SuperMotocross Weekly presented by Kawasaki: Southwick Recap
Images via Ned Leone
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As much as The Wick 338 MX has a reputation for elevating its locals, Jett Lawrence’s perfect streak in Lucas Oil Pro Motocross 450 action was never really in doubt on Saturday. In his first season on the big bike for Honda, Lawrence has been untouchable through the first six events of the campaign, and he only spent brief periods of time behind teammate Chase Sexton and Yamaha’s Dylan Ferrandis off the holeshot of each race. Yet again, it was the young Australian leading every lap of both races to extend the streak even further—and there’s a shot that, when the SuperMotocross World Champiopnship playoffs come around, he’d actually be eligible to race in both classes thanks to his 250 dominance during Monster Energy Supercross.
The top four were the same in both 450 motos, with Sexton and Ferrandis completing the podium in each race and KTM’s Aaron Plessinger just off the podium days after the team parted ways with his former teammate Cooper Webb. The combination of local flair and a strong summer for privateers led to some interesting results, though, with Connecticut’s Chris Canning a career-best seventh overall and privateer Ty Masterpool earning his fourth overall top 10 in the past five events.
Of course, nobody’s close to Lawrence in the Pro Motocross standings thanks to his perfect record. With 300 points, he’s got a 67-marker advantage on Ferrandis and 90 points on Plessinger in third. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo is fourth after an eighth place overall run at Southwick, continuing a SuperMotocross top 10 streak that dates back to Indianapolis in March.
In the 250 class, things changed dramatically in the championship hunt when Hunter Lawrence’s Honda broke at the end of the first moto while running in the top five. The DNF was insult to injury, as Lawrence’s ribs were already sore from crashing in the second moto at RedBud—but the past two weeks have also dramatically changed the championship hunt. Instead of a clear-cut Lawrence family sweep, he’s going to have to claw his way back ahead of wunderkind Haiden Deegan, who now leads the standings by five points despite a 4-10 day for sixth overall.
Instead, it was France’s Tom Vialle on top of the podium for the first time in America after posting a 1-3. Justin Cooper’s 2-2 was good for second overall, while second moto winner Jo Shimoda completed the 250 podium with a 6-1 to break the tie on RJ Hampshire’s 3-4. Hampshire, Shimoda, and Cooper are also all within reach of Lawrence now with another strong week or two worth of results. Rounding out the notables was local Jimmy Decotis, whose return to racing after a three-year break saw him surprise the field with the fastest qualifying lap before posting a 12-17 to finish 15th overall.
The SuperMotocross World Championship 450 standings have Supercross champion Sexton on top with 502 points to Webb’s 451 and Plessinger’s 446, while Hunter Lawrence still leads the 250 points with 437 to Hampshire’s 391 and Deegan’s 386. Six rounds of Pro Motocross remain before the SuperMotocross playoffs begin, with the next coming next Saturday in Minnesota at Spring Creek MX Park.