AMA Pro MX RedBud – An illustrated recap

2024 Pro Motocross Championship
Round Six – RedBud

The 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship reached its halfway point with the annual Independence Day tradition from legendary RedBud MX for the sixth round of the summer campaign.

The first race following the recent news that defending champion Jett Lawrence will miss the rest of the season with injury, the Bob The Cooler Co. RedBud National featured near-perfect weather conditions, where one of the biggest crowds in RedBud history was on hand to cheer on hometown racer Chase Sexton to victory. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider swept the motos for his second win of the season, and the first at the track where he grew up racing, which also allowed him to take control of the 450 Class points lead.

In the 250 Class, Team Honda HRC’s Chance Hymas kept his breakout season going with the first victory of his professional career.

450 Moto One

The first premier class race of the afternoon saw the red plate of entering point leader Hunter Lawrence lead the field through the first turn aboard his Team Honda HRC machine for the holeshot. Early on, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger pressured from second with team-mate Sexton starting third. Lawrence fended off an initial attack from Plessinger and soon the top three settled into their respective positions.

The lead trio remained unchanged through the first 10 minutes of the moto, but Sexton picked up the pace and was able to make the pass on Plessinger for second. At that point just a couple seconds separated Lawrence from Sexton as the moto reached the halfway point. Sexton bided his time behind Lawrence and did get close enough at point to attempt a pass, but Lawrence held him off and stretched the lead back out entering the final 10 minutes. Behind them, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper was able to catch and pass Plessinger for third.

As they approached the final five minutes of the moto Sexton had once again reeled Lawrence back in, partially aided by heavy lapped traffic. The lead stabilized once more as Sexton made slight contact passing slower riders, which slowed his momentum, but then lappers became a factor again in the final two minutes, which allowed Sexton to close onto the rear fender of the Honda. Less than a second sat between the leaders entering the final two laps. As they navigated one of the track’s slow, bumpy downhills, Lawrence’s bike went sideways and caused him to lose grip of the motorcycle, which then slammed him into the ground. Sexton inherited the lead while Lawrence was able to remount in second, just ahead of Cooper in third.

Sexton cruised to his fourth moto win of the season, 15.5 seconds ahead of Lawrence, who recovered to minimize the damage and finish second. Cooper followed in third, with Plessinger fourth and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson fifth.

450 Moto One Results

450 Moto Two

The final moto of the day saw Anderson emerge with the holeshot, only to be passed by Fire Power Honda’s Michael Webster. Anderson battled back to reclaim the lead while Sexton made a charge on Webster from third. Lawrence started the moto just outside the top five in seventh.

Sensing the moment, Sexton went on the attack in the opening laps. He made the pass on Webster for second and then set his sights on Anderson out front. Sexton closed in, awaited his opportunity, and made the pass to seize control of the moto inside the opening 10 minutes. Further back, Lawrence ran sixth and looked to challenge Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Malcolm Stewart for fifth. The point leader closed in and made the pass.

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Back up front, Sexton’s lead stabilized at around seven seconds, but it was Plessinger who gave pursuit from second after he made the pass on Anderson. A couple positions behind, Lawrence was able to pass Webster to move into fourth place.

Sexton remained in firm control during the second half of the moto and extended his lead to more than 20 seconds in the end, as he completed the sweep of the motos with the largest margin of victory of the season, 21.1 seconds over Plessinger, with Anderson in third. Lawrence missed out on a moto podium for just the second time this season in fourth.

450 Moto Two Results

450 Round

Sexton’s most dominant outing of the season gave him the fourth 1-1 sweep of his career and his eighth victory in the premier class. Plessinger’s strong second moto and season-best runner-up finish (4-2) capped off a 1-2 outing for Red Bull KTM, while Lawrence extended his six-round podium streak in third (2-4).

The win vaulted Sexton to the top of the championship standings, as the third different rider to carry the red plate this season. He sits seven points ahead of Lawrence, who entered the day with a three-point lead. With Jett Lawrence sidelined, Cooper moved into third following a fifth-place effort (3-6) and sits 48 points out of the lead.

Chase Sexton – P1

”It feels so good, I don’t even know what to say! I have chills right now, this is something special, and the best crowd I’ve seen here at RedBud – they got me through here today. In that second moto, I had such a good flow, and so much fun out there. I just want to thank my whole team and the group of people behind me. Let’s keep this thing going!”

