Chase Sexton extended his overall points lead for the 2024 Pro Motocross season on Saturday after winning the second race of the day by more than 10 seconds. Hunter Lawrence beat Sexton in the first race and continues to hold on to second place overall.
Aaron Plessinger, who has been a consistent force on the racetrack during this 2024 season, placed third overall for the weekend, moving into third in the overall point standings, passing former third-place place racer Justin Cooper.
Now, Sexton holds first place with 407 points, Lawrence is in second with 379 points and Plessinger is in third with 319.
The Round 9 races, which took place at Unadilla in New Berlin, New York, started with Lawrence and Plessinger battling for the hole shot. Plessinger edged out Lawrence to claim the first-place spot early on in the race.
Sexton, who has struggled with starts this season, rode in second place after passing Lawrence. He didn’t hold this position for long, as Lawrence passed Sexton and moved to second as Sexton nearly went over his handlebars.
Commentators noted that Lawrence may have benefited from the break the riders have had over the past few weeks, as well as seeming more comfortable on his new bike.
Not long after passing Sexton, Lawrence moved to first place, taking the lead spot from Plessinger. Sexton also passed Plessinger and set his sights on Lawrence, who he was able to pass after Lawrence made a mistake and went too wide on one of the track’s turns.
Lawrence reclaimed the lead quickly, surging down the hill to take the lead back from Sexton with a “great recovery line.”
Though Sexton continued pursuing Lawrence throughout the race, he was unable to catch up to his opponent again. Lawrence placed 1st in the race by nearly two seconds, with Sexton following behind in second.
In the second race of Round 9, Sexton had his best start of the season, taking the hole shot and establishing a commanding lead that he maintained throughout the course of the race.
Cooper Webb, in his second race back since thumb surgery after the Supercross season, followed behind Sexton in second. Dylan Ferrandis trailed behind Sexton and Webb in third, and Ken Roczen followed in fourth as Lawrence settled in sixth behind Jason Anderson.
At the 25-minute mark, Sexton raced nearly seven seconds ahead of Webb, his closest competitor, as the other racers battled for position behind him. In a surge of speed, Roczen passed both Ferrandis and Webb to move into second place.
“Chase is riding so good, fans at home may think their screen froze,” commentators said.
They also acknowledged Webb’s first round back following his energy, saying he was holding up well despite the difficulty of returning after an injury.
Ferrandis and Anderson moved past Roczen, while Lawrence passed Plessinger and Anderson, bearing down on second-place Ferrandis.
Lawrence and Ferrandis battled, but Ferrandis wasn’t able to hold Lawrence off.
Sexton won the race by nearly 10 seconds, followed by Lawrence in second place, Ferrandis in third and Plessinger in fourth. With his fourth-place finish, Plessinger was able to move into third place in the overall point standings.
Commentators remarked on Sexton’s race, saying, “I wouldn’t even say they were chasing Chase, he was gone.”
Round 10 will take place Saturday at Budds Creek Motocross Park in Mechanicsville, Maryland. Cortez racer Eli Tomac’s team provided information a few weeks ago saying Tomac planned to race in Round 10.
In an Instagram post on July 21, Tomac wrote about his recovery and plans for the remainder of the season.
“Update – Finally back on the motorcycle tomorrow! I’ve been on my MTB a few times trying to build confidence and strength back in my thumb. It’s been a long recovery, but is now starting to make real progress with the pins removed. When will I be back? That’s still TBD, but I’m sure after a few rides I’ll know a realistic time frame. Hoping for around Budds Creek,” the post from Tomac read.
