• Sexton second overall in 450 class via steady 2-2 moto finishes
• Team Honda HRC first and second in points in both classes

Nine months after wrapping up the 2021 AMA Pro Motocross 250 Championship at Northern California’s Hangtown National, Jett Lawrence took another important step in defending that title, notching the overall win at the same track. This time the venue was hosting round 2 of the series, a week after a perfect performance by the young Australian at the opener, and his performance was impressive given that he was suffering from a bad cold. Also notable was Lawrence’s Team Honda HRC colleague Chase Sexton, who finished second overall in the 450 class.

The first 250 moto saw Jett and his brother Hunter both get so-so starts before working their way up to third and fourth about halfway in. Also suffering from a cold, Hunter actually had a chance of finishing ahead of Jett, were it not for a small tip-over just past the halfway point. In moto 2, Jett moved into first on lap 1 and rode consistently well for the entire race while fending off his competition—including eventual runner-up Hunter during the final two laps. Hunter’s 4-2 tally was enough for third overall.

Sexton rode his CRF450R to the 450 moto 1 holeshot, and the Illinois native led most of the race before he was overtaken by Jason Anderson four laps from the end. Sexton fought back and finished less than .4 seconds back, while teammate Ken Roczen rode to a steady third-place finish. In the final race, Roczen and Sexton quickly moved into first and second, and then Sexton took over at the front on lap 5. This time it was Eli Tomac who eventually displaced Sexton, but again, the Honda rider rebounded and hounded the leader over the final six laps, ultimately finishing just over a second back. Roczen’s 3-4 scores earned him fourth overall.

NOTES

• On Friday evening, Team Honda HRC enjoyed a catered Italian dinner at the hospitality truck to celebrate their incredible performance at round 1 last week.
• Chase Sexton was the second-fastest 450 rider in combined qualifying times, less than .4 seconds off the leader, with Ken Roczen fifth. In the 250 ranks, Jett and Hunter Lawrence were second- and third-best, respectively.
• Following his Hangtown success, Jett Lawrence has a total of seven career 250 overall victories and 12 career 250 moto wins.
• For the second week in a row, Team Honda HRC presented an Award of Excellence to a team member, and this time the deserving winner was Cameron Camera, mechanic for Hunter Lawrence.
• As was the case after round 1, Team Honda HRC riders hold the top two spots in the championship chases for both classes. Sexton doubled his 450 class advantage to 12 over Roczen, who in turn maintains a six-point edge on third place. In the 250 class, Jett Lawrence has an 11-point margin over brother Hunter (five more than last week), who doubled his lead on third place, to 12 points.
• Next up for Team Honda HRC is AMA Pro Motocross round 3 this coming weekend, just over 1,000 miles east of the Hangtown race at Lakewood, Colorado’s Thunder Valley Park. The Lawrence brothers are spending the interim back home in Florida, while Sexton and Roczen are remaining in California.

Ken Roczen 94 “Just a so-so weekend at Hangtown. I wasn’t very comfortable on the track all day. A third and a fourth isn’t the goal, but tough weekends are also good for you as they make you stronger depending on how you look at them. I had way too many close calls, which isn’t my style at all, so at least we left safe and sound—and still second in the championship. We simply weren’t there this weekend, to put up a legit fight. My team and I are going to work on getting more comfortable this week so I’m able to charge forward.”

Chase Sexton 23 “I just couldn’t get away from them today. It was a tough two motos. I led a lot of laps but didn’t get the win. Overall, I feel like my riding has been really good. I know Eli [Tomac] is strong here, especially in second motos, and to be able to latch onto him and give him a fight was good for me. I’ve still got the red plate; I’ve just got to keep being consistent, getting those good starts, and have some fun. It’s been good so far; I’m feeling really comfortable on the bike, the team has done a great job, and I’m looking forward to these next 10 rounds we’ve got. It’s going to be a fun season.”

Jett Lawrence 18 “It’s been a rough one today with this cold I got. It made it very difficult on me that first moto. Like halfway through, I was flat, and in the second one I was just pushing all the way through; I had barely anything in my stomach because I threw up just before the second moto. It was a difficult day, but I’m pumped to get the win. Hopefully we can get rid of this sickness and continue on with the season.”

Hunter Lawrence 96 “Rough day at the office. We’ll take third, shake this flu and come back swinging at Thunder Valley. Thank you for our whole team and crew for the hard work!”

Lars Lindstrom - Team Manager “Last weekend seemed like it just went so smooth and so easy, but we knew it wasn’t going to be like that every weekend. That proved to be true today, with the other guys stepping it up and giving us a real battle. Jett and Hunter kind of being under the weather didn’t help, but Jett pulled a miracle out and was able to still pull off the 250 overall; that was amazing, and we’re all super proud of him. Hunter had speed all day, and if he would’ve had some better starts, I think he could’ve won the whole thing. Chase was able to back up last week’s performance, leading both 450 races again and this time having to battle for it—the first moto with [Jason] Anderson and the second moto with Eli, in almost identical styles of races; they caught him, saw some of his lines, he saw some of theirs when they went by, and then was able to catch them at the end and almost win both motos. It’s going to be a battle the rest of the series; we’ve just got to make sure we’re there every week, and I think we will be.”