Down to Two
The points situation in the 450 class right now is crazy. Chase Sexton and Jett Lawrence are both tied for second, and Hunter Lawrence only leads them by a mere three points! Each one of them took turns leading the second moto at Southwick too, making predictions for how the points scenario will play out at RedBud next to impossible. But on Wednesday, Honda announced Jett Lawrence suffered a practice crash this week and he underwent surgery Thursday, knocking him out for the rest of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Now this title appears to be down to just Hunter Lawrence and Chase Sexton. So, who’s going to leave Michigan with the red plate? -Aaron Hansel
King of Consistency
Dylan Ferrandis has been very consistent this season, although probably not in the way he’d like. Aside from finishing ninth in a moto at Thunder Valley, every single one of Ferrandis’ moto finishes have been in the fifth to eighth range. That’s not quite where you’d expect someone who dominated this championship in 2021 to be, and you know it’s not where Ferrandis wants to be either. Can Ferrandis break through and record his best finish of the season at RedBud? -Hansel
On the Verge
Justin Cooper has been incredibly solid so far this season. The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider is fourth in points and has only finished outside the top five three times in ten motos. He even led laps at Thunder Valley, where he went 3-3 for third overall. That’s been his only overall podium of the summer, but with some good starts at RedBud, we could see him get back there. -Hansel
Real Debut
Max Anstie had his first race in 2024 with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing at Southwick, but c’mon, that didn’t count as his summer debut—his bike developed problems almost right away in the first moto and he never really got a chance to shine. So, with that behind him, let’s hope he doesn’t have any more weird luck this at RedBud so we can get a better idea of what he can do on his new machine. -Hansel
Coming Alive
After getting caught up in a crash right away in the first moto, Jo Shimoda caught fire in the second. Tom Vialle had a decent lead up front, but that didn’t seem to matter to Shimoda, who ate that lead up and went on to pass Vialle for the eventual moto win. We’ve seen Shimoda surge later in the season in years past. Is his brilliant ride at Southwick a sign of things to come in the second half of the summer? -Hansel
- Motocross
RedBud
Saturday, July 6- QualifyingLiveJuly 6 - 10:00 AM
- QualifyingLiveJuly 6 - 10:00 AM
- MotosLiveJuly 6 - 1:00 PM
- MotosLiveJuly 6 - 1:00 PM
- First 450 Class MotoLiveJuly 6 - 2:00 PM
- Motos (Re-Air)July 8 - 2:00 AM
So Close
Speaking of Vialle, the Red Bull KTM rider came tantalizingly close to winning the second moto at Southwick. After getting passed by Shimoda, Vialle was giving it everything he had to get back around Shimoda. Unfortunately for Vialle he crashed in the process and had to settle for third. So far he’s only won a single moto this summer and has yet to collect an overall victory, which seemed like an unlikely scenario before the first gate drop of the summer. Will Vialle come through with his first overall win of the season this weekend? -Hansel
Team Rebound
Things went pretty wrong for the Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha team at Southwick. Garrett Marchbanks ran out of fuel on the last lap in the first 450 moto, and in the second moto, neither Jett Reynolds or Mark Fineis were able to compete after bike malfunctions. After the red flag, the electric cooling fans and electric water pumps drained the batteries on the bikes, rendering them inoperable. Plus, Fineis grew up racing here a ton as an amateur, so he is more motivated than ever. Expect ClubMX to put in a better showing this weekend at RedBud. -Hansel
The People
Sure, once the gate drops all eyes will be on the track, but between motos, it's hard not to take in all of the fans that line the RedBud MX course. Being Fourth of July weekend, there is nothing quite like the enthusiasm and patriotism from RedBud fans. From sunburns to body paint, costumes, and retro tees, people watching is at an all-time level with the RedBud fans. -Sarah Whitmore
Hometown Boy
Okay so technically Chase Sexton is from two states away, but he raced at RedBud a lot growing up. Having the familiarity of a track he has spun hundreds of laps on, not to mention countless friends and family in attendance, maybe he can kick those first moto blues and come away with a 1-1 on the day. -Whitmore
He's Back
We have not seen Broc Tickle line up at an AMA Supercross or Motocross race since Salt Lake City 2 Supercross in May 2021, but that is going to change this weekend. Broc has been working as a test rider for Kawasaki, which puts him in the perfect position to help test the KX450SR in race conditions since he is already familiar with the bike. Tickle will be #938, the number he first raced as a pro back in 2006. How will he fare this weekend? -Whitmore
