Qualifying – First Sessions

There were no surprises in the first 250 qualifier of the year. Chance Hymas was fast early, but it wasn't long before Haiden Deegan shot to the top of the list with a 2:19.853. That time would be fast enough to be the fastest lap of the session, but that didn’t matter to Deegan, who lowered it down to 2:18.940 on his last lap. The closest lap time, recorded by Tom Vialle, was almost a second slower (2:19.909).

More interesting than the times up top were some of the times that weren’t close to it. It’s only the first session of the season, and the track is probably going to be faster in the next session, but you know guys like Michael Mosiman, Jordon Smith, Max Vohland, and Nate Thrasher would rather be in the top ten than out of it, which is where they are currently. And if you’re following the return of Jeremy Martin, he looked like he was taking it a bit easy in this one and finished 18^th fastest with a 2:24.139.

In the 450 Class we saw a little more action, in terms of changing fast times. Derek Drake was fastest early, and ended up 12^th fastest with a 2:21.627, which is pretty good, and it’s awesome when you consider this is his first race of the whole year after a nasty encounter with Lyme Disease. When times started dropping for real it was Eli Tomac who first drew his blade, setting a 2:18.144. That time stood for a while, but toward the end of the session Hunter Lawrence turned a 2:17.416. Then his brother, Jett, threw down an astounding 2:15.029! Tomac would burn a heater on his last lap, but it was a 2:17.275, more than a second slower that Jett Lawrence.

It took Jorge Prado a while to get going in this one, and when he did he wasn’t at the level of the fastest guys. His fastest time, a 2:20.093, put him in eighth. Similar story for Chase Sexton. From the sections we saw he didn’t look out of shape or anything, but he had several fast laps come apart and he ended up tenth-fastest with a 2:20.187. Don’t expect him to be hanging around in tenth when the second round of qualifiers kicks off in about an hour.

The track was fresh for the first qualifiers, and race lines hadn’t developed. Look for the times to come down in the second qualifiers as the track breaks in more.

Qualifying – Second Sessions

As expected, times were faster in the second round of qualifiers, and it was evident this was going to be the case almost immediately in the 250 Class when Garrett Marchbanks set a 2:18.635. Marchbanks would stay fastest for a while, but behind him a lot of guys were getting into the 2:18 and 2:19 range. Haiden Deegan, however, waited a few laps before showing signs of life, turning a lap that was good enough for third-fastest on his third lap. Deegan, of course, is never content with any lap time, and two laps later took over the top spot with a 2:18.592. It looked like that was going to hold as the fastest lap, and Deegan was instructed to wait on the podium for a TV interview. He took off his helmet and was getting ready to be interviewed, then Chance Hymas busted out a blistering 2:16.592 at the very end of the session. Deegan saw the time pop up and burst out laughing before riding off the podium and back to the pits.

In 450 action Eli Tomac came out swinging, going for a fast lap right away. He initially set a 2:17.019, but a few laps later Jett Lawrence came alive and somehow ripped off a 2:14.379! Sexton joined the fray with a 2:15.633, and Tomac would join him in the 2:15 range with a 2:15.986, but nobody other than Lawrence was able to get into the 2:14 range. The best Jorge Prado could muster 2:18.794 for eighth-fastest, but remember, this is his first national and the qualifying process is much different in MXGP, where riders have much longer to learn the track than they do here in America.

Things are shaping up as good as we could have hoped, with Lawrence, Sexton, and Tomac already trading blows in qualifying. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come in today’s motos!

250 Moto One

Chance Hymas got the first moto of the year going with a holeshot, but Ty Masterpool railed a berm and launched by him into the lead. Masterpool’s move was so fast it looked like he’d hit a nitro button in a video game! Hymas didn’t flinch though and was able to retake the lead fairly quickly. Behind Masterpool was Julien Beaumer, but Beaumer soon got around him into second.

Deegan, meanwhile, hadn’t gotten a very good start and was running about seventh. He was working forward, but also didn’t look like he was in a hurry to get to the front, and when he got to Masterpool he didn’t slice by him right away. Finally, about ten minutes into the moto, Deegan looked like he was ready to rip and upped the intensity. He went around Masterpool and started closing on Beaumer, who was a couple seconds back of Hymas. We were set for a major battle for the lead but it never materialized because Hymas made a mistake after the finish line jump and went down all on his own. That put Beaumer in the lead, but Beaumer made a mistake entering an uphill section and spun out, losing major drive. That put Deegan in the lead and he dropped the hammer and disappeared, winning the moto by a very comfortable margin.

