With a Moto 1 win and third-place finish in the second race, Jason Anderson won Round 2 of the 2022 Lucas Oil Motocross season at Hangtown in Rancho Cordova, Calif. and climbed from sixth to third in the standings. It was the first Motocross win for Anderson in his 13th season of competition.
“I had to work to get up there (in the second moto),” Anderson said from high atop the podium. “Honestly, I thought I only got on the podium, but after I pulled off the track I realized it was a win. It was 12 years too long, but we finally got it done. I’m damn happy.”
Moto 1 settled into an early pace that saw the leaders spread out. About three-fourths of the way through the race, Anderson found a little additional speed and chased down last week’s winner, Chase Sexton. In traffic, Sexton lost momentum trying to get around a lapped rider and that was enough to allow Anderson to pounce. As the pair of combatants navigated traffic, Sexton kept Anderson in sight and finished within a second of the leader.
Anderson finished a distant third in Moto 2, more than 27 seconds behind Eli Tomac, but it was enough to give him the overall.
Sexton was the model of consistency with second-place finishes in both motos. In the second race, Sexton also led laps early after taking the lead from Honda teammate Ken Roczen. As with the first race, Sexton did not allow the leader to gain much of an advantage and finished a little more than a second back.
“I just couldn’t get away from them today,” Sexton said. “I led a lot of laps, but didn’t get the win. Overall, I’m happy with how I’m riding. To show some grit was good for me. I still have the red plate and just need to keep digging.”
Sexton stretched his points’ advantage to 12 over Roczen with his second-place overall finish.
Tomac got off to a slow start in Moto 1 and finished just off the podium in fourth. His win in Moto 2 was enough to claim third in the overall standings.
Sweeping the top five with a 3-4, Roczen finish fourth overall and held onto his second-place position in the standings.
In his second 450 race after winning the 250 East championship, Christian Craig rounded out the top five.
450 results (moto finish)
- Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki (1-3)
- Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda (2-2)
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha (4-1)
- Ken Roczen, Germany, Honda (3-4)
- Christian Craig, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (5-5)
- Antonio Cairolli, Italy, KTM (7-6)
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plain, Minn., KTM (5-5)
- Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM (6-10)
- Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga. Kawasaki (11-9)
- Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GasGas, (8-9)
450 points standings
- Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda - 94
- Ken Roczen, Germany, Honda - 82
- Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki - 76
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha - 75
- Christian Craig, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha - 72
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plain, Minn., KTM - 61
- Antonio Cairolli, Italy, KTM - 55
- Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM - 51
- Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GasGas - 46
- Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Yamaha - 42
One for the history books 🏆 @elhombre_21 #ProMotocross pic.twitter.com/9I7fJ2GJjY
— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 5, 2022
In the 250 class, Jett Lawrence made it two in a row after finishing third in the first race and winning the second moto.
Riding with an illness, Lawrence got a slow start to the first race before he hooked up with his brother Hunter Lawrence and began moving forward. In Moto 2, he took the lead early, but a determined Jo Shimoda was chasing him down until he cross-rutted and hit the ground. From then on, Jett raced unopposed.
“It’s been a rough one today,” Lawrence said. “Being sick made it really difficult on me and I even threw up before the second moto. In that second moto I was just pushing all the way through. It was a difficult day, but I’m just pumped to be up here (on the podium). Hopefully we can move on from this and continue with the season.”
Justin Cooper earned the holeshot in both motos, but was unable to hold the lead. He swept the podium, and rocketed up the standings to land fourth, but the solid start for the Lawrence brothers in the first two races has him 35 points behind Jett and 24 points behind Hunter.
Hunter’s second-place finish in Moto 2 elevated him to the final spot on the overall podium with a 4-2 finish. His position in the second race was aided by Shimoda’s accident, but he did not allow Jett to simply ride away and finished 2.2 seconds behind.
Hunter was also riding sick.
“Jett and I have both been a bit under the weather so it’s been tough, but not a bad day for a bad day,” Lawrence said. “My starts have been terrible, but we’ll work on them and come back swinging next weekend. I’m happy with my riding and we’ll try to give Jett a challenge.”
Shimoda remounted after his fall in the second race to finish fourth. Coupled with a fifth in Race 1, he was fourth overall.
With a 7-5, Max Vohland rounded out the top five.
The winner of Moto 1 finished a distant eighth in the overall after crashing early in the second race and finishing 39th.
250 results (moto finish)
- Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda (3-1)
- Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, Yamaha (2-3)
- Hunter Lawrence, Australia, Honda (4-2)
- Jo Shimoda, Japan, Kawsaki (5-4)
- Max Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., KTM (7-5)
- Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Yamaha (6-6)
- Seth Hammaker, Bainbridge, Penn., Kawasaki (8-8)
- Michael Mosiman, Sebastapol, Calif. GasGas (1-39)
- Stilez Roberston, Bakersfield, Calif., Husqvarna (11-7)
- Nick Romano, Bayside, NY, Yamaha (10-9)
250 points standings
- Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda - 95
- Hunter Lawrence, Australia, Honda - 84
- Jo Shimoda, Japan, Kawsaki - 72
- Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, NY - 60
- Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Yamaha - 59
- Michael Mosiman, Sebastapol, Calif., GasGas - 55
- Seth Hammaker, Bainbridge, Penn., Kawasaki - 55
- Max Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., KTM - 50
- Stilez Roberston, Bakersfield, Calif., Husqvarna - 45
- Pierce Brown, Sandy, Utah, GasGas - 39
Round 1, Fox Raceway: Chase Sexton takes early lead in the championship hunt