Enduro World Championship regulars for his first victory in the FIM series. “The pressure was pretty intense before the main race becasue I'd won everything else.” Explained Trystan. “Then the start was delayed and it got even more intense! I had so many close calls out there but it feels really good to get the win today.”
• Mario Roman bags himself another podium in third, finishing behind his chief championship rival Lettenbichler. That levels the standings right up heading to the penultimate race in Canada, in two weeks.
• The top four was completed by Wade Young on his return from injury after being forced to miss Romaniacs. The South African was the only other rider to complete five laps of the course and says he was stoked to get the result having not ridden a bike since the Abestone round.

Unadilla

Tim Gajser Wins His 5th World Championship!

Team HRC’s Tim Gajser became the most successful current MXGP rider after winning his fifth world title and the fourth in the premier MXGP class at the MXGP of Finland. The Honda CRF450R rider wrapped up this year’s championship two rounds early, after dominating periods of what has been a very challenging campaign.

Starting off the season with six wins in the first seven rounds gave him a platform that none of his rivals could get near, and further wins in Germany and a perfect performance in Indonesia meant that he was able to cement his crown and cruise home to yet another world title. This weekend at the sandy Hyvinkaa track, the #243 wasn’t at his best, but he was still able to post six-seven results, which was more than enough to give him a 104-point advantage and wrap-up the championship with two rounds still to race. With the pressure of winning his fifth world championship over, expect Gajser to be battling for wins once again, and adding to what is already a remarkable 2022 season.

Unfortunately, teammate Mitch Evans wasn’t able to put his practice and qualification speed into either of the two motos today, as first lap crashes in each race ruined his chances of challenging for a podium. The Australian had proved in every other session that he was a contender on this gruelling Hyvinkaa surface, but luck wasn’t on his side and instead has to prepare himself for the final two rounds of the season where he’ll be once again aiming to be up there at the front of the field.

The world championship now heads to St Jean D’Angely in France next weekend, for the penultimate round of the series, with both riders highly motivated to get back at the sharp end of this MXGP field. Gajser will be looking to add to his eight GP overalls, while Evans will be hoping to get his first podium of the season for what should be another action-packed weekend of high-quality motocross riding.

Tim Gajser: Wow! What a day. I definitely didn’t ride my best, but I got the job done and that’s what I set out to achieve at the beginning of the day. Five world titles, and I can’t believe it. It really hasn’t sunk in yet. A big thank you to the whole of Team HRC, the people at the races and all the support from Japan. Also thank you my girlfriend and all the support I receive from my fans around the world. It has been great to see so many of you cheering me on around the track and I can’t thank you enough. It is a special moment for me and I am just so happy to have got my fifth title!

Mitch Evans: Today was definitely not my day. I felt good coming into the motos but things just didn’t work out for me. A crash on the first lap in race one ruined any chance of a good result there, as I was almost last by the time I remounted. I charged through to 14th but it definitely wasn’t what I was after. Then a similar story in race two. Obviously, I’m really disappointed with how it went but I’m still fit, and motivated to get things right in the final two rounds of the season.

Marcus de Freitas:I am so happy for Tim, winning the championship with a couple of rounds to spare. He works so hard and thoroughly deserves all the success he gets and to win five world titles is an unbelievable achievement. The whole of Team HRC also deserve a lot of credit, for working hard and helping him get everything right, week in, week out. It hasn’t been an easy year but no one has stopped working for a second, and it shows in the results. Unfortunately, Mitch didn’t have the best of luck, but he’s really shown his speed the past few weeks and we are excited to head to the final two rounds, where both riders can really show how fast they are.

Sexton Grabs Red Plate

Unadilla double sees Sexton reclaim 450MX red plate

Share

Section: Competition Post: Alex Gobert

Title challenger too strong as series approaches final stages.

Image: Octopi Media.

Convincing double moto wins at Unadilla saw Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton reclaim the 450MX red plate this afternoon as Lucas Oil Pro Motocross enters its final stages of the 2022 series.

Moto one of 450MX saw defending champion Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) jump out front on return, before top-qualifier Ken Roczen (Team Honda HRC) took his turn at the front before the first lap was out.

It was then red plate-holder Tomac who made his move and led for the following 15 minutes, until a charging Sexton saw him slice his way from as far back as P6 on the opening lap through to the front and that’s how it would stay.

Sexton made a statement with his come-from-behind moto win, eventually 12.858s up on Tomac, with Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson keeping the fast-finishing Ferrandis at bay for third position.

Behind Ryan Dungey (Red Bull KTM) in fifth, Roczen would end up fading to sixth by race’s end, in turn ahead of Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM), Garrett Marchbanks (Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha), Joey Savatgy (Monster Energy Kawasaki) and Justin Barcia (TLD Red Bull GasGas).

This afternoon’s final encounter looked like it was going to be a dual between Sexton and Tomac, however, once again once Sexton caught his title-rival he made the pass and stretched his advantage from there. The final buffer on Sexton’s side was 15.852s over Tomac, as Anderson in P3 mirrored the opening race podium.

Plessinger impressed on his way to fourth this time around, with Barcia another improver for fifth, almost directly ahead of Dungey and Roczen. The top 10 was completed by Savatgy, Christian Craig (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) and teammate Ferrandis.

The round podium was naturally made up of Sexton, Tomac and Anderson, while in the championship standings it’s now Sexton back on top by a single point over Tomac with three rounds remaining in the season. Next stop, Budds Creek this coming weekend.

2023 YZ 250...Why more of the same?

"I love this bike, I must I've been ridning one for years however I would love it a lot more if it matched up with the Husky TC 250 or the KTM 250 SX. Yamaha enough already it's time to change."