Well, preseason prognostications that Jett and Hunter Lawrence were the favorites in the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship’s 250 class proved true. They indeed went 1-2 in both motos, part of a bonkers-level celebration for Team Honda, which was already celebrating its 50th season of U.S. motocross racing with retro looks and nods to domination days of the past.
Yep, it was a Honda show. This is a long series, however, and others don’t want to just hand them the trophies over the next 11 races. Who else had a story to tell from the opener?
It starts with Jo Shimoda, who came closest to breaking up the Honda part up front, holding Hunter Lawrence back for 95 percent of the final moto. Hunter applied relentless pressure and found a way around on the last lap.
“On the last lap, I didn’t really know what he was going to do,” said Shimoda, post-race. “I just tried going inside the rut like I did the whole moto. He had decided to go outside. I lost some time there. Overall, today was a great day for me, even though it’s a third, from having a tough supercross season. I hope I can make some improvements. It was a great day.”
Shimoda did take his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki to the overall podium, with 4-3 scores. After a rough supercross campaign, it was a good step forward. He spent most of moto one in a huge battle, and a better start in moto two made life easier.
“First of all, if I had better pace on the qualifier, I would have got a better gate,” said Shimoda, who was ninth fastest in qualifying. “Maybe that leads me into a better start on the first moto. We’re racing for 30 minutes and it’s hard to make a perfect lap every single lap. So, like I said, doing what I can to maximize it.”
RJ Hampshire had a moto podium as well, with his typical mix of speed and determination taking him to third. An early crash in moto two set him way, way back and he finished ninth.
“It was a pretty crazy day, and I was able salvage a fourth overall,” Hampshire said. “The day started off wild, I came together with someone in practice and hit the ground pretty hard, but I was able to put that behind us. I feel like I was riding well today, and we had really good speed, it’s not like we’re far off. I’ll work on getting a better start next weekend at Hangtown and being up there and staying consistent.”
Several other riders were in the mix with Shimoda and Hampshire during that huge first moto battle. It starts with Justin Cooper, who was hoping to be back at his 2021 level after a huge foot injury kept him out of supercross, and then getting into a crash in qualifying. It was insult and injury, there. The riders took off for the first practice session of the year and Nick Romano and Seth Hammaker collided, and Hammaker went right into Cooper, who had nowhere to go. I saw Cooper after the crash and he said he was okay, but there’s a good chance his first-moto fade was due to taking on that qualifying crash. Or because he doesn’t have full fitness after the foot injury. Or both. Either way in moto one he faded from first to 11th, then took 13th in moto two. It hurt in more ways than one.
Fox Raceway 1 - 250
May 28, 2022| Rider | Hometown | Motos | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jett Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia  | 1 - 1 | Honda CRF250R |
| 2 |  Hunter Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia | 2 - 2 | Honda CRF250R |
| 3 |  Jo Shimoda | Suzuka, Japan  | 4 - 3 | Kawasaki KX250F |
| 4 |  R.J. Hampshire | Hudson, FL  | 3 - 9 | Husqvarna FC 250 |
| 5 |  Michael Mosiman | Sebastopol, CA | 9 - 4 | GasGas MC 250F |
| 6 |  Austin Forkner | Richards, MO | 6 - 6 | Kawasaki KX250F |
| 7 |  Seth Hammaker | Bainbridge, PA | 8 - 5 | Kawasaki KX250F |
| 8 |  Levi Kitchen | Washougal, WA | 5 - 8 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 9 |  Pierce Brown | Sandy, UT | 7 - 7 | GasGas MC 250F |
| 10 |  Stilez Robertson | Bakersfield, CA | 10 - 11 | Husqvarna FC 250 |
“It was really good to be back racing, but it was a tough day,” said Cooper in a team statement. “It’s been a long time off, and we really had a struggle today. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but I’m positive. We’re going to work hard going into this next round and try to get up front pretty quick.”
Hammaker was a revelation. He topped the first qualifying session of the year, and backed it up by nearly topping the second, only with Jett nipping him at the end. Hammaker has barely even raced pro motocross before. He made it to three races last year, and that’s it. This was his fourth Pro Motocross national. He ran up front in the first moto and ended the day 8-5 for seventh overall. We had virtually no data on Hammaker outdoors, and now we know he’s fast. That’s something at least.
“It feels really good to be back at the races again,” said Hammaker in a Monster Energy Kawasaki team statement. “It’s been a few months since I lined up to compete, so I was expecting to have some nerves, but it all came back to me really quick. I’m pumped to have gotten fastest qualifier at the opening round too! We’re going to build on this performance as we prepare for next weekend and try to carry more of that qualifying speed into the motos.”
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing is the perennial powerhouse of the 250 class, but with Cooper ailing and Jeremy Martin not even lining up this summer due to injury, it’s up to the new kids to step up. Levi Kitchen showed some potential throughout the day but ended up 5-8 for eighth overall.
“It wasn’t a bad day,” Kitchen said. “The first moto was obviously better, getting fifth, but I still had to work for it in both motos and come from the back, especially in that second one. It was kind of embarrassing; I think I was 38th in the second turn. So, I need to work on the starts, but as far as my speed and fitness and everything else, if I can get off the gate with those guys up front, I think I can run with them for sure. I’m looking to do that next weekend and just keep building for the rest of the season.”
![Nick Romano]()
Nick Romano Align Media ![Austin Forkner]()
Austin Forkner Align Media ![Levi Kitchen]()
Levi Kitchen Align Media ![Seth Hammaker]()
Seth Hammaker Align Media
Star also had a few laps to shout about when rookie Nick Romano led a bit of moto two after controlling the start. First-pro-race revelations are pretty common, and Romano joined the legions who have led early. He ended up drifting back to 14th.
“The day went pretty well,” Romano said. “I got off to a nice holeshot in Moto 2 and led for a bit, which was great. I’m just happy that we made improvements every time we hit the track, which was my main goal coming into my first race this weekend. We really had no expectations, so it was a good first round. We know what we need to work on, and we’re going to keep moving forward.”
One other rider expected to contend this summer is Austin Forkner, who took a late-season Monster Energy AMA Supercross win to indicate he was finding his old form. He wasn’t spectacular but was okay, in general, taking 6-6 scores and sixth overall.
“I think sixth overall is a good result for the opening round and something we can definitely use to build on in the coming weeks,” he said. “This is a long and physically demanding season so my goal for this round was to leave Fox Raceway healthy and with a good result. And we did just that.”
