High Point is usually a high point for AMA Pro motocross, as it’s been on the circuit for a long time, it’s usually early enough in the series where we don’t quite know how things are going to go, and it’s the first eastern national. And there’s usually rain as well. And ruts. And mud. So, in 2023, we had ourselves a traditional High Point motocross national! The track in the second moto was, to me, what I think of when I think of High Point. It was Lakewood last week but bumped up on HGH!
Let’s get to the results, shall we?
250MX
1 |96 |Hunter Lawrence 3-1
Lawrence won again in a very similar way to his other wins this year. Faces some adversity in moto one and makes the best of it, then rises to the occasion and wins moto two. I feel like I’m guilty of being pretty amazed by Jett’s results and riding, and maybe not making enough of the fact that despite “us” thinking the 250MX class was stacked, Hunter’s gone 4-0 to start the year?
I get that Hunter didn’t like that seven-point penalty for jumping on the red cross, but you can’t go case by case and adjudicate them wondering if the rider saw it or not. In some cases, I’m sure they don't because our flaggers in the sport aren’t, uhhh, always top notch. In Hunter's case, the flag was getting pulled down just as he hit the takeoff for the jump, and the rider who crashed was already up. It was close. You just have to say, ‘Hey flag was out, you jumped, and you’re docked.’ Now if you want to make it a standard four or five point penalty and not based on positions (because it’s three points first to second and that affects your penalty), I’m down with that.
2 | 24 | RJ Hampshire 1-7
I would like RJ’s ride at High Point (both motos) to be put into a time capsule and then in 100 years when people discover it and ask, ‘What was RJ Hampshire’s career like?’ they can just watch the speed to get to the lead, the near crashes, the actual crash, the late-race pass to re-take the lead, the win, the move in the second turn in the second moto, the desire to rip up the pack from way back, and the seventh place, and all the MX historians can just nod their head and understand what his career was like. High Point was, “RJ’s gonna RJ” all in one day!
3 | 238 | Haiden Deegan 2-6
Deegan wasn’t happy after moto one and I’m sure you can guess why. Top dudes don't like losing the lead late. But still, he was great again and sits second in the points after four rounds with a moto win. Pretty good start for Danger Boy. I said it would take a year before he’s contending for the title and race wins, looks like I was a tad off.
4 | 30 | Jo Shimoda 7-3
Jo ended the 250MX season last year on a tear, one that would make most of us think he would be right back into the mix this year for wins. Well, so far through eight motos he’s maybe crashed more than ever and not been able to get back to where he was. He’s got just two third-place finishes so far. I don’t think this is a case of Hunter, Deegan, Hampshire, etc. raising their level and leaving him behind. Nope, I just don’t think he’s been as good as he was at the end of last season.
5 | 128 | Tom Vialle 11-2
The second moto was Vialle’s best so far here in the USA and he was at one point catching Lawrence. I would love to get some truth serum in Tom and ask him how much slower his USA bike is than his MX2 bike over in Europe was. Looks to me in watching MXGP races over the years that KTM has their 250 motor really figured out, while here in the USA, where the rules say you have to run the production cases and cylinder head, it’s not quite there yet.
6 | 832 | Chance Hymas 8-5
Hymas led laps again and if we weren’t all impressed so much by Deegan, we’d be talking more about Chance and his emergence. He’s really close to getting that moto win here and will probably be “a guy” next year for race wins indoor and out.
7 | 75 | Ryder DiFrancesco 5-8
If we weren’t all impressed so much by Deegan (and then Hymas), we’d also be talking about Ryder D. One of the most decorated amateur riders ever, Ryder D’s been a bit under the radar through eight motos, but he’s got five top tens, and looks better than maybe he did at any race last year (except for that one where he ran second for a bit).
8 | 38 | Jalek Swoll 4-11
Jalek’s been good to start the year, I don’t think he was stoked at the 24 running into him in the second moto and taking him down, but on a track he won at before, he was still pretty fast. I would’ve put the odds at Swoll going back to Husqvarna at, say, 10 percent after his injury and missing all of SX, but I think he’s put himself back into the conversation with these outdoor rides. Most people expect him to head to Triumph in 2024, but maybe not?
