Jett Lawrence to take 23-point lead into championship finale

2021 Pro Motocross Championship
Round 11 – Fox Raceway II

Images by Jeff Kardas

Jett Lawrence leads 250 by 23-points

Another dominant 1-1 performance by Jett Lawrence in 250 has seen the Aussie teenager extend his advantage over Justin Cooper out to 23-points with only a single round and two races left in the championship.

Jett is on a roll of four wins in succession, has won five races out of the last nine and in that last nine contests has not finished any lower than second.

If Jett wraps up the championship next weekend he will be the first Australian to win an American 250 Motocross Championship.  It would also mark the first time in history that both of the premier American Motocross Championships were won by foreigners in the same year.’

Jett Lawrence has 464-points to Justin Cooper’s 441. Hunter Lawrence is third in the championship on 349-points ahead of RJ Hampshire on 327-points.

The 2021 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will conclude next Saturday, September 11, with the sport’s oldest event in Northern California, the legendary Hangtown Motocross Classic.

2021  AMA Pro Motocross Video Highlights

250 Moto 1

Thousands of die-hard race fans braved brutal temperatures and with tensions high, the first 250 Class moto got underway with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Max Vohland at the head of the pack with the MotoSport.com Holeshot, but he was soon passed by Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing’s Michael Mosiman. Behind them, the title contenders of Lawrence and Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Justin Cooper both got underway with top-10 starts.

With his first opportunity to pace the field this summer Mosiman quickly built a lead over Vohland, Lawrence, and the rest of the field. Lawrence bided his time in the early laps and patiently waited for his opportunity to make a pass on Vohland, which he did successfully several minutes into the moto. As Lawrence made the move, Cooper remained mired in seventh.

As the moto approached its halfway point Lawrence had chipped away at Mosiman’s lead and closed to within striking distance of the lead. Mosiman then lost traction of his front tire and went down, which handed the lead to Lawrence, second to Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire, and third to Vohland. As this unfolded, Cooper dropped to eighth as Team Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence made the pass for seventh. Mosiman remounted in fifth, but went back to work and clawed his way back up to third. He didn’t stop there and kept his head down to close in on Hampshire and make the pass for second with relative ease.

Out front, Jett Lawrence was on cruise control and easily rode to his seventh moto win of the season. The Australian crossed the line 9.2 seconds ahead of Mosiman, followed by Hampshire in third and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Jo Shimoda in fourth. Cooper dug deep and made a late charge to battle his way into the top five.

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250 Moto 1 Results

250 Moto 2

Lawrence picked up where he left off to begin Moto 2, as he emerged with the MotoSport.com Holeshot ahead of Mosiman and Cooper. The clear track proved to be advantageous to the Australian, as he sprinted on the opening lap and established a multi-second lead over the field. Behind him, Mosiman and Cooper began a spirited battle for second.

Cooper appeared to be faster than Mosiman, but found difficulty in finding a way around, which allowed Mosiman to inch away. Soon, Mosiman asserted his control of the position as the top three settled into their running order. As the moto approached its final 10 minutes, Cooper was able to pick up the pace, which allowed him to catch Mosiman and make the pass for second, from which Cooper quickly pulled away.

The battle for the podium didn’t end there, as Shimoda came on strong in the waning moments of the moto. The Japanese rider caught Mosiman, applied pressure, and made an impressive pass to take over third.

Out front, Lawrence was in a class of his own yet again and enjoyed a dominant wire-to-wire victory to wrap up the moto sweep. He took the checkered flag 14.2 seconds ahead of Cooper, with Shimoda a distant third.

250 Moto 2 Results

250 Overall

Another dominant 1-1 performance by Jett Lawrence in 250 has seen the Aussie teenager extend his advantage over Justin Cooper out to 23-points with only a single round and two races left in the championship.

Jett is on a roll of four wins in succession, has won five races out of the last nine and in that last nine contests has not finished any lower than second.

If Jett wraps up the championship next weekend he will be the first Australian to win an American 250 Title.  It would also mark the first time in history that both of the premier American Motocross Championships were won by foreigners in the same year.

“I think everything just fell into place (today),” said Lawrence. “It was just a hard day, it’s really hot. It’s been one of the toughest days we’ve had in a while. It feels great to get three in a row here (at Fox Raceway).”

Mosiman equaled a career-best result with his second ever runner-up effort (2-4), while Cooper’s strong effort in the second moto helped maintain his overall podium streak in third (5-2).

Jett Lawrence has 464-points to Justin Cooper’s 441.

Hunter Lawrence is third in the championship on 349-points ahead of RJ Hampshire on 327-points.

250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)

250 Class Championship Standings (Round 11 of 12)

450 Moto 1

The opening 450 Class moto of the afternoon started with Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen leading the way with the MotoSport.com Holeshot, followed by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Cooper Webb and Ferrandis. The German looked to take advantage of the clear track and sprint away from the field, but both Webb and Ferrandis kept him within reach and even applied pressure for the lead.

Roczen responded and quickly built a three-second advantage over his rivals, which forced Ferrandis to pick up the pace and make the move on Webb for second a little more than 10 minutes into the moto. Ferrandis continued to push and eliminated a three-second deficit to Roczen to challenge for the lead at the halfway point of the moto. Once he closed onto the rear fender of the Honda, Ferrandis made quick work to take over the lead and seize control of the moto.

