BUCHANAN, Mich. — Riders returned to the track for round five of the Pro Motocross Championship, as the legendary RedBud MX celebrated its 50th anniversary at the FMF RedBud National.
An overcast morning with some light, intermittent showers gave way to abundant sunshine for the motos as the reign of 450 Class dominance by Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence continued with another perfect outing in which he led every lap to go 1-1 in the motos and capture his fifth straight victory.
In the 250 Class, an unpredictable afternoon in which heartbreak befell the championship leader opened the door for a breakthrough performance for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rookie Haiden Deegan as the second-generation racer emerged with the first win of his promising career.
450 Class Moto 1
The first premier class moto of the day saw a familiar trend as Lawrence prevailed with his seventh MotoSport.com Holeshot of the season ahead of Sport Clips/Beachview Treatment/HBI Racing Kawasaki’s Ty Masterpool and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Dylan Ferrandis.
The clear track allowed Lawrence to drop the hammer on the opening lap and establish a lead of more than two seconds from the outset of the moto. He continued to add to that margin through the opening stages of the race.
As the moto completed its initial 10 minutes, four different riders sat within striking distance of second as Masterpool had to fend off pressure from Ferrandis, Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo. The Yamaha-mounted Frenchman was relentless in his pursuit of Masterpool but couldn’t find a clean enough line to make a pass happen.
That ultimately allowed Sexton, making his first start since the opening round, to take advantage of the opportunity to grab third. Sexton then took his turn in battling Masterpool and was able to take control of second just before the halfway point.
The battle for third saw a renewed fight between Masterpool and Ferrandis, while Cianciarulo lurked in fifth. A bobble by Ferrandis briefly halted his momentum and allowed Cianciarulo to slip past for fourth. The front-runners then settled into their respective positions through the heart of the moto.
The final five minutes saw the action ramp up once again as Ferrandis picked up the pace and was able to find a way around both Cianciarulo and Masterpool to fight his way from fifth to third and inch away from his rivals.
Cianciarulo looked to get around Masterpool for fourth and as he attempted to make the pass he slid out and went down, contacting Masterpool whose bike flipped over and launched the rider onto his back. The incident allowed both Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson to get by.
Back out front, Lawrence’s dominance over the division continued with his seventh wire-to-wire outing of the season and his ninth straight moto win. He took the checkered flag 17.9 seconds ahead of Sexton, with Ferrandis completing the moto podium in third. Plessinger followed in fourth while Anderson, in his first start of the summer, rounded out the top five.
Jett Lawrence has now amassed the most successful start to a class career in Pro Motocross history with a perfect 10-0 record to open his first 450 Class season.
450 Class Moto 2
The final race of the afternoon started with a sweep of the MotoSport.com Holeshots for Lawrence, once again ahead of Masterpool and Ferrandis, who made quick work in making the pass on Masterpool for second and brought both Plessinger and Sexton along with him into third and fourth, respectively.
As has been the case all season, the clear track paid big dividends for Lawrence as he completed the opening lap with a 2.5 second advantage on the field. As Lawrence’s lead continued to grow, Sexton looked to put the pressure on Ferrandis, but he lost traction with his front tire and slid out. He remounted quickly but resumed in fourth behind Plessinger, who assumed third.
The pressure from Sexton was a spark for Ferrandis who found himself within striking distance of Lawrence. The point leader responded with his fastest lap of the moto to open the lead back up and establish an even larger margin.
Sexton’s recovery from his misfortune saw him reclaim third from Plessinger and set his sights on trying to track down a six-second deficit to Ferrandis. As the moto surpassed the halfway point the top three had settled in and the margins stabilized. When time on the clock ran out the battle for second was on between Ferrandis and Sexton as a showdown between the two headlined the final two laps.
Lawrence’s lead was never in doubt as he wrapped up another wire-to-wire ride to complete the sweep of the motos, finishing 4.8 seconds ahead of Ferrandis, who dug deep to keep his Honda rival at bay and hold on for second. Sexton finished strong in third.
250 Class Overall
Even though he missed out on either moto win, Deegan’s unparalleled consistency allowed him to prevail with the overall victory with 2-3 moto finishes and break Lawrence’s unbeaten start to the season.
Kitchen’s win in the final moto vaulted him into the runner-up spot (7-1), while Cooper made it a clean sweep of the podium for Star Racing in third (4-4).
At 17 years of age, Deegan’s maiden victory in his first full season of competition is the latest accolade for his prominent racing family as he joins his former Supercross and Pro Motocross racing father, Brian, and current NASCAR racing sister, Hailie, as winners at motorsports’ elite level.
He’s the 90th different winner in the history of the 250 Class.
At the conclusion of the first moto, race officials reviewed footage to confirm that Cooper had violated Section 2.10, Item b.iii., 9.c. of the AMA Pro Racing Pro Motocross Rulebook pertaining to the adherence of signal flags. As a result, Cooper was penalized five championship points.
Event results were not affected and he retained his podium result.
Despite the DNF in the second moto, Lawrence, who finished ninth (1-40), still holds the top spot in the 250 Class standings after five rounds. He and Deegan are separated by 11 points, while Hampshire, who finished fourth (3-7), sits third, 33 points out of the lead.