Jett wins Thunder Valley as Hunter takes championship lead

2024 Pro Motocross Championship
Round Three – Thunder Valley National

The Pro Motocross Championship travelled to the Rocky Mountains for Round 3 of the 2024 season, with an early test in the mile-high altitude of Thunder Valley Motocross Park, which sits mere minutes from downtown Denver.

The landmark 20th running of the Toyota Thunder Valley National saw a variety of weather conditions, from abundant sunshine to rain and wind gusts, which resulted in another captivating afternoon of action.

One week after a big crash ended his undefeated 450 Class record, Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence outdueled his brother Hunter to capture a bounce-back win and re-establish himself in the early season title fight.

In the 250 Class, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan continued his winning ways and emerged triumphant once again to open the summer with three straight victories.

450 Moto One

The first moto of the afternoon got underway with the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing machine of Justin Cooper leading the field out of the first turn for the holeshot, closely followed by Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing’s Justin Barcia and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson. Also giving charge was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger from fourth, followed by the Lawrences in fifth and sixth, respectively, with entering point leader Chase Sexton in seventh aboard his Red Bull KTM.

After the first 10-minutes Cooper had opened up a lead of nearly eight seconds over the field, which saw a lot of jockeying for position. Anderson and Hunter Lawrence settled into second and third, respectively, while Jett Lawrence made his way into fourth and kept his rivals within reach.

Hunter Lawrence took control of second just before the halfway point of the moto and Jett Lawrence soon followed his brother into third. Behind them, Sexton soon made his way around Anderson into fourth.

The Australian siblings started to increase their pace entering the final 10 minutes of the moto, which allowed them to chip away at the deficit to Cooper. The Yamaha rider responded and picked up his pace, which helped stabilize the lead, but the Honda duo didn’t relent. With five minutes to go, Hunter Lawrence initiated a battle for the lead, as Jett Lawrence lurked in third. Hunter acted on the first opportunity that presented itself and took advantage of some lapped riders to seize the lead with three minutes to go. Jett followed into second just a few turns later. From there, the brothers quickly distanced themselves from the rest of the field, with Hunter asserting his hold on the top spot in the final stages.

The elder Lawrence captured the first moto win of his 450 Class career by eight seconds over Jett, while Cooper followed in a distant third. Barcia parlayed his strong start into a fourth-place effort, with Plessinger fifth. Sexton finished just outside the top five in sixth after late misfortune in the moto.

450 Moto One

450 Moto Two

The second and deciding moto started the same at Moto 1, with Cooper leading the field through the first turn to sweep the MotoSport.com Holeshots for the afternoon. Hunter Lawrence slotted into second but it was Sexton who was on a determined move forward. The points leader was able to make a pass on both Jett and Hunter Lawrence to claw his way up to second, which dropped Hunter to third and Jett into fourth, while Anderson lurked in fifth.

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Sexton then set his sights on Cooper out front, but the Yamaha rider fended off the pressure. From there, the field settled in, and the pace slowed through the opening 10 minutes. Sexton mounted another attack and looked to attempt a pass on Cooper, but a misjudgment put the KTM on the ground and caused Sexton to lose multiple positions. Hunter Lawrence assumed second, while Jett Lawrence moved into third. Sexton remounted in sixth.

At the halfway point of the moto the top three were separated by just two seconds, with all three riders showing patience. Each rider traded momentum as the moto entered its final 10 minutes, with Hunter Lawrence closing to within a few bike lengths of Cooper at times. However, the Yamaha rider never wavered and sustained his advantage.

As the moto wore on, Hunter Lawrence started to lose ground and lost his hold of second to Jett Lawrence. The reigning series champion continued his push forward and began to apply pressure on Cooper for the lead with less than five minutes to go. As they navigated lapped riders, all three riders sat within a second of one another, which forced Jett Lawrence to make the move and grab the lead with just under two minutes to go. Hunter Lawrence followed suit and dropped Cooper down to third.

