Racer X - Motocross & Supercross NewsRacer X

  • Subscribe Now
  • Latest
  • Features
  • Breaking News

Racer X - Motocross & Supercross NewsRacer X

  • One Click Sign-In

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    OR

    Sign in with your username and password

    • Sign In
  • Features
    • 10 Things
    • 30 Greatest AMA Motocrossers
    • 3 on 3
    • 250 Words
    • 450 Words
    • Between the Motos
    • Breakdown
    • Deals of the Week
    • GNCC Report
    • Great Battles
    • How to Watch
    • Injury Report
    • Insight
    • In the Mag, On the Web
    • Lockdown Diaries
    • Longform
    • MXGP Race Reports
    • My Favorite Loretta Lynn's Moto
    • Next
    • Observations
    • On This Day in Moto
    • Open Mic
    • Privateer Profile
    • Race Day Feed
    • Racerhead
    • Racer X Awards
    • Racer X Redux
    • Rapid Reaxtion
    • RX Exhaust
    • Saturday Night Live
    • Staging Area
    • The Conversation
    • The List
    • The Moment
    • Things We Learned at the Ranch
    • Unphiltered
    • Wake-Up Call
    • Where Are They Now
    • 50 Years of Pro Motocross
  • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Photo Galleries
    • The Weege Show
    • Racer X Films
    • Video
    • SX Preview Shows
    • Factory Tech Tip
    • MX Preview Shows
    • Behind The Bars
    • Racer X Rapid News
  • Races
    • Series Schedules
    • TV Schedules
    • Results
    • Champions
    • Teams
    • 2022 Numbers
  • Results
    • Points Standings
    • Race Results
    • Riders
    • The Vault
    • Loretta Lynn's Vault
  • Shop
  • About Us
  • The Mag
    • Digital Magazine Bookstand
    • Customer Care
    • Current Issue
    • Newsletter
    • Store Locator
    • Subscribe
    • Free Stickers
    • Sell Racer X
  • Table of Contents
  • Subscribe Now
  • Latest
  • Features
  • Breaking News
Results Archive
MXGP of
Sardegna
Articles
MXGP Results
  1. Calvin Vlaanderen
  2. Jorge Prado
  3. Glenn Coldenhoff
Full Results
MX2 Results
  1. Tom Vialle
  2. Jago Geerts
  3. Thibault Benistant
Full Results
GNCC
The John Penton
Articles
Overall Results
  1. Josh Strang
  2. Ricky Russell
  3. Jordan Ashburn
Full Results
XC2 Pro Results
  1. Cody J Barnes
  2. Ryder Lafferty
  3. Liam Draper
Full Results
Upcoming
Motocross
Fox Raceway 1
Sat May 28
Articles
Upcoming
Australian SX
Gillman
Sun May 29
Articles
Upcoming
MXGP of
Spain
Sun May 29
Articles
Upcoming
GNCC
Mason-Dixon
Sat Jun 4
Articles
Upcoming
Motocross
Hangtown
Sat Jun 4
Articles
Upcoming
MXGP of
Monster Energy France
Sun Jun 5
Articles
Full Schedule
Saturday Night Live: Atlanta
Jason Weigandt

Jason Weigandt

Saturday Night Live Atlanta

April 18, 2022 10:25am
by: Jason Weigandt
  • Home
  • Saturday Night Live
  • Saturday Night Live: Atlanta 2022 Race Report

The All Balls Racing Group is a combination of the finest aftermarket powersports brands from across the U.S. and Europe. Combining OEM level engineering and design capabilities with a world class supply chain makes us the largest global supplier of critical aftermarket hard parts for the powersports industry. You can trust the All Balls Racing Group to provide the exact fitment and best quality in the industry at a price that fits your budget.

Advertisement | Advertise with Us
Atlanta, GA Atlanta Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship

On one side, this 2022 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship is headlined by big points leads in each class, but on the other end it still offers up unpredictable racing. This is proven by round 14 at the massive Atlanta Motor Speedway, where the much-hyped 250SX East/West Showdown didn’t generate a win for either series’ leader, and then the 450 class saw a pair of riders bounce back to early-season form. In the end Hunter Lawrence, not the 250SX series’ leaders Jett Lawrence and Christian Craig, won the 250 race, and Jason Anderson emerged with his first 450SX win since Minneapolis six rounds ago. The points leaders of the classes, including 450SX leader Eli Tomac, were relegated to podium duty.

“Like I’ve said I’ll celebrate any win I get these days,” said the Anderson, of Monster Energy Kawasaki. “It feels good, especially with some of the chaos that has been going on, it gets hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s good to break through, get a win and ride well. It gives you the motivation to get going.”

