After a dominant weekend from Honda HRC in So Cal, they looked to keep the good times rolling on the outskirts of Sacramento. Chase Sexton and Jett Lawrence led the way for the CRF Brigade, both holding six-point leads through two motos on the year. On the same foot, Ken Roczen and Hunter Lawrence with some strong 2-2 runs at Pala, secured the top two spots in each class for Honda. Elsewhere, Ryan Dungey ripped off a 5-5 after six years away, and Eli Tomac dodged an injury scare with a 7-4. How would things go at the famed Hangtown circuit?
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Motocross Injury Report
Sadly after just one week, there are multiple significant injuries after Pala, explicitly affecting the 250 class. More so talking about the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team. First up is Cameron McAdoo, who we know got hurt early in Moto 1 last week, just that we didn’t know how it happened. A couple of days after Pala, some footage dropped of his brutal incident.
Unfortunately, McAdoo suffered a broken sternum, along with some bleeding issues with his lungs. The good news is McAdoo said on Instagram that he hopes to return later this summer. Here is to hoping that is the case. Next up is Rockstar Husqvarna’s Jalek Swoll, who also wrecked in 250 Moto 1 last week, and left Pala in a sling. In a more positive update, he was on track this weekend and qualified 13th officially.
Lastly, we get to Austin Forkner, who suffered a major shoulder injury during the week. Worth noting that he also suffered a broken collarbone during the Supercross season as well, which likely doesn’t help out. The Pro Circuit rider has no return timetable via the team. Best wishes to him and hopefully Forkner can potentially catch some rounds at the end of the year.
250 Class
No. 1 Jett Lawrence – Honda HRC (3-1 for First Overall)
On a day when he was clearly not at 100 percent (illness), not only does the Jett get on the Overall podium, he outright wins his second straight National to open up 2022. He completely skipped his podium interview after Moto 1 just to give you an idea. In his second Moto, he caught a big break with Justin Cooper going off track on lap one of Moto 2. That was all he needed to win the second outing of the day, and the results broke just enough for the Overall as well. Doing that on a day when you’re sick is big time.
Off track excursion 😳 #ProMotocross pic.twitter.com/xeOFqWUIvm
— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 4, 2022
No. 30 Jo Shimoda – Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki (5-4 for Fourth Overall)
The best rider of Moto 2 yesterday didn’t even end up podiuming, and that was Shimoda. The pride of Suzuka City, Japan put up a fifth in Moto 1 around 90 minutes before ripping off some of the best 250 laps times of the day later on. He came within bike lengths of Lawrence for the lead before he tipped over after the elevator/skyshot jump. Even afterward, he kept Hunter Lawrence and Justin Cooper honest enough in front of him, and barely missed the Overall podium as a result of going down. However, the speed he showed in that second Moto has got to have Mitch Payton and Friends™ ecstatic going into Thunder Valley.
No. 29 Michael Mosiman – Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing (1-39 for Eighth Overall)
Things were looking so good for the defacto hometown rider on Saturday. Once he got by Cooper in Moto 1, everything after was a procedure in formality. It was maybe Mosiman’s best run of his career since moving to a GasGas machine. He then started inside the top five in Moto 2, putting him in an excellent position to win the Overall, but bent his bars on a lap two crash. Once he nursed it back to the pits, they called their day done on the spot. The good news is despite a finish in 39th, the win earlier in the day still put Mosiman in the top 10 in the 250 class.
Mosiman on his way to his first overall win❓ 👀 #ProMotocross pic.twitter.com/LdFdzwojnM
— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 4, 2022
No. 411 Nick Romano – Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha (10-9 for 10th Overall)
Romano racked off a good milestone very early one in his pro career. With a 10-9 day, he picks up his first career top 10 in just his second career National. Additionally, while not a stat, he spent every single second racing in the top 10 yesterday as well which is a great sign. That early time in Moto 2 where he was comfortably in the top five should serve him well moving forward.
No. 31 Jalek Swoll – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (9-DNS for 15th Overall)
Swoll ended up in a similar boat to Mosiman on Saturday. The Husqvarna rider spent close to the entire first Moto in the top five before he went down alongside Seth Hammaker. After finishing in ninth, Swoll did not line up for the second Moto after coming into the day hurt. A shame too, as he looked on pace to perhaps end up on the podium before the initial crash.
