7 straight for #3
After an insane battle all moto long at the Spring Creek National, Chase Sexton put in his fastest lap of the second moto on the final lap! His 16th lap time was a 2:12.563—10 seconds faster than third place finisher Christian Craig’s 2:22.139. The only problem for Sexton was that out front Eli Tomac laid down a 2:11.917 that final lap to hold off the #23.
Sexton's fastest lap of the race came on the 16th and final lap: a 2:12.563. Only problem: Tomac's last lap: a 2:11.917! ET3 held off the #23 by 1.795 at the finish line.
— Racer X (@racerxonline) July 16, 2022
The 1.795-second gap for ET3 gave the Colorado native his seventh straight moto win and fourth straight overall win. The overall win was Tomac’s 31st 450 Class Pro Motocross overall win (which again sits third all-time behind Ryan Dungey and Ricky Carmichael). The #3 left the seventh round with the points lead as he sits with a five-point advantage over Sexton.
Eli Tomac is insane! 🤯 He just claimed his seventh straight moto win, third straight 1-1 day in a row, and now has 31 career 450 Class @ProMotocross overall wins (third most all-time). #MXHistory#ProMotocross#Motocross#MX2022#2022SpringCreek
— Mitch Kendra (@mitch_kendra) July 16, 2022
Jettson’s Streak
With Jett Lawrence’s second straight 1-1 day, he claims his sixth overall win in the first seven rounds. It was Jettson’s 11th Pro Motocross overall win of his career. With Jett going 1-1, the Lawrence brothers have now claimed 10 of the first 13 motos of 2022 Pro Motocross. (Jett has eight moto wins, Hunter has two). This was also the eighth time the Lawrence brothers have gone 1-2 in a moto this year!
Sushi Roll(ing)
Jo Shimoda’s first overall podium came at the 2021 Southwick National, which was his 17th Pro Motocross start. He ended the ’21 season with three total overall podiums—all second overalls. In the 14 races since the ’21 Southwick National, Shimoda has seven overall podium finishes—one of which was his maiden overall win at RedBud MX—to bring his total to 10 career overall podiums in his 31 career starts. Shimoda has become a constant podium threat and it sounds like he has his starts figured out now too, thanks to help from starting blocks.
Other Random Stats
11 for Hunter, 5 for Jett
The brothers battled it out once again for the race lead in moto one. Hunter took off eventually and looked to have the race win secured until lappers slowed him up and allowed Jett to take the lead and race win on the last lap. Hunter led 11 of the laps to Jett’s five—but younger brother led the most important one—the final lap! Jett took the win by just 0.524 seconds over big bro. Jett’s total laps led this season through the first 14 motos is 113. Hunter has the second-most with 57. Third-most is Levi Kitchen’s 15.
#3 is First to 4
Tomac became the first repeat winner, then the first rider to three overall wins, and now is the first rider to get four overall wins. In the previous 50 seasons, there has been at least one rider to get four overall wins in 43 of those seasons: 35 of the time, that rider who has been the first to four overall wins has won the title.
Sexton’s Run
Incredibly, Sexton has finished first or second in 13 of the first 14 motos of the season. Sexton was also the fastest overall qualifier at the seventh round, becoming the first rider to do so three times so far this season.
13 and 3
Tomac led 13 laps in the first moto to Sexton’s three. In the second moto, Tomac once again led 13 laps to Sexton’s three.
Through the first four rounds, Tomac had led only 22 laps to Sexton’s 59 and had three moto wins to Sexton’s three moto wins. But since then, Tomac has led 71 laps to Sexton’s six and Tomac has won all six motos in rounds five, six, and seven. Still only five points separate them after seven rounds.
Watch This
Ken Roczen’s crash in the first moto
Wheel to Wheel Contact
Nick Romano and Nate Thrasher had accident wheel-to-wheel contact in the air in the second moto. As you will read later down this post, both are okay.
Ironically, the last time we saw this happen was at this same track last year! Cooper Webb and Chase Sexton’s wheels made contact over the finish line and Webb went down hard. Rewatch it below:
Injury Updates
Max Anstie
Michael Mosiman
The GasGas release post-race said the following on the #29:
“It was a tough break for team rider Michael Mosiman, who suffered a race-ending crash early in the first moto. Mosiman was able to walk himself off the track but didn’t line up for the second moto for precautionary reasons.”
Nick Romano
Romano and Thrasher are both okay after their mid-air collision.
Ty Masterpool
Stilez Robertson
The Husqvarna post-race statement said the following on Robertson:
“Robertson collided with his teammate Jalek Swoll early in the first lap of the second moto and did not lineup for the restart due to an injured ankle.”
Vlogs
Raw Trackside Moto
Check out our guy Tom Journet’s infield access videos below to watch nearly 20 minutes of raw footage from round seven.
