After a string of third-place finishes behind Eli Tomac and Chase Sexton, Jason Anderson finally climbed back on top of the overall podium with his second Lucas Oil Pro Motocross win in Round 10 at Budds Creek Motocross Park in Mechanicsville, Md. It seemed like a long time coming with his first 2022 victory landing at Hangtown in early June.
In a season dominated by the two title contenders, the magic number for Anderson has been three. He finished third overall at Spring Creek in Round 7 with a 3-4 finish in the motos. In the next two rounds, he was third in all four races as either Tomac or Sexton won each. The other rider finished second in those races. At Budds Creek, those two riders won the motos again, but mistakes by each opened the door for Anderson to finish 2-2 and take the overall win.
“Today, two plus two equals one and I’ll take it any way I can get it,” Anderson told MAVTv’s Jason Thomas after the race. “Progress. And I feel like today was a step in the right direction.
“I’ve always liked Budds Creek. I was a little nervous this morning. My practice wasn’t good, but I was able to make some changes, bring it around.”
The storyline for Tomac was ‘missed opportunity.’
His principal title contender, Sexton had a disastrous Moto 1, endoing twice and falling well down the order in seventh. Meanwhile, Tomac won the first race with cupped tires that gave him maximum grip. By Moto 2, the track deteriorated and the rubber that was such a benefit earlier, was no longer useful. Tomac got a bad start as he often does, but this time he was not able to full overcome it and rode to a fifth-place finish only.
“It was a bad start there (in Moto 2) and not making the moves,” Tomac said. “That’s where I need to be better: the starts. Everyone was riding good in front of me. I did what I could.
“Looking at the positive, I’ve got one up on the day overall. I’ll carry on.”
Tomac lost the red plate by one point just last week with Sexton’s overall win. He was able to gain two points at Budds Creek and ends with a slim one-point advantage as the series heads into their final two rounds.
For Sexton, the storyline was ‘composure.’
Sexton flipped twice in Moto 1 and lost a lot of ground with his seventh-place finish. In Moto 2, Sexton knew he needed to make up the deficit and at the halfway point, he took the lead from Anderson with a bold pass as Tomac pulled into sixth, putting the leaders into a momentary tie. Three minutes later, Sexton hit the ground again and squeezed the top three into the same spot on the track.
Composure came back into play as Sexton was forced to pass his teammate Ken Roczen for a second time and once more get around the determined Anderson.
“There were just too many mistakes,” Sexton said. “In the (first crash), I just hit neutral and went over the bars in that corner – and then I ran into another rider. I had my work cut out for me. I had a big effort in the first moto and knew I had to bounce back and get max points the second moto. I got it done. I fell over, still knew I could win, and just kept fighting.
“You don’t win championships on your good days; it’s your bad days you win them.”
Roczen edged Sexton for third in the overall standings with a 3-3, which was his first podium and best finish since winning Round 3 at Thunder Valley.
After getting the holeshot in Moto 2, Ryan Dungey clung to the top five and finished 4-4 to take fifth overall.
450 results (moto finish)
- Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki (2-2)
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha (1-5)
- Ken Roczen, Germany, Honda (3-3)
- Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda (7-1)
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM (4-4)
- Christian Craig, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (5-7)
- Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki (9-6)
- Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GasGas, (8-8)
- Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM (10-9)
- Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla, Husqvarna (12-11)
450 points standings
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha – 449
- Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda – 488
- Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki – 369
- Ken Roczen, Germany, Honda – 344
- Christian Craig, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 303
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plain, Minn., KTM – 302
- Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GasGas – 272
- Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM – 253
- Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki – 218
- Shane McElrath, Cantaon, NC, Husqvarna – 176
Big W for Rick ☝️ #ProMotocross
250 Moto 1️⃣
1. RJ Hampshire
2. Jett Lawrence
3. Jo Shimoda pic.twitter.com/8cQKdz8Eb1— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) August 20, 2022
RJ Hampshire ran a flawless Moto 1 and overcame a modest start in the second race to score his first overall win of 2022. It was also the first time he’s stood on the podium this year with a previous best of fourth at Fox Raceway to open the season and again at RedBud in early July.