Hangtown National 250 Class Top 10
1st No. 1 Jett Lawrence 3-1
2nd No. 32 Justin Cooper 2-3
3rd No. 96 Hunter Lawrence 4-2
4th No. 30 Jo Shimoda 5-4
5th No. 36 Max Vohland 7-5
6th No. 59 Levi Kitchen 6-6
7th No. 47 Seth Hammaker 8-8
8th No. 29 Michael Mosiman 1-39
9th No. 50 Stilez Robertson 11-7
10th No. 411 Nick Romano 10-9
450 Class
No. 21 Jason Anderson – Monster Energy Kawasaki (1-3 for First Overall)
For 14 years, El Hombre has gone the entire length of his pro career without winning an AMA National in either class. Well, until yesterday that is, as the speed he had at Pala stuck around, but this time, Anderson had the results to match. He ran down Sexton, who built up a big lead, in Moto 1, only to almost lose it by the end. In any event, a win is still a win.
His first-ever National win was however not a guarantee. After starting around sixth in Moto 2, he found his way up into third by the end and won Hangtown by a matter of one point over Sexton. This very well could be the start of a big summer from a wins perspective for El Hombre. His first Moto performance in particular was a blast to watch.
13 years into his professional career, Jason Anderson scores his first EVER #ProMotocross overall win 🏆 Congrats, @elhombre_21 👏 pic.twitter.com/Y6vvkDwDMM
— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 5, 2022
No. 3 Eli Tomac – Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha (4-1 for Third Overall)
Now it is fair to say that the first moto at Pala was bike setup-related issue for ET3. Since then Tomac has gone 4-4-1 and found his way onto the podium in the second round of the year. The only concern, and it isn’t a major one, is that Tomac only gained one spot for the entirety of Moto 1. He rectified that later on by going from fifth to first in the second Moto. A good sign going to his neck of the woods on the outskirts of Denver next weekend.
No. 94 Ken Roczen – Honda HRC (3-4 for Fourth Overall)
No Moto wins, but a 2-2-3-4 start to the season is exceptional for Roczen. He is 12 points out of the points lead, but it is still good for second in the class. On the whole, there was really no fault to Roczen’s riding. There were absolutely guys that were faster, but not many. His starts are still 100 percent on point which is never a bad thing either. Last year Roczen went 1-1 at Thunder Valley and should be hoping to repeat that performance once again.
No. 222 Antonio Cairoli – Red Bull KTM (7-6 for 6th Overall)
We were almost treated to a renaissance performance from the Sicilian yesterday. Not known for holeshots his last couple of years in the ‘GPs, Cairoli straight-up beat Roczen for the honors in Moto 2. Despite that, he fell back to just outside the top five, to end up in the same spot in the Overall standings. In even better news, Cairoli is officially sticking around for Thunder Valley and High Point. Would not be shocked in the slightest if this turns into the full 12 rounds sooner rather than later.
No. 5 Ryan Dungey – Red Bull KTM (6-7 for 7th Overall)
As of two Nationals and four Motos into the season, Diesel is the highest-running KTM rider in the 450 class. Dungey ended up close to his Pala pace and finished a spot and two spots back from his run a week ago respectively. Also like last weekend, he seemed to find Christian Craig early and often on track as well. Don’t look now, but Dungey is only 15 points out of third in points. It’s early, but that is a real possibility, especially as the series begins to head east.
Hangtown National 450 Class Top 10
1st No. 21 Jason Anderson 1-3
2nd No. 23 Chase Sexton 2-2
3rd No. 3 Eli Tomac 4-1
4th No. 94 Ken Roczen 3-4
5th No. 28 Christian Craig 5-5
6th No. 222 Antonio Cairoli 7-6
7th No. 5 Ryan Dungey 6-7
8th No. 7 Aaron Plessinger 9-8
9th No. 17 Joey Savatgy 11-9
10th No. 51 Justin Barcia 10-11
Week 2 PulpMX Fantasy Motocross Lineup
250 Class: Hunter Lawrence (All-Star, +1), Pierce Brown (+2), Josiah Natzke (+12), Lance Kobusch (+14)
450 Class: Jason Anderson (All-Star +5), Justin Barcia (+1), Joey Savatgy (+3), Tyler Stepek (+16)
FFL: Jett Lawrence and Ken Roczen (Successful on both)
On a final note, shoutout to special guest broadcaster Golden Boy Broc Glover, who did a fantastic job in the booth.
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Main Image via Kawasaki
