The track that had been the opening round of the year up until last year now closes out the AMA Pro Motocross calendar. Hangtown has been a staple in the sport for over a half-century and its return to the schedule is most certainly welcomed. Although the 450 Class title was wrapped up a week ago by Dylan Ferrandis, one last win was up for grabs. The 250 Class became the focus with that in mind, however, as Jett Lawrence looked to maintain a 24 point lead over Justin Cooper. Even more, try to clinch the championship a Moto early, just needing to outrun Cooper in Moto 1 to do so.
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Motocross Weekly Headlines
The Numbers Mason, What Do They Mean?
Something else that was worth monitoring on Saturday was the status of rider numbers for 2022. To keep it brief, most rider’s numbers are determined by their combined points finish in both Supercross and Motocross regardless of class. Riders who finish 10th or better get the option for a permanent number. In addition to National Champions (450 Supercross or either Motocross title) receiving the option for a single-digit number. That just about covers it.
The riders who have already clinched the right to select a career number are firstly both Lawrence brothers. In addition to 250 East Supercross Champion Colt Nichols, by virtue of winning that championship. For those who like Jett with the No. 18, you are in luck because it sounds like he will stick with it. Hunter Lawrence meanwhile will likely switch to No. 96, the number he ran on the MX2 circuit. What Nichols will do is unclear, however, there is money to be made with him being No. 45.
The rider who had the most to gain on Saturday was Jo Shimoda. The Japanese Kawasaki rider needed a meager 15 points to break into the top 10 and secure a career number. Keep in mind he was a last-minute fifth rider for Pro Circuit this year. Based on his year, this did not feel like a tough task. Riders slated to lose career numbers, unless requests to keep are granted, are Shane McElrath, Blake Baggett, Justin Hill, and Chad Reed. McElrath is active still but was hurt for most of the year.
Grabbing the Brass Ring
Saturday was a big day for Kevin Morantz. The rider out of Kansas received a major opportunity. Getting a fill-in gig with Rocky Mountain KTM in relief of the ill Joey Savatgy. Moranz has made just two starts this outdoor season but respectively finished 19th and 16th overall at Ironman and Pala 2. A well-deserved opportunity and good on the Butler Brothers for offering it up.
Mookie Fever
Some big news dropped just after 450 Moto 1 on Saturday. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing has officially come down with a case of Mookie Fever. As they have officially signed Malcolm Stewart to a two-year deal, as first reported by Racer X. This deal will also bring Mookie back to Motocross for the first time in several years as well. In the release, he had this to say.
“I’m really excited. This all came right at the end of the supercross season. They gave me the opportunity and I was like, ‘I definitely can’t turn this down.’ I’m actually really excited because it turned in to be a two-year deal. I know my previous, past teams I’ve been on have been a one-year deal or supercross-only, but to have this a full indoor-outdoor sealed for two years is great for me. It’s a great opportunity, so I’m excited.”
With Jason Anderson all but set to move to Monster Energy Kawasaki, this is a fantastic move for Husky.
Motocross Remembers
With Hangtown falling on the 19th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, a number of teams decided to break out some special graphics.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CTr1c3UFSma/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
250 Class
Moto 1
Cooper in a must-win situation, had arguably his best start of the year. Even better was that Lawrence was nowhere near the front on the start. Riders right in tow however were R.J. Hampshire and Austin Forkner. Cooper’s luck was not over here either, Lawrence grabbed a little too much throttle on a landing and went down, losing his visor on the landing. That may not sound like much but that is big in regards to the incoming roost. Just a lap later, the points leader hit a downed bike and lost even more time. This was shades of Eli Tomac in East Rutherford back in 2017, only on a bigger scale.
Cooper, controlling what he could control, maintained a solid lead over Hampshire 10 minutes in. The Husqvarna rider had nothing to worry about in the back, as Forkner coming out of a commercial break had some sort of mechanical issue ending his Moto. This also helped out Lawrence, who worked up from outside the top 20 and into 16th around halfway in.
Moto 1 Continued
Dilan Schwartz, in the midst of all this chaos, was having himself a fantastic Moto. The Bar-X Suzuki rider was running behind Hampshire in third into the second half. However, he would get tangled up with Michael Mosiman, whose leg was tangled to Schwartz’s bike. A monster break for Lawrence, who got by Mosiman and was only seconds off of Schwartz.
Lawrence with under five minutes to go was able to sneak by Schwartz on an inside corner near the finish. With that move, he had made his way from well outside the top 20, up to ninth. In addition to having about three minutes and change to catch Jarrett Frye for seventh. Cooper then decided to get in on the theatrics. He almost hit a lapped rider with two go, and literal feet from the white flag, he almost nailed a whole line of sponsor signs. If he hit any number of those the chances of him finishing this Moto would have dropped to 0.0 percent. Luckily, he got settled down to win the Moto. Lawrence allowed himself no more room for error.
