Just like that, the 2023 AMA Pro Motocross Championship has hit the halfway mark. Six rounds down out of 11, and 12 motos down out of 22. The racing over the weekend at the Southwick Naitonal provoked plenty of questions, too, and fortunately, former pro Jason Thomas is here to answer all of them in this week’s race breakdown.
Seth Hammaker was awesome, going 7-5 for fifth overall, and even showed some pretty good poise while under pressure. He’s from Pennsylvania, so he’s likely ridden this track plenty of times, but even so, did you expect him to be so solid in just his second round back following after badly breaking his arm/wrist?
Jason Thomas: I was more surprised with what I saw at RedBud than Southwick. For him to come in and immediately be on pace was remarkable. He hasn’t raced all year long. The ability to find race intensity that quickly is rare. Southwick was continuation of that form we saw at his first race back. He deserves a lot of credit for being this prepared.
Haiden Deegan now leads the championship by five points over Hunter Lawrence, but he also wasn’t as good as we’ve seen him at other races. He started slow in the first moto (although he really picked it up at the end), and had a crash that hindered his progress in the second race. How do you rate his day?
I was given a few hints by inside sources that this might be a tough venue for Haiden. I tried to keep an open mind because he has done nothing but impress me every step of his professional career. In the end, that foresight seems to have been worth buying. It wasn’t an awful outing but comparing to how fast and consistent he’s been up until this point, it was certainly a tougher day at the office than most. The good news is that he took over the points lead, and his struggle was topped by Hunter’s.
| Position | Rider | Hometown | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Hunter Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia  | 419 |
| 2 |  Justin Cooper | Cold Spring Harbor, NY  | 399 |
| 3 |  Jo Shimoda | Suzuka, Japan  | 393 |
| 4 |  Haiden Deegan | Temecula, CA | 371 |
| 5 |  Levi Kitchen | Washougal, WA | 322 |
Last week Hunter Lawrence’s first-turn crash opened the door for Deegan to get back into the title hunt, but this week the door was ripped off the hinges when Lawrence had another zero-point moto when his bike broke at the end of the first moto. In addition to surrendering the points lead, it allowed guys like RJ Hampshire, Jo Shimoda, and Justin Cooper to come barging back into the picture. With so much blood in the water, and Hunter Lawrence’s ribs still sore, how does he respond at Spring Creek?
His health is the number one question. If he is back near 100 percent, I expect him to be standing on the podium Saturday afternoon. If he’s still ailing and unable to truly push, he will be in a dogfight just like he was at Southwick. He is capable of rising above that group on a consistent basis (as he’s shown all season) but he has to be full strength to do it. Asking anyone to consistently win while injured is a tall, if not unfair ask.
Tom Vialle was fantastic at Southwick, winning the first moto and securing his first overall win here in America. He’s been doing great lately, but how much of his impressive ride can be attributed to the sands of Southwick? Do you think he was more comfortable on this terrain?
I think it’s a combination of him finding his footing on a different motorcycle (the GP bike is very different than his production-based AMA bike) and the endless laps he’s spent at Lommel. This has been building and the signs have been visible. His second moto pace at High Point Raceway was the first ray of light, the first sign that a breakout was imminent. He’s only furthering that progress now and with it, confidence.
![Tom Vialle]()
Tom Vialle Align Media ![Tom Vialle earned his maiden AMA Motocross moto win and overall win at the Southwick National.]()
Tom Vialle earned his maiden AMA Motocross moto win and overall win at the Southwick National. Align Media
All tracks deteriorate and change with every lap, but is Southwick, being a sand track, even more prone to this? How frustrating is it for a rider to not be able to find reliable lines, or to have a line they’ve been using over and over suddenly vanish?
This is a characteristic of any sand track. If you are expecting to hit the same rut in the same condition lap after lap, you’re in for a long afternoon. Sand riding is about adaptability and staying vigilant. Riders need to assume the good line will eventually blow out and you don’t want to be the last one to notice. New lines shape up, old lines become a liability. A good rule of thumb is always be thinking of how to shorten the race track, that will keep you lower in the berms and ever-watching for tighter lines to develop.
