Jett Lawrence settled into a comfortable position to protect his fitness in Moto 1 in the Hangtown Motocross Classic in Rancho Cordova, California, before finishing third, but he had no reason to conserve energy in Moto 2. While Jett surged into the lead on Lap 1 and rode away from the field, the difference in the overall lead came at the gate. Eli Tomac got a poor start and was bumped on the frontstretch. He entered Turn 1 last.
“The main obstacle [in Moto 1] was the heat,” Jett told Peacock’s Haley Shanley. “I did what I wanted to do [in Moto 2] and got a start, and they cut [the race] shorter. I just wanted to sprint those first few laps, get a gap, and kind of manage it. It’s pretty hard to sprint the whole moto.”
Jett has lost only one overall finish in his 450 Pro Motocross career.
Tomac was the first rider to beat Jett head-to-head in a moto, but after crashing midway through Moto 2 while racing for eighth, he ultimately finished ninth in the race and failed to score an overall podium.
Aaron Plessinger finished second overall after dominating the laps led in Moto 1 and riding under the checkers second in that race. Plessinger was third in Moto 2.
“Days like today, as sweet as this is right here, being out there that last lap, you don’t want to do it,” Plessinger said. “It takes a lot of heart. I was hurting, but I knew I needed to make that pass on Hunter [Lawrence], and I’m super-proud of myself. These last two rounds, I pushed and surprised myself.”
Plessinger’s solid run in Round 2 elevated him to second in the championship standings, but Jett has already created a 16-point gap with two rounds in the books. Tomac is one point further back in third.
Justin Cooper finished second in Moto 2, matching his career-best Motocross moto finish, and he was scored third overall. This is Cooper’s first overall podium.
“First of all, two good starts today and the team did a great job of adapting to the track,” Cooper said.
Tomac’s 1-9 relegated him to fourth overall by two points.
“I probably would have had a good chance at making the run toward the front if it wasn’t for the crash, but once that happened, that was all she wrote.”
Hunter Lawrence rounded out the top five with results of fifth in Moto 1 and fourth in Moto 2.
Jorge Prado scored his first Motocross top-five race finish in Moto 2, but a modest result of 12th in the first race dropped him to ninth overall.
Five minutes were taken off the clock in response to the heat.
In-Race Notes
Jett got a great start, as catastrophe struck Eli Tomac. He emerged 26th from Turn 1 after getting bumped coming out of the gate.
Cooper settled into second, with Cooper Webb third.
Tomac made up a lot of ground early and rode 11th on Lap 3, but the five minutes taken off the clock proved to be a huge factor. Tomac needed to finish second for the overall win if Jett won the moto.
Tomac moved into the top 10 on Lap 4. He’s 17.7 seconds behind second-place Cooper.
Jett was comfortable in the lead. He had a six-second lead over Cooper on Lap 5.
Also on Lap 5, Plessinger moved around Lawrence. He would finish in second overall if the race were to end this way.
Pressing hard, Tomac tucked the wheel on Lap 6 and fell to 12th while racing for the fifth position. Tomac continued to move forward, but shifted into points’ protection mode with that accident.
Meanwhile, up front, Jorge Prado circled in fifth on Lap 6.
Tomac made his way back into the top 10 on Lap 10, passing Joey Savatgy and Coty Schock to ride ninth.
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