AMA Pro Motocross Season Ends With Repeat 250 Title for Jett Lawrence

TGR Staff - Photos by Honda 09/05/2022

Honda wrapped up the 2022 AMA Pro Motocross season at Southern California’s Fox Raceway, where Jett Lawrence earned the 250 overall win and successfully defended his national championship, while Chase Sexton ended up second overall in the 450 class, falling just short of taking the premier-class crown. With a fourth-place overall finish, Hunter Lawrence took third in the final 250 points for the second year in a row, while crashes held Ken Roczen to ninth overall in the 450 division, although the German was still a commendable fourth on the year. The final round also served as the pro debut for Team Honda HRC’s Chance Hymas, who was 15th overall in the 250 class.

"It was a good day. I’m just glad it wasn’t like last year’s last round, as I didn’t hit the ground much. I qualified in P1, and in the first moto I ended up going with the Dunlop paddle tire to get that drive in the deep stuff. I got a really good jump and got the holeshot, which made my life easier. I tried to play around with Jo [Shimoda] a little bit, hoping that Hunter would catch up; I could see him in the background. In the second one I had the paddle again, and it helped me a lot. I was banging bars with Seth Hammaker coming out of the gate, but I still really pulled. I tried to get into second as quick as I could, but Jo just put on the boost and was out of there; he rode good. It’s awesome to get it done back-to-back, and I’m definitely grateful. The team has been awesome this year," Jett Lawrence said.

The first 250 moto saw Jett snare the holeshot and lead every lap, though he slowed in the middle part of the race in an attempt to assist Hunter, who was running third. Contact by Hunter caused Jo Shimoda to go down, and Hunter finished second in the moto. Meanwhile, Hymas had gone down off the start, and he remounted in last place but was able to climb to 20th. Jett completed the first lap of moto 2 in fourth place, and although he was up to second before the midway point, Shimoda was too far ahead for him to catch. Hunter was playing catchup after a poor start, and he climbed to fifth by the finish. Hymas advanced from 14th on lap 1 to 11th at the checkered flag.

Sexton took the holeshot in the first 450 moto and led until being overtaken by Tomac five laps from the end. Although Sexton challenged to retake the lead, he ultimately had to settle for second, while a start crash contributed to Roczen finishing eighth. Moto 2 had Sexton running in third on lap 1, but due to three unfortunate falls, he slipped back to eighth in the early going. He regrouped and charged forward again, turning impressive lap times on his way to a second-place finish. Another start crash contributed to a 13th-place finish for Roczen.