Chase Sexton won both races Saturday in the 450cc Motocross in Hangtown, breaking Jett Lawrence’s win streak and landing at the top of the standings after Round 2 of the championship series.
Sexton had a rough start in the first moto, slotting him in the middle of the pack while Jett and Hunter Lawrence raced side by side to take the hole shot. Around the next corner, Jett Lawrence took an edge of the lead, breaking the side-by-side contact with his brother to pull into the lead.
Jett Lawrence landed short of the final jump, flew over his handle bars and landed on the ground hard. He didn’t get up right away, but after gaining his composure, he got back on his bike to keep racing.
“That’s motocross guys, I don’t even know what to say,” one of the commentators said.
Meanwhile, Hunter Lawrence held the lead with Phil Nicoletti close behind.
Sexton came back from his rough start to pass Nicoletti and set his sight on Hunter, who was still holding the lead.
Nearing the end of the race, Sexton was only 1.5 seconds behind Hunter Lawrence as they lapped Jett Lawrence, something that commentators noted was “a rare sight to see.”
While Hunter Lawrence did his best to hold Sexton off, Sexton held a better pace, pulling alongside him as they drew close to the end of the race.
They battled neck and neck for a moment before Sexton took a chance and pulled ahead of Hunter Lawrence. Undeterred, Hunter Lawrence battled back, taking command of the inside line.
It wasn’t enough, however, and Sexton stayed ahead to win the race and take away Jett Lawrence’s motocross win streak, which had been intact since the 2023 motocross season.
Commentators noted how Sexton’s confidence has been steadily growing.
“He never gives up,” they said.
In the second race, Jett Lawrence sped out of the gate for the hole shot and nearly claimed it, but he came out too far on the outside, putting him in sixth place around the first turn, while Sexton was slotted in 10th.
Justin Cooper took the hole shot, with Nicoletti, Aaron Plessinger and Hunter Lawrence following close behind.
Not far into the first lap, Sexton crashed as his rear wheel came out from under his bike, putting him dead last in 40th place.
At the 27-minute mark, Jett Lawrence had moved from sixth place to fifth, passing a hurt Nicoletti who had crashed, for fifth.
At the 20-minute mark, Jett Lawrence was in third and Sexton in eighth. Plessinger rode comfortably in first.
After Jett Lawrence passed Cooper for second, his riding noticeably changed, as he started holding his leg at an odd angle and rolling over the jumps, rather than jumping them.
As this occurred, other riders began to pass him, with him appearing to move over for Hunter Lawrence to pass.
“He is hurting,” commentators said.
It was unclear whether Jett Lawrence’s suspected injury came about from the first race or a mishap in the second.
As Jett Lawrence continued to fall back in the standings, Sexton passed him, quickly catching Hunter in third by the 4-minute mark.
Sexton continued making assertive passes, quickly moving past Cooper for second. In the last lap, Sexton bore down on then-first place Plessinger, passing him right before the race’s end.
Sexton won the race, coming from 40th place to first to officially move to first place points leader for the 2024 motocross season.
Plessinger placed second and Cooper third.
Cooper Webb and Cortez racer Eli Tomac are still recovering from their surgeries, and it has not been announced when they will return to the racetrack.
Tomac’s last Instagram update was on May 10.
The third round of the 2024 Motocross season will take place at Thunder Valley Motocross Park in Lakewood, Colorado, on Sunday, June 9.