Aaron Plessinger – P2

“This is crazy! I’ve never seen RedBud like this – these fans are unbelievable. After finishing fourth in Moto 1, I had a great start in that second moto and kind of put it on cruise control, but they started catching me for position and I had to kick it up! They were riding good, I just sat in second place there, and the bike was working awesome… We made some changes after the first moto and it was so good. I’ve got to give it up to the whole Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team, everybody around me, and all the fans out here. I could hear them every lap, it was almost hard to hear my bike or even what gear I was in! It’s unbelievable how much enthusiasm these fans have for the sport, and it makes me so happy to come out here every weekend. We’ll keep charging!”

Hunter Lawrence –  P3

“I’m thankful to not be hurt after the first moto. I struggled a bit in the second moto. I think I maybe hit my head a bit harder than I thought and struggled with my vision a bit. I felt like I had a rev limiter on. I just couldn’t really go any faster than I did.”

Malcolm Stewart – P6

“For another track I haven’t been back to in 10 years, I can say one thing – the fans were awesome this weekend! It’s pretty cool and I had a really, really great time out there. Moto 1 was good for me, and then Moto 2 was better again in a lot of ways. I made a mistake, went down, and got back up to charge to seventh. We were sixth overall, but I am really happy because I rode good and we’re learning a lot as a team. We’re just going to take this same momentum into Millville, and I’m glad we’re leaving here on a good note, so we’ll keep the ball rolling.”

Kyle Webster – P8

“This was so good, so much fun, and I have learned so much. I know I have a lot of work ahead of me, and I believe we have some great people around us. The bike, the teams here and in Australia, are world-class, and I am looking forward to returning home to continue my work. We have 3 rounds of Motocross remaining in Australia, the Des Nations, and then Supercross. I can’t thank everyone enough for this opportunity.”

Christian Craig – P10

“The day started off pretty well, qualified inside the top 10 and felt confident going into the motos.  I got a mid-pack start and was able to work my way up into eighth, so that was decent. Second moto, I had a bad start and then started to make my way through, before some big mistakes cost me a lot of time. I was pretty frustrated, but I did what I could for 10th overall. My speed is still coming around and I’m just lacking some strength still, so we will keep working on that and come back better for next week.”

450 Round Results

450 Championship Points

250 Moto One

The first moto of the afternoon began with the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki of Ty Masterpool inching ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle for the holeshot, but it was the Frenchman who moved into the early lead while Masterpool dropped to third following a pass by Hymas for second. Behind them, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider and point leader Haiden Deegan started fourth, with Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen fifth.

Hymas was aggressive on the opening lap and after his pass on Masterpool he went after Vialle, successfully making a pass for the lead. From there, Hymas put the hammer down to establish a lead of 2.5 seconds on the field, while Vialle and Masterpool settled into second and third, respectively.

Hymas continued to build on his lead, which grew to nearly six seconds 10 minutes into the moto. As Vialle gave pursuit he went down and lost his hold of second. Masterpool assumed the position while Deegan followed in third. Vialle remounted in fourth.

As the moto reached the halfway point Masterpool was able to carve into Hymas’ lead and closed to within two seconds. Deegan also gained ground and lurked in third. Entering the final 10 minutes of the moto, just three seconds separated the top three. Masterpool went on the attack and the pair went side-by-side across the finish line jump, after which Masterpool completed the pass for the lead. He then pulled away as Deegan began to pressure Hymas. Deegan was relentless and made the pass, then set his sights on Masterpool.

As they came to take the white flag Masterpool and Deegan were separated by mere bike lengths. Over the final circuit they took different lines, with Deegan searching for enough momentum to attempt a pass. They raced side-by-side across the sand rollers, but Masterpool inched ahead enough to take Deegan’s line and carry on to the moto win by 0.3 over the Yamaha rider. Vialle was able to make a late pass on Hymas to capture third, while Team Honda HRC’s Jo Shimoda rounded out the top five.

250 Moto One Results

250 Moto Two

The second and deciding moto saw Hymas lead the field through the first turn for the holeshot ahead of Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing’s Pierce Brown and Shimoda. A little further back, Masterpool started deep in the top 10, just ahead of Vialle, while Deegan found himself outside the top 10.