Anderson could have given up after a mis-season slump left him well back in points. He kept trying and has climbed back to the top step on the box. In Atlanta, Chase Sexton was getting away early but fell, and Anderson out lasted the rest of the competition to take the win.
Anderson could have given up after a mis-season slump left him well back in points. He kept trying and has climbed back to the top step on the box. In Atlanta, Chase Sexton was getting away early but fell, and Anderson out lasted the rest of the competition to take the win. Align Media

This round 14 felt like a trip back to round three, as Anderson had to battle Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton for the win. Sexton has taken a ton of big crashes since his victory way back then, but he’s found his form again and some more comfort on his CRF450R. Sexton was crazy fast all day, topping qualifying and winning his heat race. In the main event, he was pulling away from Anderson and everyone else before he washed the front tire and went down. While “Sexton was fast enough to win but crashed” has been a constant theme this year, he wasn’t as bummed about this one as others, because the speed and comfort still marked a big step from the way he felt a few weeks ago.

“Yeah confidence definitely took a hit,” said Sexton. “I would have a decent race and then a bad one, seemed like I couldn’t get any momentum going. Then Honda came down and did some testing and we found something, and then as soon as we did that my riding was back to where we were in the beginning of supercross. I’m excited for that and I want to finish these three races strong.”

Sexton (23) looked like he had the stuff needed to win until his fell, which has been a far-too-common theme this year. Webb made his return to racing after missing last weekend with an injury. He was actually better than he has been at most races this year, but still couldn't hold back Anderson, Tomac and Sexton, pushing him to fourth.
Sexton (23) looked like he had the stuff needed to win until his fell, which has been a far-too-common theme this year. Webb made his return to racing after missing last weekend with an injury. He was actually better than he has been at most races this year, but still couldn't hold back Anderson, Tomac and Sexton, pushing him to fourth. Align

Sexton’s crash made life easier on Anderson, but left a big battle for the rest of the podium spots. Tomac had a weird first few laps, losing spots to Anderson, Cooper Webb and more on the second lap. It looked like something was wrong, but the points leader just said he had a few “lousy laps” and missed some rhythms. He eventually put it back together and recovered, getting Webb and then holding off Sexton’s hard charge to the finish. That’s the way this season has gone for Tomac. When he’s on, he’s unstoppable, and even when he has a few lousy laps, others make too many mistakes to take full advantage. The result is Tomac could potentially wrap the title this weekend in Foxborough with three races remaining in the series.

“I don't know if I missed a couple rhythm lanes that lap, or at least one, and then I got passed, I believe by Malcolm [Stewart] for a second,” said Tomac. “My first couple laps were super lousy. That’s the only way I can put it. Then the front guys got away. Jason got away. Chase got away. Then I came alive a little bit at the end, but it was way too late.”

Tomac's
Tomac's "super lousy" first few laps held him back from challenging Anderson. The two old rivals also has a spectacular heat race duel, with Anderson coming out on top. Tomac could still wrap the title next weekend. Align

Webb missed the last race of the series with injury but came back at Atlanta, he was in the mix but Tomac and Sexton were better and pushed him back to fourth.

“It was a crazy race – a good battle for the lead and we were all going for it,” he said. “I had a couple crashes but it felt really good to be back in the mix. I missed last week and just been struggling all season but man it felt great to just get back in it. I haven’t really gone that speed since probably last year, so I’m pretty happy. I have to give it up to the team, I had a big crash last week and they came down to Florida and we figured some stuff out. We’ll just keep going for podiums, and hopefully get the first win of the season – there are three races left and we’ll see what happens!”

Malcolm Stewart was banged up after his crash last weekend, he was with the Tomac/Sexton/Webb/Justin Barcia group early but settled for fifth.

“The day was actually pretty good, even though it was a short day,” Stewart said. “I feel like I rode pretty good in the main. I had a decent start and I kind of just made some things happen and we ended up fifth. I do feel like there was a lot more left in the tank but honestly, I’m happy to re-bound myself after the crash last weekend. I know it’s just a top-five but it’s something to build off of and I’m stoked to just be back racing again and we’ll be ready for next weekend.”

Justin Barcia actually nailed the start in the race but had a crash and a few more close calls, pushing him back to sixth.

“It was a pretty crazy day with a different schedule and only having one practice,” said Barcia. “I ended up qualifying P6, which was not a bad place since the track was pretty slippery and kind of wild and one-lined. I wasn’t particularly stoked on my heat-race finish but I got through it and did some bike changes for the main and ripped an awesome hole shot, it felt so good! Unfortunately, I had a few mistakes, went down and just didn’t ride that well, so it was definitely a tough night but I’m a tough SOB and I’m going to go back to Cali, work hard this week and come out swinging at the next round!”

The top six traded places early in the race, and it was fun to watch. Justin Brayton was all by himself for most of the race in seventh, ahead of Kyle Chisholm and Brandon Hartranft in eighth and ninth.

Last week’s race winner, Marvin Musquin, crashed early and went back to last place, he also had an off-track excursion coming through the pack. He ended up tenth.

