The 2023 AMA Pro Motocross Championship resumed in Northern California over the weekend at the Carson City Motorsports Hangtown Motocross Classic. The temperature was high, the track was unique, and yet again, a pair of brothers from Australia took top honors. Jason Thomas breaks it all down right here.
It was pretty hot on Saturday, which contributed to a dry track. Aaron Plessinger commented that he felt more water should have been put down, but later in the post-race press conference Jett Lawrence said they tried to fix the dry track by putting a lot of water down, which, in his words, “doesn’t work.” Was there not enough water worked into the dirt before the day got started? What could have been done at Hangtown?
Jason Thomas: They are both saying the same thing, but you mentioned the solution in your question. Hangtown is an inherently hard-packed racetrack. They have made great improvements by adding sand and rice hulls over the last twenty-odd years, but this weekend was a bit of a miss. To soften a track like Hangtown, it has to be incredibly wet beforehand. That water has to be worked in via equipment so that it penetrates through multiple layers of the soil. As the dirt is turned over throughout the day, that wet, soft dirt is still lying underneath the surface, ready to create traction when given its chance. When water is simply added to the surface of a hard, baked track, it doesn’t penetrate even the top layer. It puddles and makes traction worse, if anything. It’s still necessary for dust control but it wreaks havoc for the riders trying to navigate the opening laps.
Long story short, the track prep has to be started earlier and applied more heavily throughout the equipment operation process. The equipment creates a channel to moisten the underlying layers but once that’s sealed back up, the opportunity is missed.
How was the track compared to years past, in terms of roughness? It didn’t look as bad as insane as it has before, but that’s easy to say when you’re watching from the sidelines.
It wasn’t as rough and that’s a by-product of the above dynamic. The harder base stays smoother, overall. The bumps are “harder” and create this choppy, bone-jarring effect for the riders, but the dirt simply doesn’t move as much when it starts much harder. When the dirt begins the day soft and a little sloppy, it moves easily and creates bigger bumps through braking and acceleration. Riders would typically prefer softer bumps even if they are significantly bigger.
The 450 Class is pretty thin right now, which translates into riders scoring career bests at seemingly every round. Derek Drake and Lorenzo Locurcio, for example, had a great battle inside the top ten in the first 450 moto. There are also more riders making the motos who probably wouldn’t be there otherwise. With no disrespect intended, is this making the situation with lappers not getting out of the way substantially worse than normal?
The overall talent level is a bit lower due to all of the injuries. Riders who would normally not be out there are now finding themselves in the motos. They don’t have the experience the regulars do and are likely learning lapper etiquette on the fly. The other part of this is that the top few are lapping well into the top-twenty points-paying positions. It’s a tough ask for riders to move out of the way while in their own battle for championship points. It’s important for riders in this position to remain aware of the situation, and to allow the leaders to move through without taking advantage of their competitors. Nothing made me more angry than a rider going for a pass while the leaders were trying to get by. There has to be an understanding that when a rider is trying to move for the sake of the overall race, don’t make a cheap pass. I wonder if there could be a rule introduced that passing is a no-go when the blue flag is in use? I can verify that I was always balancing how to move out of the way without losing hard-fought positions in the process, especially in supercross.
Yet again Jett Lawrence immediately built up roughly a five-six second gap on the field in both motos, which he maintained the whole time en route to both motos. He even set a fast lap on lap ten of the second moto when Aaron Plessinger started eating into his gap. This method isn’t exactly anything new, but when asked about it in the post-race press conference he said when he has those gaps, he does things like try new lines while keeping an eye on the gap, to see what’s working and what’s not. Have you ever seen a rider this young with such advanced race craft?
It’s remarkable. We have seen this race craft at work for a couple of years now, managing situations better than most veterans. His ability to raise his pace to match the need is just not common. It needs to be mentioned there are several elite riders who are missing from the field and this management mode might not be possible against the likes of Eli Tomac or a healthy Chase Sexton. Still, it’s very impressive to see him utilizing the entire array of skills at only 19. What does this kid look like at 23? 25? Scary.
Cooper Webb credited a fork change between motos for his improved pace in moto two. Was there anything you saw in his riding in the first moto that would have indicated some sort of issue one way or another with his forks?
I didn’t notice it but I know they have been trying new things each moto. Webb entered the season on a smaller fork, hoping to gain more flex (I would assume). Without much testing before the opener and zero races in this series last season, Webb is learning as we go. I would expect mid-day changes to be the norm versus the exception.
We had some seriously impressive rides in the 250 Class. Haiden Deegan won a moto (and led every single lap!) in just his fourth national, Chance Hymas was amazing in the second moto, and guys like Guillem Farres, Ryder DiFrancesco, and Jalek Swoll, who had a big crash last week, all had extended periods when they looked incredibly strong toward the front. What do you make of these performances?
The youth gone wild! It’s a great sign for the future of the class. With the top few wanting to make the 450 jump (Hunter Lawrence, Justin Cooper), the young riders are all looking to fill the void. They still have to deal with veterans like RJ Hampshire and Jo Shimoda, but there is no doubt the rookie class is for real. Deegan is leading the charge. but they all look ready and capable. For anyone wondering if the Futures program was working, rest easy.
RJ Hampshire was fast at Hangtown, no surprise there, but his not-so-hot starts proved to be too much to overcome for him to get on the podium. Is this the weak point in his game right now? If so, was there anything you saw in his starts that you may have done differently, if in his position?
I am wondering if the tire played a role here. He used the scoop tire at the opener and certainly had that dialed in. Using a more traditional tire changes the dynamic exiting the start grate and it appeared to be missing that extra little bit. Many will likely switch back to the scoop this weekend if the track is tacky, especially in the first moto. Let’s see if that changes this back to his favor.
Is it hard to stay positive when you’re in Justin Cooper’s situation? Yeah, he was better than he was at Fox Raceway, but he was in a position to win the overall in moto two, only to get passed by Hunter Lawrence, who he’d beaten in the first moto. Do things like this mess with a guy’s head?
It's important to stay positive in this scenario. He was better in every aspect at Hangtown. He still qualified first, his starts were better, his moto finishes were better, and his overall finish was better. Dwelling on the negative only creates frustration, especially when there were substantive positives to take from the day. He took steps in the right direction. Was it perfect? No, of course not. This series is a long slog of good days and bad. It’s ok to leave wanting more, but reinforcing the positives is important, too. Sentiment and confidence go hand in hand. If the tone is too negative, confidence suffers.