The brothers went head-to-head for the win once more, this time in opposite positions. A half-second separated the siblings as they took the white flag. Jett Lawrence dug deep and carried on to his third moto win of the season by a margin of 1.2 seconds. Cooper finished in third.

450 Moto Two Results

450 Round

With identical moto finishes, the Lawrence brothers finished tied atop the overall classification, but Jett’s second moto triumph (2-1) was the difference maker as it gave him the tiebreaker over Hunter (1-2). It resulted in the second 1-2 finish for the pair through the first three rounds of the season and signified Jett’s 13th career win. Thanks to his incredible starts in each moto, Cooper captured his first career podium result in the premier class in third (3-3).

With his third straight podium finish to open his 450 Class career, Hunter Lawrence moved atop the 450 Class standings, highlighted by his distinction as the lone rider in the division to finish inside the top five in every moto. His lead sits at six points over Sexton, who finished fifth overall (6-5), while Jett Lawrence climbed from sixth to third by virtue of his win, 16 points behind Hunter.

Jett Lawrence – P1

“The second moto was much harder than the first for me; my legs were shot late in the moto. When I was in third, I had to make a decision whether I was going to push past the top two or just settle. I knew we had to make up some points, so I put my head down and kept charging. I’m happy to get out of here with a win and a chunk of points. Let’s head east!”

Hunter Lawrence – P2

“It was definitely a great day, but I almost wish I left here with the overall instead of the red plate, as weird as that sounds. We made some big changes on the bike this week, and today it showed. It’s always a good feeling when you do some testing that pays off. The 450s are beasts to hold on to compared to 250s, especially off the start, so setup plays a huge key in being competitive.”

Justin Cooper – P3

“It was an awesome day. I got both holeshots and led for 25 minutes. I tried my best, but they [the Lawrences] were riding too good. I gave it everything I had, and I’m really happy with today’s performance.”

Justin Barcia – P4

“Thunder Valley was a pretty good day! I qualified decent in the top 10, which I wasn’t thrilled about, but it was okay. I got off to two good starts, charged really hard all day, and the bike was really good. We made a change after the second practice, and it was really consistent, so I was able to adapt to different lines today and felt comfortable. We came away with a solid fourth, so it’s good. We want more, so we’re going to keep pushing, and we’ll get there soon!”

Chase Sexton – P5

“It was nice to have the red plate today, and I felt like we had speed on our side, but it just didn’t come together in the motos. Considering the results, we’re still right there in the championship, so look forward to rebounding at High Point next weekend.”

Aaron Plessinger – P6

“Thunder Valley was kind of a struggle in practice, and then I felt better in the first moto. I got a really good start but fell back and wasn’t really gelling that much until I started clicking off some good laps around halfway and through to the end, so I ended up fifth. In the second moto, I royally messed up the start, so that cost me, and I paid for it. I came from around 20th place, which in conditions like that being hard and slick, it’s tough to come through the pack. I’ve just gotta put myself in better positions early on, and we’ll move on to High Point.”

Jason Anderson – P7

“It was a decent weekend, all things considered. I started the day qualifying fourth, which was good for us. In Moto 1, I found myself just outside of the Top 5 at the start, but quickly made it up to second. I ran there for a bit, and then late in the race, my rear end slipped out, and I clipped the medical light and went down, so we finished 10th. Moto 2 was better for me. The start wasn’t the best, but I made it up to fourth and rode there all race. A huge thanks to everyone at Monster Energy Kawasaki for the support this weekend and for keeping my KX450SR feeling dialled. Let’s head east.”

450 Round Results

450 Championship Points

250 Moto One

The opening moto began with Deegan at the front of the pack to grab the MotoSport.com Holeshot, with pressure coming from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle in second and Team Honda HRC’s Chance Hymas in third. The lead trio eventually settled into their respective positions as the field started to spread out through the opening 10 minutes.

Deegan and Vialle traded momentum early on as the lead hovered around two seconds, but as the moto approached the halfway point Deegan’s consistency allowed him to inch away and build his advantage up to almost four-seconds.