With first place in hand, Ferrandis continued to sustain the pace and ran the fastest laps of the moto to move out more than five seconds clear of Roczen. Behind them, a long, tense battle for third played out between Webb and Tomac. The pair traded fast laps and momentum surges for several laps, as Webb fended off numerous pass attempts by Tomac. As the moto closed in on its final five minutes, lapped riders gave Tomac the opening he needed to take advantage of Webb being slowed, which provided an unchallenged pass for the position and moved Tomac into third.

With Webb no longer an issue, Tomac was able to pick up his pace and dramatically lowered his lap times, including the fastest lap of the moto, to close in on Roczen and make the pass for second. Roczen’s pace dropped off dramatically and caused him to lose ground to Webb, which led to a last-lap battle for third.

Back out front, Ferrandis carried on to his seventh moto win of the season by 3.9 seconds over Tomac, while Roczen held on for third. Webb finished fourth, followed by Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Christian Craig in fifth.

450 Moto 1 Results

450 Moto 2

The final 450 Class moto stormed out the gate with Webb leading the way for the MotoSport.com Holeshot, closely followed by Roczen and Ferrandis. Roczen went on the attack on the opening lap and muscled his way by Webb to take control of the top spot, while Ferrandis followed through into second. The Frenchman kept the momentum rolling and looked to make his way around Roczen, which he did before the completion of the opening lap.

As the leaders settled in up front, Tomac was on the charge forward. After starting fifth, Tomac got into a groove and began to pick off riders at will. He first passed Craig for fourth, then made quick work of Webb to move into third. Not long after that the Kawasaki rider closed in on Roczen and took over second.

Tomac faced a small deficit to Ferrandis, but made quick work of erasing that. Just over 10 minutes into the moto the battle for the lead was on. Once they were side by side, Ferrandis didn’t put up a challenge and let Tomac surge ahead. As the change for the lead unfolded, Webb made the pass on Roczen for third. As the moto wore on, Roczen lost more positions and eventually dropped out of the top five.

Tomac ran away from the field over the second half of the moto and established a lead that surpassed 30 seconds. He took his fifth moto win of the season by 45.8 seconds over Ferrandis, with Webb nearly a minute behind in third.

450 Moto 2 Results

450 Overall

With 1-2 results in the 450 Motos overnight at Fox Raceway’s penultimate round of the 2021 AMA Pro Motocross Championship Dylan Ferrandis has extended his championship lead over fellow European Ken Roczen out to a now insurmountable 62-points.

Ferrandis won the 2019 250 West Supercross Championship and then took out the 250 Motocross Championship and 250 West Supercross Championship double last year (2020), before stepping up to the 450 class this year.

In 2021 Ferrandis finished seventh in the 450 Supercross Championship before going on to wrap up the 450 Motocross Championship at his first attempt.

Dylan Ferrandis – Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing

“It was another tough day, and I had to dig really deep to get this result. The weather was really hard on us, hard on the body, but I had this championship in mind, and I really wanted it. I tried the best that I could, and it looked like it was enough to grab it. It’s just unreal to be the champion in my first year on the 450. When I was young, I dreamed of being a 250 champion, but I never really dreamed of being a 450 champion. So, it’s not even a dream come true; it’s more than that. It’s just the best thing that I have ever done in my life. Today I’m really out of emotions. It was just such an awesome year for me, and it’s so awesome to win with this Yamaha bike and with this team. I’m really happy for everybody involved in winning this championship.”

Ferrandis is the eighth rider in history to earn the title in his first season in the AMA’s premier category, while also giving Yamaha its first 450 Class championship since 2007 with Grant Langston.

Jeremy Coker – Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing 450 Team Manager

“Today was a day I’ll never forget in my life. Even though I’ve been involved in a lot of championships on the 250 side as an engine builder and crew chief, this is really special. To do this as the team manager on this team and to orchestrate things from this side; it brings tears to my eyes. The crew was incredible! There was not one person on this team that didn’t have the same goal, and we all worked hard to achieve it. It’s something none of us will ever forget. I’m proud of what Dylan did today. He rode amazing. It was a really tough day and very hot outside, but he pulled off the championship a weekend early. As for Christian, we didn’t even know if he’d be able to race, and he came out here and did what he did; it was just an awesome ride. We’ve still got one more to go, and we’ll be out there to win at Hangtown.”

Ken Roczen is also now in danger of losing second place in the championship after Eli Tomac closed to within nine-points of the German off the back of his 2-1 results at this penultimate round ahead of the Hangtown finale next weekend.

27-year-old Ferrandis is the second Frenchman to win the premier category in the American Motocross Championship after countryman Jean Michel Bayle did the 500 and 250 (two-stroke) championship double in 1991. The 22-year-old French phenom that was Bayle also won the Supercross championship in 1991 to become the first rider in history to win the three major American series in the same year. A backlash from many American fans at a Frenchman winning all their titles was part of the reason Bayle left the dirt and went road racing instead from 1992 onwards.

450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)

450 Class Championship Standings (Round 11 of 12)

The 2021 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will conclude next Saturday, September 11, with the sport’s oldest event in Northern California, the legendary Hangtown Motocross Classic.