Behind Deegan there was plenty of action, however. Jo Shimoda really came on strong and a three-way battle between Beaumer, Hymas, and Shimoda broke out. It lasted for several laps too, with all three of them fighting tooth and nail for the spot, but it was Shimoda who would win this battle and take second behind Deegan. Hymas brought it in for third, and Tom Vialle, who’d gotten a bad start, finished strong and edged Beaumer for fourth in the closing stages of the race. 

Nate Thrasher didn't have the moto he was hoping for. After a crash he was taken to a local hospital as a precaution. 

450 Moto One

If there were any questions regarding whether or not Jett Lawrence would be at the same level he was before he tore his ACL earlier this year during supercross, they’ve been answered. The Honda HRC Progressive rider dominated the first 450 moto wire to wire. After jumping out to the early lead after bouncing off his brother, Hunter, he immediately pulled a gap on Justin Cooper in second, and just like that the battle for the win was over.

There was still plenty going on behind Lawrence, however. Chase Sexton, who ran fourth early, had something happened with his goggles and he tossed them on the first lap. After that he was never able to close the gap to Hunter Lawrence in third, and a few laps later he crashed right after landing off the finishing line jump. He was going pretty fast when he crashed and it looked violent. He was down for several long moments before finally getting up and remounting, but he was clearly in a lot of pain and went straight to the mechanic’s area. Suddenly, Sexton's moto was over.

Eli Tomac didn’t start well in this one and had to come back from around tenth or so. It didn’t take him long to gain a bunch of spots, but once he got around RJ Hampshire for fourth, his forward roll stopped. He closed on Hunter Lawrence late in the moto but wasn’t able to get close enough to make a move. Hampshire had a great first moto of his 450 career, holding fifth for much of the race before getting passed by Aaron Plessinger and finishing sixth, just ahead of Jorge Prado.

Cooper Webb’s bike started smoking pretty heavily around the halfway point, forcing Webb to nurse his machine. It still didn’t last though and expired before the end of the checkers flew, relegating Webb to 37^th.

250 Moto Two

It was a double shot of KTMs up front early, with Tom Vialle and Julien Beaumer leading everyone into the first lap. Beaumer wasted no time in taking over the lead and initially it looked like he might gap the field, as he was able to inch away from Vialle. Haiden Deegan had gotten a better start in this moto and was third early, but even though he had Jo Shimoda all over him he didn’t seem to concerned with forcing moves early. Then, just like in the first moto, Deegan started picking things up about ten minutes into it. He went around Vialle and lit the burners and soon he was right on the rear wheel of Beaumer, applying more pressure than a savvy divorce lawyer. Beaumer did what he could to hold him off, but he was only prolonging the inevitable and it wasn’t long before Deegan took over the lead and checked out.

Beaumer now had a very hard charging Jo Shimoda to hold off, an endeavor that would prove futile, and then Vialle whizzed by Beaumer too. Next thing Beaumer knew he had Garrrett Marchbanks knocking on the door, but Beaumer was able to regroup and stop the bleeding to hold Marchbanks off and finish fourth.

Levi Kitchen didn’t have the moto he was hoping for. The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider had a mechanical problem with his bike and wasn’t able to finish the moto.

450 Moto Two

What a moto! Hunter Lawrence pulled a big holeshot, but when Jett Lawrence quickly took over the lead it looked as though we might see a repeat performance of Lawrence’s first-moto dominance, but Eli Tomac had other ideas. After starting in third Tomac didn’t wait around and passed Hunter Lawrence for second on lap two. He then immediately put his head down and went after Jett Lawrence and it wasn’t long before he was right on his rear wheel. When the two of them sailed over the finish line jump almost side by side, the crowd knew it was on and roared their approval.

Lawrence and Tomac started checking out almost right away with Tomac applying more pressure to Lawrence than we’ve seen anyone do in a very long time. The two started yo-yoing a bit, each had their strong points on the track, but at one point Tomac lost the tow and dropped back several seconds. But, in the final ten minutes, Tomac started cutting back into Lawrene’s lead and before you knew it, he was all over Lawrence yet again. Lawrence was able to weather the storm and pull back away in the last few laps, but even so, that was one seriously exciting race! Afterward Lawrence was overcome with emotion and after celebrating, tears started pouring from his eyes.

Behind the lead duo there was a great battle between Hunter Lawrence and Aaron Plessinger. Plessinger stuck with Lawrence the whole race but just couldn’t make a move. Finally, with the race nearly done, Lawrence made a mistake and went off the track, handing third to Plessinger.