With round six of 11 in the books for AMA Pro Motocross Championship this year, let’s have a look at riders who have stepped up their game and are building some solid seasons, perhaps more solid, even, than expected.
Hunter Lawrence
Look, the Lawrences have had so much success that it would seem impossible to overshoot expectations. Plus, while Hunter is last year’s 250 National Motocross Champion, rookie 450 racers have had success in 450MX before—like Jett last year, or Dylan Ferrandis in 2021, all the way back to Ken Roczen and Ryan Dungey winning the title as rookies. So, in that context, seeing last year’s 250 champ carrying the red plate for multiple weeks isn’t surprising.
Hunter himself keeps getting asked what his expectations were coming into the season, and he consistently answers that he didn’t have any. His only goal was to do his best and keep getting better.
Cast the view further out, though, and this season is worth noting. Hunter’s path to the top has been anything but the usual, he was not a multi-time world champion or even really in contention for such in his time in Europe. In his early days in America, he was good in spots but often too injured to really make a mark. There wasn’t a ton of Hunter Lawrence hype back in the day, but he has consistently progressed week by week, year by year, leaving a whole bunch of other 250 prospects well behind. His move toward the elite of the 450 field is not to be taken for granted.
To get the full measure of this, look at the 2019 250 Standings and look at where Hunter is now compared to the nine riders ranked ahead of him then.
| Position | Rider | Hometown | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Adam Cianciarulo | Port Orange, FL  | 519 |
| 2 |  Dylan Ferrandis | Avignon, France  | 499 |
| 3 |  Justin Cooper | Cold Spring Harbor, NY | 461 |
| 4 |  R.J. Hampshire | Hudson, FL | 337 |
| 5 |  Chase Sexton | La Moille, IL | 316 |
| 6 |  Alex Martin | Millville, MN | 305 |
| 7 |  Colt Nichols | Muskogee, OK | 292 |
| 8 |  Michael Mosiman | Sebastopol, CA | 290 |
| 9 |  Shane McElrath | Canton, NC | 285 |
| 10 |  Hunter Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia  | 252 |
Chance Hymas
Easy pick for Most Improved, right? Hymas went from “will he make it?” to “kids got it!” in just six weekends this summer, turning his career right around with constant podium finishes and now an overall win. He’s second in points! The 250 class has hosted so many young racers with so much potential through the years. Some make it happen, some don’t. Hymas has moved himself into the first category.
Malcolm Stewart
Look, you expected Malcolm to struggle this summer, right? He hasn’t raced Pro Motocross full time in more than a decade and even when he did, he was never as good outdoors as in supercross. And his Monster Energy Supercross campaign this season was below his usual standards!
Now? Well, he’s not a podium guy outdoors yet, but this is respectable. He’s been in the top ten of 11 of 12 motos, usually in the 7-9 range. RedBud, with a 6-7, was his best yet. Malcolm also said he’s really enjoying being back and hanging with the fans again. These gate drops and motos are only going to make him better and stronger in the future.
Grant Harlan
Harlan’s big gains in 2023 couldn’t carry over to 2024, because he got hurt badly at Motocross of Nations and missed the early SX rounds. He wasn’t really very ready when he did return and struggled to make mains. Now for Pro Motocross, he’s finding his old level, ranked 12th in points and coming off a season-best 11-11 at RedBud. The guys in Harlan’s spot don’t get too much attention, but the battles back there are every bit as good as the stuff for the lead.
Phil Nicoletti
Look we’re afraid if we don’t say that Phil has been riding well, he’ll get mad at us, but also, if we do say he’s riding well, he’ll say “Good to know you guys didn’t even expect me to be a top-ten guy” and he’d blast us either way. So, let’s just strikethrough this part, eh?
Casey Cochran
The pro rookie is starting to put things together. You might remember his huge endo on the downhill at High Point in moto one? Since then, he’s gone 11-11-10-7-9. Steady progress for sure, and especially impressive to go 11-10 at Southwick having never raced on that track before. His seventh at RedBud (where he crushed the Scouting Moto Combine last year) meant that the only riders that beat him were the super legit guys: Hymas, Masterpool, Shimoda, Vialle, Deegan, Kitchen. So, these rides are as good as could be expected.
There’s are a lot of other guys standing out this summer, drop some of your ideas in the comments below. But we need to also ask, who has performed under expectations this year? Sounds like another List.