9 | 43 | Levi Kitchen 12-4
“Kitch” has been a bit hot and cold to start the year, right? His starts seem that way also and I wonder if the Star guys are yelling at him to get his shit together, or, because he’s leaving for Pro Circuit, they kind of leave him alone? Sometimes, these things get weird with teams. Also, last week in OBS I wrote that I thought “Kitch” was fixed, but obviously, I was wrong. He’s got to get better at qualifying and get his starts going.
10 | 34| Maximus Vohland 6-12
I hear the Vohland to Pro Circuit stuff for 2024 is back on now. Maximus can ride motocross well, we can see that for sure, but why does he not make some main events in 250SX? That’s the question I can’t figure out.
11 | 243 | Caden Braswell 9-13
Braswell’s been on a fill-in ride at Troy Lee Designs Red Bull GasGas and it was scheduled to end after High Point, but he’s been pretty good out there as a rookie. The team is missing Mosiman for the year now and Pierce Brown is scheduled to come back at RedBud, but I hear the team is keeping Braswell on for that race and I would imagine the rest of them. There’s something here, I think, with Caden who started off SX poorly but got a lot better.
12 | 85 | Dilan Schwartz 14-9
Schwartz is Schwartz. He’s a good outdoor guy and you don’t notice him much out there other than he’s the top RM Army guy and then you look at the results and go, ‘Hmm, lookie there, Schwartz had a good ride.’ That ninth is his first top ten of the year and he should be getting more of those as the series goes on.
13 | 58 | Jordon Smith 15-10
Jordon’s back outdoors, and I imagine him hating life at most of the motos this year. At Lakewood he got good starts because he’s on a Star Yamaha but other than that, it’s been a LOT of eating rocks in the other motos.
14 | 71 | Preston Kilroy 10-15
Kilroy has been solid the last four motos and that tenth in moto one was a career best for him. He’s in shape and as the tracks get rougher and temperatures go up, he should get better. I’ve never spoken to Kilroy and I actually don’t even really know what he looks like but he’s a trooper out there.
15 | 339 | Talon Hawkins 13-14
I don’t know about Hawkins. Like, SX was eeehhhh, outdoors so far has been eeehhhh. I get it, he’s a rookie and in supercross he was really a late fill-in for Swoll, who was hurt. He could have raced SX Futures. But he’s also on a factory bike and has a proven program around him. I think you want to see more flashes of speed from him, right? He’s consistent sure, but you just want to see that one breakout ride if you’re Nathan Ramsey [Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team manager] I think.
450MX Results
1 | 18 | Jett Lawrence 1-1
Well, the kid kept the moto win streak and the overall streak intact, but it wasn’t easy by any means. On a day where he didn’t feel comfortable with the track, Jett still showed just how damn good he is by making it happen. I know people talk about how smart he is as a rider (which he is), but he’s still a kid, he’s a champion and every champion I’ve ever met (especially early in their careers) has that chip on their shoulder. So, I don’t agree with people saying he’s going to be okay with letting the moto win go if it’s not there. Because Roczen crashed late in moto one and took seventh, Jett was gonna win the overall anyway, but I think he wants to go undefeated, and he wants to show everyone how bad of a dude he is. Anyway, week off for The Jett and I hope he enjoys life a little bit. He’s earned it.
2 | 94 | Ken Roczen 7-2
I don’t know why I maybe underestimate Kenny from time to time. Whether it’s his move to Suzuki, his comeback from injuries, or his ability to win a dirt bike race at any point. He shows up at High Point with two days of outdoor riding in him, leads laps, almost wins a moto and should’ve gone 2-2 on the day. I don’t know if it says something about him or something about the other factory riders in the class. I’ll go with the former I suppose. Great ride for the #94!
3 | 9 | Adam Cianciarulo 4-4
Adam’s social media statement, ‘The reports of my demise have bene greatly exaggerated,’ was awesome. AC even went after Roczen in the second moto! He was sort of back to being the Adam we’ve seen in the past and ended up with an overall podium on the day. Was he “back” all the way? No, that Adam may never be back, but what’s wrong with some occasional flashes here and there and some steady rides?
