FREE PRACTICE

The early day schedule today in Foxborough meant Free Practice got underway at around 7 a.m. Eastern time this morning. That also meant a very early morning track walk for all the riders as well. This was going to be the same schedule in Atlanta before the weather cancelled all of Free Practice and the first qualifying sessions. That means that riders are experiencing this early morning schedule for the first time this year.

Pierce Brown would fire first in the 250SX class as the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GasGas man went to the top of Free Practice with a 54.055. Brown wouldn’t have any luck at all if he didn’t have bad luck the last few weeks with a stack of odd crashes and bike issues. A breakthrough first win tonight while Lawrence may be on title defense mode could be a huge boost for Brown as he looks to right the ship in the coming Lucas Oil Pro Motocross series.

In the 450SX class, it was no surprise to see Tomac shoot to the top of the board early with a 51.972. Tomac has finished second twice in his two visits thus far to Foxborough, but it could be argued that he should have won both times. The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider has been known to excel in softer dirt conditions and this track could play perfectly into his hands today as he looks to wrap up this title two rounds early.

Chase Sexton, Marvin Musquin, and Jason Anderson were all right in the mix as well and each of them are looking to add to their win tallies for 2022. Anderson is slowly becoming the runaway second place rider in the championship down the stretch as his win last week in Atlanta really helped his case. For Musquin, he still has an outside shot at second in the championship but at least third place is still very much in play as he sits just 12 points behind Justin Barcia who currently occupies that position. Still a lot to play for today as we get ready to move into qualifying coming up next.

FIRST QUALIFYING SESSIONS

As qualifying began, it was clear the conditions on the track were going to stay dry as the sun started to beat down more on the circuit. As such, it also appears that the rhythm sections will be the key to getting the whole track right as they peaky and technical jumps will be difficult to get right lap after lap.

In the 250SX Group A session, Austin Forkner would go fastest overall as the 250SX riders started to dip into the 52-second range. Forkner’s 52.440 would just tip Pierce Brown’s 52.534 to put him on top. Jett Lawrence was third fastest as the top six riders all remained within seven tenths of a second of each other. Look for times to continue to drop heading into the second sessions.

The 450SX A Group was next to get out onto the track but not without a slight delay in the schedule first as the track crew needed to take some time to repair the damaged nets system after Hardy Munoz went into them. Munoz would be okay and the 450SX riders were out on track about 15 minutes later with the nets fully repaired.

Jason Anderson and Chase Sexton would exchange the top time a few times with Anderson eventually landing on top at a 50.762. Anderson and Sexton were the only two riders who made it down into the 50-second range with Tomac dropping into third place with a 51.161. Times are close at the top though and we’ll see whether the riders can make it to sub-50 times in the final qualifying sessions of the day coming up shortly.

SECOND QUALIFYING SESSIONS

The 250SX riders came out firing in the final sessions with five different riders finding their way down into the 51-second range right from the start. It was Forkner again who was fastest early with a 51.207 and he put nearly half a second on everyone else for a few minutes as it was RJ Hampshire back in second on a 51.704.

Jett Lawrence shot to the top of the board with four minutes left to go at a 50.947. Forkner responded moments later to go down to a 50.649. He nearly crashed in the very next section after he ran his lap when he overjumped a quad and hit his face on the handlebars. In the end though, his time would remain good enough to hold on for P1 as he qualified fastest for the Foxborough Supercross.

In the final 450SX session of the day, the times were slowly creeping down to that 49-second range. Malcolm Stewart dipped down to the mid-50s with a 50.519 but was quickly outdone by Jason Anderson moments later when he put in a 50.316.

It looked like that time might hold on to remain the top spot, but Chase Sexton fired one more shot late in the session to become the first rider all day to drop into the 49s with a 49.956. So, Sexton qualifies P1 here in Foxborough as we get ready to drop the gate in just a few hours.

FUTURES MAIN EVENT

The 250 Futures Main Event started off a few hours before the night show kicked off and it was Chance Hymas grabbing the holeshot. Rush Chapman moved into second relatively quickly, but Hymas was all but gone from the gate drop as the Honda HRC rider put nearly 30 seconds on the entire field as the race progressed. In the end, Hymas would take the runaway victory from Chapman and Tony Usko rounded out the podium. The same three riders at the top of qualifying all day ended up on the podium as well.