With their exceptional pace, Deegan and Vialle pulled away from Hymas and the rest of the field to make it a two-rider battle. As they entered the final five-minutes, both riders picked up the pace as they tactfully navigated lapped riders. That saw the distance between them fluctuate, which worked to Deegan’s advantage as the lead grew to more than three seconds. However, Deegan slid out and went down briefly, which allowed Vialle to make the pass for the lead. Deegan recovered quickly and remained within striking distance for the win.

A fierce battle ensued over the final stages of the moto as Deegan searched for alternate lines. As they came to the white flag, Deegan took advantage of an inside line to push Vialle wide and reclaim the lead. Vialle battled back and made one final pass attempt that saw the two riders make contact and put Vialle on the ground. That allowed Deegan to bring home his fourth moto win of the season by 5.8 seconds over Vialle, who remounted quickly, while Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen followed in third. Hymas was fourth, with his Team Honda HRC teammate Jo Shimoda fifth.

250 Moto One Results

250 Moto Two

The final moto of the day began with Hymas and Deegan side by side coming out of the first turn, from which Hymas earned the holeshot and grabbed the early lead. Deegan slotted into second while Kitchen began the moto in third. Vialle started in fifth.

With the clear track ahead, Hymas seized the moment and was able to open a lead of more than five seconds over the rest of the field through the opening 10 minutes. Deegan settled into second while Kitchen suffered a tipover that caused him to drop from third to sixth. That allowed Triumph Racing’s Jalek Swoll to move into third, until Vialle made the pass to join the top three just before the halfway point of the moto. Shortly after, Vialle had a brief crash that saw him drop from third to fifth, which moved Swoll back into podium position.

While the lead pair enjoyed a comfortable margin over the field, Swoll and Shimoda’s battle for third intensified, and the Japanese rider prevailed with the position. From there, the top three remained unchanged.

Hymas stormed to his first career moto win with a wire-to-wire victory by a margin of 3.8 seconds over Deegan, with Shimoda in third. Vialle recovered to finish fourth.

250 Moto Two Results

250 Round

Deegan’s 1-2 effort easily secured his third straight overall win and extended his points lead. Hymas’ moto win capped off a career-best performance in the runner-up spot (4-1) for his first ever podium, while Vialle rounded out the top three (2-4).

With his win streak, Deegan enjoys a 23-point lead over Vialle and Hymas, who both moved up the championship standings and now sit tied for second.

Haiden Deegan – P1

“I got a good start [in Moto 2], but Chance [Hymas] was ripping. I had to look at the big picture. We had the overall, and now we have three [wins] in a row. The hard work is paying off.”

Chance Hymas – P2

“I’m speechless right now. I went over the finish line and just broke down. There was a point in time where I didn’t think this was possible. I’m just grateful to be here. It feels great to do this for the team. They’ve seen me at my lowest, and they’ve seen the work I’ve been putting in. We figured some stuff out with the bike and with my diet lately, and that’s been a huge key. I feel like I’m back to where I was last year, before I got hurt.”

Tom Vialle – P3

“Overall, the speed was good. Just too many mistakes today. Sometimes, that’s racing. The track was really good today, and I’m looking forward to next weekend.”

Jo Shimoda – P4

“This weekend was another improvement. This felt like the first time I was riding my style. We did a lot of bike work over the past month, and it’s starting to come together. Today was a big confidence boost, to know I can run the pace. We just have to figure out our starts. And congrats Chance!”

Levi Kitchen – P5

“It was a decent weekend overall, but I am looking for more. The day started out with an average qualifying session, but quickly turned around in the first moto. I was able to make a late charge and finish third. Just before Moto 2, a thunderstorm rolled through and made the track so technical. I was able to make my way back up to a podium spot, but a mistake made me go down and that was that. We have my KX250 feeling great and I cannot wait to turn this around on the East Coast next weekend at High Point.”

250 Round Results

250 Championship Points