“It was just a weird day, I was a little off physically and unfortunately, it showed on the riding,” said Musquin. “I was ready to go for the main – I didn’t get a good jump but my position off the start allowed me to push it wide and I had an okay start but going into the end of the tunnel I caught that bank/edge with my rear wheel and it kicked me and I did a 180 [degree turn]. My right-hand glove came off in the crash and my bike was twisted a bit but it took me a couple turns to get used to it and I came back to 10th. I’m a little bit disappointed, obviously, but that’s all I could get today.”

Hunter wins in the battle of Jett versus Christian.
Hunter wins in the battle of Jett versus Christian. Align

The 250s were the star of the show, though, with the East and West divisions facing off the first time this year. The hype was there for points leaders Jett Lawrence and Craig, but Hunter Lawrence out did them both. Craig got a terrible start while Jo Shimoda snuck inside of Hunter Lawrence to take the early lead. Jett made some moves to get toward the front but tucked the front end in a corner and went down. Hunter made a move on Shimoda and got away, but then Craig arrived on the scene to get around Shimoda and take over second. The second half of the race became a lap time battle between Hunter and Craig, the lead hovering around 1.5 seconds, and the two pushing the pace but mostly matching each other’s times. Then Craig tucked the front and crashed, and that was all Hunter needed to bring it home. That’s actually his second win in a row (dating back to the last West race in Seattle) and third this season. He didn’t want to put too fine of a point on winning the race most stacked with talent, though.

“[It feels] Really good,” said Hunter. “Any time you win is cool, so East/West is really good. Everyone is hearing about the East/West deal, who’s going to win, this and that? But, I feel like it's the same for any opening round or any race after some controversy or whatever. It’s always like that. So, it’s not really anything new that you have to change your approach and stuff. We just come here to race. That’s just what I did. Got a good start and went from there.”

Craig had to settle for second, but what really mattered to him wasn’t finishing ahead of East leader Jett Lawrence, but behind Hunter, who is still mathematically in the points race with Craig in West.

Two Lawrences and one Craig on the Atlanta podium.
Two Lawrences and one Craig on the Atlanta podium. Align

“A few years ago it probably would have [cared about the battle with Jett Lawrence], but this year I’m in a different head space,” said Craig. “I’m just very calm and believe in myself and my ability. So, if it happened, it happened. If not, I got to worry more about Hunter and where he’s at on the track. We had a good race there. It was fun. Other than that, it was a cool little showdown we had. Obviously the hype throughout the whole week was me and Jett, but Hunter slid in there for the win.”

Austin Forkner returned from injury with a specular 250SX East heat win. He was held up by a crashing Jett Lawrence in turn one but rallied all the way from 19th to first, edging ahead of RJ Hampshire. He was in the lead fight in the main but crashed when he tagged a tough block, and ended up seventh.
Austin Forkner returned from injury with a specular 250SX East heat win. He was held up by a crashing Jett Lawrence in turn one but rallied all the way from 19th to first, edging ahead of RJ Hampshire. He was in the lead fight in the main but crashed when he tagged a tough block, and ended up seventh. Align
Jo Shimoda led early but couldn't hold back the advances of Craig or the Lawrence brothers. He was fourth.
Jo Shimoda led early but couldn't hold back the advances of Craig or the Lawrence brothers. He was fourth. Align Media

Jett Lawrence’s come back from his crash included last race duels with Shimoda and Austin Forkner, who looked solid in his return from injury. Jett made some passes, getting by Forkner in the whoops, and the emerging ahead in a cat-and-mouse battle with Shimoda to take third. He had also gone down in the first turn of his heat race.

“Sucked that both happened, but it is what it is,” he said. “That’s what the biggest thing was today, the traction deal because obviously it was pretty muddy in the only qualifiers. So, it was kind of just seeing what the traction is going to be like, when is it going to be tacky and grippy. I found out in most spots that it wasn’t tacky at all. It is what it is. You can’t really just sit there and complain and throw your hands up. You’ve got to get back on your bike, put your head down, bum up, and keep on charging.”

Shimoda was fourth, unable to hold off the top three after his holeshot, but still looking better than he did a few weeks ago in Seattle. Nate Thrasher, who won two races at Atlanta Motor Speedway last year, was fifth. Michael Mosiman had a crash while up front and took sixth. Forkner was seventh in his return from a collarbone injury, but also punctuated his return with a spectacular 19th-to-first comeback win in the 250SX East heat race. RJ Hamsphire crashed early while battling Hunter Lawrence for second, he took eighth. Mitchel Oldenburg and Pierce Brown rounded out the top ten.

  • Wake-Up Call Wake-Up Call 9:30am
  • The Conversation: El Hombre Strikes Again The Conversation: El Hombre Strikes Again 11:00am
Presented by:
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Website
Read Now
July 2022 Issue Now Available
Get Racer X on your iPhone
Check out all the exclusive content this month on any device!
Read Now
The July 2022 Digital Issue Availalbe Now

Motocross & Supercross News - Racer X

122 Vista Del Rio Drive, Morgantown, WV 26508 | 304-284-0084 | Contact Us
©1999 - 2022 Filter Publications LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
designed at: Website DesignImpulse Studios