“We’ve been progressing and progressing,” Hampshire said to MAVTv’s Jason Thomas. “We were close and today it was clicking.
“I still felt like I was a little sketchy, I’m not going to lie. I found some comfort with my front end. I actually had it last week at Unadilla.”
After finishing third in Moto 1, Jo Shimoda took aim at his second consecutive overall win before coming up one position short. His Moto 2 victory gave him a 3-1, which was not quite as strong as Hampshire’s 1-2, but that was not the most important result on the day.
Shimoda’s 45 points earned at Budds Creek were 20 more than Hunter Lawrence, who entered the round as the runner-up. Shimoda vaulted into second in the standings with a margin of six over Hunter.
Points’ leader Jett Lawrence was running an obstacle course at Budds Creek in Round 10. Battling for position in Moto 1, he ran into Michael Mosiman’s downed GasGas. In Moto 2, a poor start had him mired in traffic and he was forced to come to a full stop as another bike flipped in front of him.
Jett rode with very little sense of urgency, like the heavy points’ favorite that he is. Last week, he pressed too hard and crashed multiple times, so he felt the need to reign himself in for most of the race It worked, as Jett extended his lead over second in the standings to 37 points.
“I knew who was in the booth today and with that start, I know I wasn’t dead last and not as good as James [Stewart], but I’m going to put my Bubba pants on,” Lawrence said, referencing a come-from-behind-win by the ex-champion. “I went out there and tried to do my best coming through. I did a little Bubba scrub, I hope you liked it, James. At least I got back to the podium position.”
Jett slowly worked him way through the field. It took 10 minutes for him to climb into the top 10, 18 seconds behind a battle for the lead between Justin Cooper and Shimoda. It took another 10 minutes to challenge for fifth. Near the end of the race, he reached deep and pushed up to third, finishing on the bottom rung of the podium with a 2-3.
For Jett’s brother Hunter, it was a disastrous round. He could not find his rhythm and after numerous off-track excursions and wrecks, he finished eighth overall with an 8-9.
250 results (moto finish)
- RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (1-2)
- Jo Shimoda, Japan, Kawasaki (3-1)
- Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda (2-3)
- Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., GasGas (4-7)
- Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, Yamaha (9-4)
- Nate Thrasher, Livingston, Tenn., Yamaha (7-6)
- Max Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., KTM (5-8)
- Hunter Lawrence, Australia, Honda (8-9)
- Guillem Farres, Spain, Yamaha (6-13)
- Carson Mumford, Simi Valley, Calif., Suzuki (14-10)
250 points standings
- Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda – 433
- Jo Shimoda, Japan, Kawasaki – 396
- Hunter Lawrence, Australia, Honda – 390
- Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, NY – 346
- RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 274
- Max Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., KTM – 251
- Seth Hammaker, Bainbridge, Penn., Kawasaki – 207
- Michael Mosiman, Sebastapol, Calif., GasGas – 201
- Nate Thrasher, Livingston, Tenn., Yamaha – 198
- Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Yamaha – 180
Round 1, Fox Raceway: Chase Sexton takes early lead in the championship hunt
Round 2, Hangtown: After 12 years of trying, Jason Anderson wins a Motocross race
Round 3, Thunder Valley: Three races, three winners as Ken Roczen takes the top spot
Round 4, High Point: Now four-for-four, Eli Tomac takes the trophy
Round 5, RedBud: Tomac becomes first in 2022 with two wins; Hunter Lawrence takes red plate in 250s
Round 6, Southwick: Tomac’s domination continues with a second perfect round
Round 7, Spring Creek: Tomac takes points’ lead with another 1-1 day
Round 8, Washougal: Sexton brackets the first eight weeks with second win
Round 9, Unadilla: Sexton retakes points’ lead by one with back-to-back wins