Hymas mirrored his leading effort from Moto 1 to open a comfortable margin over Shimoda, who passed DiFrancesco for second. Kitchen then moved into the top three after a pass around DiFrancesco. Behind the leaders, Masterpool was able to move into the top four, while Vialle and Deegan looked to climb through the pack together at the tail end of the top 10.

As the opening 10 minutes of the moto passed, Hymas had moved out to a lead of more than seven seconds on Shimoda, who looked to hold off a hard-charging Masterpool, who made the pass on Kitchen for third. Meanwhile, both Vialle and Deegan stalled out in their forward progression and ran sixth and eighth, respectively.

While the Honda teammates continued to pull away from the field the attention shifted to Masterpool, who was in control of the overall classification, as he started to lose ground to his teammate Kitchen. With less than five minutes to go Kitchen reclaimed third. Shortly thereafter, Masterpool lost fourth to Vialle and settled into fifth, one position ahead of Deegan.

The battle for the overall remained in flux over the final two laps as Shimoda closed in on Hymas to set up a head-to-head showdown for the moto win with his teammate. A total of 1.2 seconds separated the Honda duo as they took the white flag. A lapped rider worked in Hymas’ favour and allowed him to inch away over the second half of the racetrack. Hymas secured his second career moto win by three seconds over Shimoda, with Kitchen a distant third. Vialle battled back for fourth, with Masterpool holding on for fifth. Deegan went down after he was caught up in a crash by another rider, but held on for sixth.

250 Moto Two Results

250 Round

Hymas’ moto victory, combined with Masterpool’s late fade, allowed the Honda rider to emerge with his first career win in professional competition (4-1) and become the 93rd different winner in 250 Class history. Masterpool earned his second career podium result with a runner-up effort (1-5), while Shimoda parlayed another strong outing in Moto 2 to secure the final spot on the podium in third (5-2).

Hymas’ victory, and points gain in the championship standings, was negated by a penalty that was assessed to him in Moto 1 for jumping on a red cross flag (Rule 1.6.14, Section F, Item 4). The punishment for the violation was a deduction of five championship points (Penalty Section 3.1.8, Item E.2).

With Hymas’ penalty assessed, Deegan, who missed the overall podium for the first time this season in fifth (2-6), maintained his 42-point lead over Hymas at the halfway point of the season. Vialle, who finished in a tie with Deegan for fourth (3-4) but earned the Moto 2 tiebreaker, remains one additional point back, 43 behind the championship lead.

Chance Hymas – P1

“It’s about time. To do it on America’s birthday is incredible. I’m so glad I finally put it together. None of this would be possible without the support of everyone around me, from my team, to my teammates, to my parents. This is the first of many, but I’m proud to do it here (at RedBud).”

Ty Masterpool – P2

“That first 20 minutes of Moto 2 I felt good. I got a bad start but was able to make some passes. Then I just hit a wall. I didn’t get to train before the season [due to injury] and it caught up to me there. I’m still so happy with the moto win and another podium finish.”

Jo Shimoda – P3

“I had a good start and Chance [Hymas] and I were up front. The last couple laps you’re tired, but you try to push through it. I tried, but it didn’t work out. I’m really proud of my team-mate to get his first win.”

Tom Vialle – P4

“I went 3-4 today, which was okay. First moto, I had the holeshot and had a small tip-over, so finished third in the end. Second moto, it was a bad start and I was around 10th or 12th, and I tried to come back, but the track was tough to pass on. I was one of the fastest at the end of the moto, but only made it back to fourth. That was the best I could do today, I have no regrets, and we’re looking forward to next weekend now.”

Casey Cochran – P7

“RedBud was good for me.  I’ve had some success here in the past, so today I felt comfortable and I was able to get my best pair of moto finishes with a 7-9 for seventh overall. We’re making progress each week, so we’ll keep on building and hopefully get up there into the top five soon.”

Ryder DiFrancesco – P8

“RedBud was a better weekend for me. Qualifying was decent and then in the first moto my start was okay, but I ended up going down and fought back to 13th. Second moto, I was in P2 off the start and ran up front for a long time, before I went back to seventh. We’re ready for Millville and we’ll keep building!”

250 Round Results

250 Championship Points

Next Up

The 2024 Pro Motocross Championship will continue next Saturday, July 13, with its annual visit to the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” and Minnesota’s Spring Creek MX Park. The FXR Spring Creek National Presented by Frescados Tortillas.