Dazzling Debut

If there was any wonder in anyone’s mind on whether or not Jett Lawrence would be competitive in the 450 Class, he successfully destroyed those doubts last Saturday at Fox Raceway. He did it in an extremely convincing way too, going 1-1 and dealing with some pretty heavy pressure from Chase Sexton in the second moto. One race doesn’t make a season, but after watching the opener, it sure seems like Lawrence is going to be up front all season. We’ll see if he backs up last week’s perfection this weekend at Hangtown now that Chase Sexton is out due to a concussion. -Hansel

All in the Family

Jett Lawrence wasn’t the only one to have a great day at the season opener. His older brother, Hunter, rode solidly in the first moto to take third, then checked out in the second moto and won by almost ten seconds over Haiden Deegan. Lawrence is fresh off dominating the 250SX east championship, and by the looks of things, is bringing his improved form into motocross. We’ll see if he keeps it rolling in Northern California. -Hansel

Collision Avoidance

RJ Hampshire had another classic RJ Hampshire day at Fox Raceway. He blew the doors off everyone in the first moto, no surprise there, then proceeded to inspect the dirt closely three times in the second moto. Unfortunately, that’s also not a huge surprise. But even after all that, Hampshire still rode his ass off and streaked back to an overall podium, which is so classic Hampshire it’s not even funny. Hampshire is ridiculously fast, and if he can avoid colliding with Tuff Blox, other riders, and the ground, he’ll be one of the few riders capable of challenging for wins and contending for a title this summer. -Hansel

Groove Time

If there’s one guy who’s the happiest to be going outdoors, it’s got to be Tom Vialle. The Frenchman and MX2 Champ had a tough, crash-filled season of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, but now that the nationals are underway, he’s right in his wheelhouse. It showed at Fox Raceway too—in just his first American motocross race Vialle went 7-3 for fourth overall, narrowly missing the overall podium. He’s only going to get better from here on out too, as he adjusts to the one-day format here in The States. Look for Vialle to be on the box at Hangtown. -Hansel

Unfamiliar Ground

Okay, so most of the guys have raced at Hangtown multiple times, but it’s not like Fox Raceway, where a lot of the guys practice during the week and have logged hundreds, if not thousands, of laps. When AMA Pro Motocross heads to Northern California this weekend, the track won’t be nearly as familiar to them as Fox Raceway, and if the track gets as rough as we’re used to seeing it in the past, it’ll present a real challenge to the riders and suspension techs alike. We’ll see this ends up having an effect on the results at the end of the day. -Hansel 

Familiar Ground

Both Michael Mosiman and Max Vohland said after Fox Raceway that they are looking forward to Hangtown as it is their home track, with both of them being from northern California. They have each spun thousands of laps around the course and Mosiman even won the first moto there in 2022.  Will we see one, or both of them on the box this weekend? -Sarah Whitmore