250 Class
450 Class
GoPro Videos
GoPro: Justin Barcia - 450 Moto 2 - 2022 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Spring Creek MX
Quotes From Around The Paddock
450 Class
Christian Craig | 5-3 for 4th overall
“It was a good day. I always enjoy coming here. This is one of my favorite tracks on the circuit. I spent a lot of time here in the past, so I’ve got a lot of family and friends that show up here. I had a decent qualifying and then I had a good first moto and got off to a decent start. I got close to fourth for a while and had third in sight but settled with fifth. In the second moto, I made some good passes early on and got into third pretty quick, but the top two had pretty much checked out. So yeah, 5-3 for fourth overall, that moves me into fifth in points which is where I want to be. I just want to try and improve each weekend and keep it going at Washougal.”
Said Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 team manager Jeremy Coker:
I’m really proud of Christian. It’s a bummer that he missed the overall podium again by a couple of points, but he had a moto podium and gave us a double podium in the second moto. I’m proud of the whole team. We’ve just got to keep it going.”
Ryan Dungey | 4-6 for 5th overall
“I got off to a great start first moto and pretty much sat in fourth the whole race. I was sitting right behind Anderson and our speed was good and bike setup was good. The second moto, I just got a bad start and got shuffled back, so I had a lot of work to do. I was behind Barcia and I feel like I could have gotten him and a few guys in front of him but I rushed a turn and crashed. I made a few more passes but pretty much ran a lonely sixth for the rest of the race. We’ll keep digging, keep building and keep pushing.”
Justin Barcia | 6-5 for 6th overall
“It was a more positive day for sure, but the results obviously don’t show the progress we’ve made. I had two pretty good starts but I felt more comfortable second moto because we made a change before it. I made a little mistake at the beginning of the race and then just charged to fifth the whole moto, finishing just off fourth with third right in front of me. All-in-all, it was definitely a positive day – we had some good bike changes and felt more comfortable at the end of the day. I’m really looking forward to Washougal to get back on the podium!”
Aaron Plessinger | 7-7 for 7th overall
“It was a good day! I always like riding this track and coming here to the Midwest, the fans are always good to me. Overall, it was an average day with 7-7 finishes but it was a fun day and we’ll go do our homework and get some better starts at Washougal.”
Shane McElrath | 10-11 for 9th overall
“It was a better day, I would say for the most part we were better and more consistent. First moto was probably my best first moto and in the second moto, I really struggled with the track and fighting with the bike pretty bad. Still trying to figure out how I can go faster and maintain that but we’re going to keep working.”
Brandon Hartranft | 13-13 for 10th overall
"I felt much better all day long. I liked the track a lot; it was actually more hardpack than normal this year. In qualifying one I was eleventh and in the second qualifier I was fifteenth; the riders from eighth through about seventeenth were all on the same second. We had some close racing. In Moto 1 my start was not good. I got into thirteenth then started pumping up. I started battling with another rider and that actually helped with my arm pump. My Moto 2 start was even worse. Then I fought super hard to move up. I feel like I rode really well, and we ended up eleventh overall, so all-in-all it was a good weekend. The 450 class has some heavy hitters, so it feels great beating some guys and getting eleventh, but I really want to be top ten."
Joey Savatgy | 28-8 for 13th overall
“I almost had the holeshot in Moto 1 and then I did grab the holeshot in Moto 2, so I’m definitely happy with where we’re at with this KX™450SR and my starts. Unfortunately, hitting the ground in Moto 1 made things really tough for me but, I kept digging and worked my way through to salvage some points. In Moto 2, I cleaned up the mistakes and did my best to stay in the fight with the front guys. After the trouble in Moto 1, it’s nice to earn another top-10 overall in this stacked 450 Class.”
Ken Roczen | 26-12 for 16th overall
“Millville was once again a really rough one. I was really good in qualifying practice, but I haven’t done many changes to the bike. I’ve had my struggles, but the biggest problem was me going down in both motos—pretty big ones, too. I got lucky and rolled out of both crashes really well, but the crash in the first moto was a little bit heavier; it took me a long time to get going again because I was basically against traffic. I was dead last, and after that I couldn’t really get going much; I wasn’t feeling too good on the track. It was a really rough weekend with terrible results, but sometimes that’s the way it goes. I’m looking forward to having another go at it next weekend and then we have two off-weekends when I hope we can make a bunch of gains and then do a strong push for the last rounds. First up is Washougal though, and I look forward to the nice scenery and getting back to the races.”
Marshal Weltin | 24-15 for 19th overall
"I really enjoyed the track all day. The Martin family does a great job with track preparations and making sure everything's on point." Weltin then described the on-track intensity. "I had a few good battles with my teammate Brandon Hartranft and also with Alex Martin, so it was cool to battle with Alex in his last race at Millville before retiring from the sport. We're pretty good buddies so it was cool to have a good, clean race with each other. I ended up going 14-15 on the day for sixteenth. I'm definitely still searching to gain a few more positions forward, but overall, I’m happy with being consistent and staying off the ground."
Said Twisted Tea/HEP Motorsports/Suzuki team manager Dustin Pipes:
"Spring Creek did not disappoint. The mechanics did a great job making sure Hartranft and Weltin were dialed in all day. Brandon was very consistent with thirteenth place in both motos for tenth overall. Marshall struggled in the first moto getting back on pace after a near get-off, but his final moto was really good. He finished sixteenth overall. You can expect to see these guys push for better starts and stronger results in these final five rounds."