On the broadcast Ricky Carmichael made an interesting point, saying factory bikes are set up to be ridden at the limits, and they start not working as well when a rider has to back off the pace somewhat. Did you notice this with any particular riders toward the end of the motos?
I didn’t notice it with one particular rider, but he makes a valid point. The window for high performance with a factory bike is very narrow. When in that window, there is a significant advantage, though. As riders get tired, they aren’t able to push the motorcycle to its limit any longer and the stiffness and rigidity begins to work against you (to Ricky’s point). When riders are at their weakest, they would love to be able to soften things up and gain some absorption. This is where the team suspension technician tells the rider to get into better shape and the handling will be at peak ability the entire moto (insert smiley face).
We’ve talked about Ty Masterpool before, but it’s time to revisit. He had a great battle with Dylan Ferrandis in the first moto, and even fought back aggressively when Ferrandis tried to go by. Do you think we would have seen that same level of aggression from Masterpool several weeks ago, or has his confidence spiked after so many good rides?
I think this is just who he is right now. He was very aggressive at Thunder Valley, too. He isn’t intimidated by the names on the back of his peer’s jerseys. He’s racing everyone the same way, fighting for positions without discrimination. He’s been a revelation. If he could ever figure out SX to this same effect, he would be on a factory bike without question.
Jo Shimoda was so much better in the second moto than the first, going 6-1 for third overall. Can we attribute his dazzling moto two win to a good start, or did you notice something extra from the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider?
I don’t know! He doesn’t know! I asked him this same question on the podium, and he didn’t seem to have any answers. We know he’s capable, he proved that several times in 2022. He seems to be struggling with putting the entire package together this season. When he gets a bad start, his riding is good enough to drag him forward, but the damage is too much to overcome. In the few races where he got a good start, his riding didn’t rise to the occasion. Maybe this is the start of a late run, very similar to what we saw last season. He caught fire in the final few rounds, making a case for being the fastest guy down the stretch. If I am him, I go back and watch those 2022 races over and over to reinforce what I am capable of after such a breakout moto.
Justin Cooper was oh-so-close to claiming the overall win but tipped over while battling Shimoda in the second moto. How hard is it to recover physically and immediately get back on race pace in those situations? Especially at tracks as hot and rough as Southwick?
It’s brutal. When you’re mid-moto, the cooling effect of the wind is incredibly important. When you crash and come to a stop, that wind immediately stops (from the lack of motion), and the heat hits you extremely hard. Not only that, the energy required to pick the bike up and get going again is in short supply. It’s very important to focus on lowering your breathing and subsequent heart rate in that first lap after crashing. The goal is to quickly regain the rhythm you were on without a huge spike in heart rate or body temperature. This is where interval and sprint training show their value. Those exercises prepare your body and mind to endure a big uptick in heart rate and then quickly recover back to the desired level. A crash followed by picking the motorcycle and resuming the race will have a very similar effect on a cardiovascular level that intervals do.
What’d you think of Chase Sexton’s attempts to track down his teammate, Jett Lawrence? Sexton showed he had the speed to run with Lawrence but lost both motos by large margins.
He needs to continue to push in this way. The only way to be with Jett for 35 minutes is by doing it for 10, then 15, then 20, and so on. Settling early won’t give him the improvement he needs. He has a big gap to close overall because Jett seems to have another gear when needed. Big gaps are typically closed a small amount at a time, though. Attempting to accomplish the task all at once will likely end in failure but small improvements that allow him to narrow the gap week after week will slowly result in a tighter battle. He needs to remain optimistic and focus on incremental gains. Rome wasn’t built in a day and Jett hasn’t been beaten all season. Those two things have nothing to do with each other and honestly, make no sense to be sentenced together. They’re both true, though!