250 HEAT 1

The first gate drop of the day saw Ramyller Alves grab the holeshot while Jett Lawrence was buried in mid-pack. Jarrett Frye moved into second place early on but would be quickly passed by Pierce Brown before the finish line jump. Brown wasted no time to go after Alves for the lead and he got it done in the very next turn.

Jordon Smith moved into second place on the next lap and the two would start to pull out on the rest of the field. Enzo Lopes slipped into third place next and finally Jett Lawrence found his way into the top five as he passed Frye and Alves to get into fourth.

Lawrence continued his march forward throughout the heat race and made a move on Lopes next to get into third. With less than a minute left on the clock, he had about three seconds to make up if he wanted to get Jordon Smith for second place.

That gap closed quickly, and Lawrence made his way into second place coming to the checkered flag. Pierce Brown took the heat race victory in front of Jett Lawrence and Jordon Smith in the end.

250 HEAT 2

As the second 250SX heat race got underway, a huge pileup commenced coming out of the first corner that collected RJ Hampshire, Austin Forkner, Mitchell Oldenburg and many others. All the while, Kyle Chisholm grabbed the holeshot and started walking away with the race lead as Joshua Varize settled into second place.

Hampshire crashed again before the first lap was even over and his bike was severely bent up. He needed to head into the mechanics area and get the bike hammered back into shape a bit before continuing on in last place and way outside of the transfer spot.

Austin Forkner picked it up down the order and worked his way up to third place with a few laps to go. Suddenly, Chisholm crashed while leading and that put Varize into the race lead with Chisholm right behind him in second. Forkner was closing as well and the battle for the win was on as the white flag waved.

Chisholm went for the pass in the whoops and Varize tried to respond by double-singling back up the inside after the whoops, but he didn’t realize that Forkner was tripling into the corner right behind Chisholm and they both collided hard. Chisholm went on to win the heat race while Forkner and Varize both got up to finish fifth and sixth, respectively. All three riders appeared to be a big banged up after the race as well.

450 HEAT 1

Cooper Webb grabbed the holeshot in the first 450SX heat race but was quickly passed by teammate Marvin Musquin in the third corner. Jason Anderson sat right behind them in third as the front three riders went to work on pulling away from the rest of the pack.

Anderson momentarily made a pass on Webb for second place but made a small bobble going into the supercross triple and Webb was able to sneak back around the outside. Musquin continued to lead the way pulling out a little as the time started to wind down.

With two minutes left to go, Anderson made the move stick on Webb in the whoops and set sail after his old training partner Musquin ahead of him. Anderson got right on him and made the pass once again before the supercross triple but then tipped over into the very next corner.

Musquin went on to win the heat race ahead of Anderson and Webb in the end.

450 HEAT 2

Chase Sexton grabbed the holeshot in the second 450SX heat and led the first lap through with Eli Tomac and Malcolm Stewart behind him. Justin Barcia was back in fourth place and the front four riders started opening up a sizeable margin on Vince Friese in fifth place.

There was a feisty battle for the final transfer spot coming all the way to the flag as Fredrick Noren tried to hold off a charging Alex Martin on the final lap. Noren had been closing on Breece ahead of him for much of the race and all three rolled across the finish line jump nearly in unison, but Martin was left as the odd man out when the flag waved.

Sexton cruised to the heat race victory and ran the best lap of the race along the way but only finished 2.3 seconds ahead of Tomac with Stewart right behind as well. It appears the lack of separation on the track should make for some close racing tonight if the top riders can start together.

250 LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER

RJ Hampshire found himself in the LCQ after his troubles early on in the heat race. Fortunately, he was able to jump out to the holeshot in that LCQ and lead the way early on. Behind him, Ty Freehill had a big crash while in fourth place going into the second corner and would lay in the track for a few laps while the Alpinestars Medical Crew attended to him.

Hampshire pulled away to an easy win in the end ahead of Derek Drake, Jack Chambers, and Joshua Cartwright making up the final four spots to the 250SX main event in Foxborough.

450 LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER

Scott Meshey grabbed the holeshot in the 450SX LCQ and had Alex Martin hot on his heels from the gate drop. Martin was able to make a pass for the lead stick before the end of the first lap as the ClubMX Yamaha rider tried to pull away early.

Kevin Moranz moved into second place moments later around Meshey as Meshey held on for third and Bubba Pauli slotted into fourth. Pauli then passed Meshey for third as he was trying to keep Tristan Lane behind him. That put Meshey in the path of Lane as the three riders continued to fight in what was now a battle for third.