250 Class
RJ Hampshire | 5-4 for 5th overall
“It was a dog fight all day but I felt like I rode pretty well. Second moto, I felt more comfortable but I had to ride so hard. It’s a bit frustrating but I feel like we’re riding probably the best I ever have and in control, just need a little bit more speed. I’ll go home this week and have a pretty good setup coming into next week.”
Max Vohland | 4-6 for 6th overall
“I had a good day today and made some steps in the right direction. I rode really well all day – from practice to motos. In the first moto, I had a top-five start and moved into third but ended up getting edged out for third on the last lap. In Moto 2, I got a good jump and was in a good position to fight for a podium overall and a couple guys went down and had a red flag, so I had to regroup and I just didn’t get the jump on the second start that I needed and had to fight my way up to sixth. Definitely got some positives to take away for Washougal and we’ll keep fighting for that podium.”
Seth Hammaker | 8-7 for 7th overall
“In Moto 1, I had an awesome start at the front of the pack, and it was good to battle up there near the podium for the opening part of the race. I just needed to clean up some things in the middle of the race that cost me a few positions. In Moto 2, I started a little further back in the top-10, but I had a more solid performance throughout the race to come away with seventh overall. I still want to be higher up on the leaderboard so, we’ll keep building and looking for ways to improve in this second half of the season.”
Ryder DiFrancesco |13-8 for 8th overall
“The whole day I really focused on taking in what the team had to offer and I did my best to execute with improvements on the track. I think that showed with my steady gains throughout the day from qualifying through the motos. In the second moto, it was awesome to battle inside the top-10 the whole race and to end up eighth overall is great. These two pro races have been a great learning experience and I’m looking forward to carrying this momentum into Loretta Lynn’s.”
Pierce Brown | 12-9 for 9th overall
“It was a mediocre day for me, still not where we want to be. I just need to be better off the start and be up there in the mix with the guys. We have five rounds to go, so that’s five more opportunities to get up there again. I’m really excited to go to Washougal, it’s one of my favorite tracks on the circuit!”
Carson Mumford | 16-10 for 10th overall
"It was a rather good day for me. I came in kind of sick and not feeling well, but I dug deep and was determined to use the rough track to my advantage. My Suzuki worked great all day!”
Nate Thrasher | 7-30 for 12th overall
“The day started well, and I qualified fourth. I was feeling good and felt like I had the speed to fight for a podium, but unfortunately, it was another tough day for us. We’re going to put it behind us and try to rebound at Washougal.”
Said Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 team manager Jensen Hendler:
“The day started out well, our guys had a good qualifying, and Justin was back up front where we know he can be. We had some great starts too. Unfortunately, it was just some mistakes that cost us. We’re going to keep working and come back stronger next weekend.”
Preston Kilroy | 17-13 for 14th overall
"Spring Creek was a fun one! I felt a lot more comfortable on the bike this weekend and the team has been making improvements every week. Moto 1 was pretty strong, but I made a couple of mistakes that cost me. In Moto 2 I was able to nail my start and almost grab the holeshot, but then I rode a little tight. I was able to get my best moto finish so far this year and my best overall, but I'm still hungry for more."
Jalek Swoll | 9-DNS for 15th overall
“I didn’t have the best start in Moto 1 but I feel like the riding was pretty good and I finally felt like I was finding some comfort out there. Moto 2 was cut really short – just one of those racing incidents – and there’s nothing much I could have done. It is what it is, I had to sit that one out, but the positives are for sure in the right direction and I’m pretty excited to go racing next weekend.”
Stilez Robertson | 10-DNS for 16th overall
“My day was eventful. I qualified almost the best I have all year, so I was excited. First moto, I think I had a little bike problem that hindered me a little bit. In the second moto, I saw the two riders crash in front of me and I tried to go left and unfortunately my teammate was there and I hit him. I folded my ankle pretty hard and that’s all she wrote. I’m going to go home and get it checked out and try to get back as quick as I can.”
Talon Hawkins |20-15 for 19th overall
“It was so sick! I came into today looking to have some fun and I think I accomplished that goal. I didn’t do the best in qualifying but I tried to put it behind me and do as well as I could in the race. I had an awesome day, I ended up with a 20-15, so I’m pretty pumped on that for my first Pro National.”
Derek Drake | 15-26 for 20th overall
"My first moto was okay. I came from way far back up to fifteenth," Drake told. "In the second moto the red flag zapped my energy and I had nothing in the tank. The track was fun and challenging and I'm looking forward to Washougal!"
Nick Romano | 19-35 for 25th overall
“It was a tough day for me. I didn't get the ball rolling until Moto 2. I got a nice holeshot, then, unfortunately, the race got red flagged, and we restarted. The restart was good, though. I was in the top five there for a little while, then, unfortunately, had a big crash. I’m very sore and feeling banged up, but hopefully, I can recover well and be ready for Washougal!”