LAKEWOOD, Colorado: Jett Lawrence survived intense competition from Hunter Lawrence and Haiden Deegan for most of Moto 1 before gaining an advantage with a handful of laps remaining. He finished more than five seconds ahead of Lucas Coenen, who was making his Pro Motocross debut.
Moto 1 at Thunder Valley Motocross Park was the most competitive contests seen in several seasons as Jett earned the holeshot, Hunter slipped into his brother’s tow, and Deegan mounted multiple charges for the victory after passing four riders in the first two laps.
Jett was never given a moment to rest as Deegan closed to within his back wheel repeatedly. Part of the reason for his speed, however, was a line choice that may have been out of bounds.
During one of those pressure-filled moments, Deegan slid out and crashed from second on Lap 8. He crashed again later during that lap and handed third to Lucas Coenen, who was making his debut in the Pro Motocross series.
Hunter closed the gap in the middle stage of the race, but Jett found another gear and pulled a two-second gap with four minutes remaining. Soon after, Hunter crashed and handed second to Coenen.
Hunter fell into the grip of Deegan as they raced for the final spot on the podium.
Coenen started the race seventh and persistently marched forward to mount a late-race challenge on Jett.
Deegan crossed under the checkered flag in fourth, but his race line was under review by the American Motorcycle Association (AMA). Deegan logged several laps inside of where the boundary markers began the race, but they were pressed to the ground early in the moto.
Update: Deegan was penalized seven positions for consistently cutting the track.
Jorge Prado was also penalized two positions for cutting the course and Hunter was penalized one spot.
The revised top five were Jett, Coenen, Marchbanks, Hunter, and RJ Hampshire.