Meshey got Pauli back two laps later before the finish line and the battle was on with two laps to go. Tristan Lane then passed Pauli as the white flag waved and was able to put a little cushion between them on the last lap. In the end, Martin would win from Moranz, Lane, and Meshey heading to the main.

250 MAIN EVENT

Cullin Park grabbed the holeshot in the 250SX main event and led the way from Pierce Brown and Jordon Smith. Brown followed Park for a lap and then was able to jump across the start straight onto the table and pull alongside Park into the second corner to take the lead.

Jett Lawrence started near the back of the pack but was able to make some quick passes on the first lap and crossed the line at the end of lap one in 10^th. After Jordon Smith and Joshua Varize came together and Lawrence made a few more passes, he was already up fifth place before five minutes of the race had even passed by.

Park was starting to slide down the order as Hampshire made the pass for second followed closely by Austin Forkner who moved into third and then Lawrence was into fourth less than a lap later. So the order was Brown with a four second lead over Hampshire, Forkner, and Lawrence in the top four as they worked on pulling away from the field.

It all started to kick off at the halfway point when Lawrence caught up to Forkner for third place and the battle commenced. It seemed like Lawrence was really trying to be patient and not force the issue around Forkner, but he did try and ultimately failed a few times to make a pass attempt.

Then Lawrence squared off the corner after the whoops and blocked Forkner from tripling out of the next corner. They made some slight contact and Forkner ended up off the right side of the track where he accelerated into the next corner and put a block pass on Lawrence to get back into third place.

Suddenly, Hampshire made contact with the rear tire of Pierce Brown going into the supercross triple and went over the bars out of second. His bike was fairly mangled, but he was able to make a quick stop in the mechanics area and continue on to ultimately come home in sixth place.

Up front, Brown continued to lead the race, but Forkner and Lawrence were coming. The gap crept down in the closing stages of the race and Forkner made the pass for the lead with three laps to go. Lawrence moved into second place just a few corners later and the battle for the win was left between Forkner and Lawrence as the white flag waved.

In the end, Forkner narrowly held off Jett Lawrence for the win of the main event as he claimed his 12^th career 250SX victory. But the bigger story was Jett Lawrence who won the 2022 250SX East Regional Championship with his second-place finish in Foxborough. The 18-year-old now is a AMA Pro Motocross and Supercross champion as his legacy continues to build.

450 MAIN EVENT

Cooper Webb grabbed the holeshot in the 450SX main event with Eli Tomac in second and Jason Anderson in third. The front trio ran nose to tail for a few laps before Tomac went down the inside trying to take the lead. Webb fought back into the next corner which slowed both riders down as Webb was able to retain the lead.

Anderson was right there suddenly and slid down the inside trying to pass Tomac. Tomac hit Webb’s rear tire reacting to Anderson appearing there and Tomac stalled his Yamaha and allowed Sexton, Musquin, and Stewart by.

The next fight was then between Webb and Anderson as they battled for the lead. Anderson pushed Webb for a few laps before eventually making the pass for the lead with about 14 minutes left in the race. Webb almost immediately started dropping backwards as Sexton, Musquin, Stewart, and Tomac all went by and shuffled the #1 back to sixth.

The battle for the lead was far from over though as Anderson held a 1.2 advantage on Chase Sexton with Marvin Musquin right behind Sexton as well with the race hitting the halfway mark. For the time being, it appeared like Anderson was going to spoil the championship celebration yet another week for Tomac as he was going to close the gap under 52 points with their running order at halfway.

Time continued to click away, and Justin Barcia was slowly charging forward throughout the race getting Webb for sixth with about eight minutes to go. With six minutes to go, he was able to catch and pass Tomac for fifth as well putting the points leader back to sixth. Moments later, Barcia tipped over before the finish line jump and Tomac was able to sneak back by.

Chase Sexton closed up on Jason Anderson a few times after the halfway mark, but Anderson was able to stretch the gap back out to over three seconds with just a few minutes remaining on the clock. Barcia was also able to get back around Tomac for fifth in the closing laps of the main event.

Jason Anderson claimed his fifth win of the 2022 season in Foxborough and keeps the championship alive one more week. Chase Sexton and Marvin Musquin rounded out the podium as Eli Tomac eventually came home in seventh.