4 | 14 | Dylan Ferrandis 6-3
Dylan made life hard on himself in moto one again, just like last week when he made life hard on himself with crashes. In Pala, he made it easy on himself with good starts. See how that works? Anyway, I gotta think Ferrandis isn’t where he wants to be with his bike at the moment. Well, I don’t gotta think, I feel like I know this. To me, it’s the bike of the year so I don’t get it.
5 | 2 | Cooper Webb 3-6
Webb was not stoked last week that Masterpool passed and dropped him, so I can only imagine the anger level in the second moto when for most of it, he was trailing Masterpool again. Webb must’ve dug deep because he got by him late and salvaged his day. I don’t know, like literally moto to moto I’m thinking, "Webb, Ferrandis, and Plessinger have this figured out, they’re good now," and then, "Nope, they’re still not where they should be."
6 | 36 | Garrett Marchbanks 2-8
I joked with Garrett last week that despite moving up to the 450, his starts still sucked. He’s never been a great starter, but one would think the 450 would be better for him because of his size. Not last week but this week, yup! That second would’ve been a third if Kenny could’ve started his bike faster, but regardless, what a ride! And pulling into the mechanic’s area in moto 2 and then going back out there and charging all the way back to 8th was also great. Very good day for Marchbanks and the team, regardless of the second moto pit stop.
7 | 81 | Ty Masterpool 5-7
Hey man, whether it’s Star Yamaha, AEO GasGas, or BarX Suzuki, it hasn’t worked out for Ty, but on his own, with his parents and a mechanic, on a pretty stock Kawasaki, it IS working for him. Happy to see him crush it out there and I think this will be “a thing” all summer long.
8 | 7 | Aaron Plessinger 8-5
I asked AP if High Point or Lakewood was tougher and being a typical rider, he based his answer on his results. “High Point (was tougher) because I rode like a goon.” Well, I wasn’t there but yeah, these seem pretty goon-ish for Aaron. I would’ve said he was on the podium looking at the track and the conditions.
9 | 78 | Grant Harlan 11-9
Harlan’s just going to Harlan. He’ll get lost in the Masterpool, and now Marchbanks, Privateer Island hype, but he’s a very solid rider. I really wished I would’ve seen the Nicoletti/Harlan battle in moto one, which Phil described on Monday’s PulpMX Show as a “ride,” not a race.
10| 53 | Derek Drake 9-12
I think Drake had some bike issues. Again. He’s been struggling a bit with different bike things, but he’s still been putting in some real results here for the Army. Drake was way back off the start in moto one so that ninth is great.
11 | 444 | Romain Pape 10-13
The Pope had a good day out there. He was pretty steady, and considering he qualified 22nd, he crossed the holeshot line in seventh (thanks Bondo!), which is strong. Second moto he got an even better start.
12 | 47 | Fredrik Noren 14-10
Freddie should be where Masterpool and Harlan are. He’s done it before, either as a privateer or as a factory Honda guy, but so far, he’s been up and down. Hangtown he was just cruising in sixth, which is what he can do most times, IMO. This week he was 24th and 22nd off the start, so we need to get him some one-on-one time with Holeshot Hansen or something.
13 |103| Lorenzo Locurcio 13-11
WILDCAT RACING is still a thing, although Butron has hit a bit of a skid here after a good start. One of the motos at High Point, Lorenzo was way back so a decent day for Lucurcio. Big news coming for the Wild Cat team at RedBud—hold onto your hats people.
14 | 91 | Jeremy Hand 15-14
With this summer’s 450MX class being the summer of the Islanders, I would’ve thought that Hand would’ve done a bit better. I don’t know, he’s a good rider and he’s good at High Point (since we no longer have Troy, this is his home track), and I thought it was all coming together.
15 | 69 | Phillip Nicoletti 12-21
Oh Phillip. If anyone was going to come out to their first race and have their bike blow up on the first lap of the practice that was WAY faster than the other one and then grab the final qualifying spot into the motos, it would be Phil. Because Phil will always, always have the real or virtual rain cloud over him at all times. Our Racer X columnist had a “mental” day at the races and honestly, he himself described it perfectly on the PulpMX Show. Just have a listen for yourself starting at 1:30 in. http://pulpmx.com/pulpmxshow/
Thanks for listening, email me at matthes@racerxonline.com if you want to chat about this race or the upcoming SMX Playoffs where nobody actually gets eliminated.