Moto 2
Cooper ended up sandwiched in between the Lawrence brothers on the gate but ended up getting a significantly better start than both. Then Jett went down coming to the start of lap one. Even worse was Cooper got by Josh Varize for the lead around 90 seconds later. But “the Jett” decided to lay the hammer down, making three passes just laps later, bringing him exactly to seventh place. With around 20 minutes to go, he had plenty of time to mess this up but also to regroup and calm down.
Lawrence then made an additional two passes on Varize and Schwartz. In addition to Max Vohland to pick up third place with just minutes remaining. Cooper led close to the entire Moto but it would not be enough. For the first time since Chad Reed in 2009, Australia has themselves an AMA Champion. Lawrence officially is your AMA 250 Motocross Champion.
Top 10 Overall in 250 Class
No. 32 Justin Cooper 1-1
No. 30 Jo Shimoda 4-2
No. 24 R.J. Hampshire 2-6
No. 115 Max Vohland 5-4
No. 1 Jett Lawrence 8-3
No. 41 Hunter Lawrence 3-9
No. 90 Dilan Schwartz 10-7
No. 241 Josh Varize 7-1
No. 147 Levi “The Master Chef” Kitchen 6-12
No. 42 Michael Mosiman 11-8
Top 10 Points Finishers in 250 Class
No. 1 Jett Lawrence 497 Points
No 32 Justin Cooper 491 Points
No. 41 Hunter Lawrence 381 Points
No. 24 R.J. Hampshire 364 Points
No. 30 Jo Shimoda 340 Points
No. 6 Jeremy Martin 307 Points
No. 38 Austin Forkner 256 Points
No. 42 Michael Mosiman 252 Points
No. 115 Max Vohland 236 Points
No. 90 Dilan Schwartz 209 Points
450 Class
No. 1 Dylan Ferrandis- Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha (1-3 for first overall)
“One more for the road”, said the new champ. Ferrandis ended up having the ride of the year in Moto 2 to secure the last overall of the year. After getting tangled up on the start, he charged from outside the top 30 and finished in third. An absolutely absurd day for the Frenchman who takes home Overall win No. 6 on the year. A phenomenal end to a phenomenal year for Ferrandis.
No. 3 Eli Tomac- Monster Energy Kawasaki (4-1 for second overall)
Tomac ends the year and his career with Kawasaki in phenomenal fashion. Finishing top three in his final four Nationals and ended the year with a Moto win. But what a career for ET3 with Team Green. How about 3 straight Motocross titles and 24 Overall wins. Along with 34 Supercross Main Event wins, the 2020 title, and two Monster Energy Cup Wins. One of the best free-agent moves in the history of the sport. Now the Cortez, Colorado native is set for the greener pastures of Star Yamaha. He will also do so without his near career-long mechanic Brian Kranz, who is sticking with Kawasaki in a new role.
No. 29 Christian Craig– Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha (5-4 for fourth overall)
Craig quietly had been on a nice run to end the year, and that continued at Hangtown. That included some time out front on Saturday on the road to two top-five Moto results. Although he is headed back to the 250 for Supercross next year, don’t forget that the small-bore veteran can hang with the top guns, at least outdoors. Craig comes home sixth in this year’s championship, also ties his career-best.
No. 94 Ken Roczen– Honda HRC (2-DNF for ninth overall)
You never want to see any of these riders get hurt, and especially in the final race of the year. Sadly, this was the case for the two-time champion. At the start of Moto 2, he got his foot tangled inside Coty Schock‘s bike and knew something was wrong right away. He pulled into the pits and was shown taking off his left riding boot in immense pain. You could tell he was 100 percent done.
Even worse was that he was carted out of the pits and X-Rays were mentioned on the broadcast. Do not want to speculate, but here is to hoping Roczen did not break anything. It is a shame his season had to end like this, even worse was that he lost second in the points to Tomac. Despite a worse points finish on the Outdoor circuit, this was the best of Roczen in 2021. No real mental lapses and was on a complete tear at points. Absolutely zero shame in coming up short this season, he put up a hell of a fight.
No. 69 Robbie Wageman– Solitare Nuclear Blast Yamaha (12-9 for 10th overall)
An acquaintance of the program made the trip to these last two nationals for a simple reason. Simply to keep his number, you can let your imagination run wild on why that is the case. “The Wage Man” was a man on a mission on Saturday, picking up a career-best 10th Overall on a 450. No bias, but keep “The Wage Man” as a priority option in PulpMX Fantasy SX next year and follow @teamsolitareSX on Twitter. That’s what they say, not me.
Top 10 Overall in 450 Class
No. 1 Dylan Ferrandis 1-3
No. 3 Eli Tomac 4-1
No. 2 Cooper Webb 3-2
No. 29 Christian Craig 5-4
No. 28 Brandon Hartranft 6-7
No. 34 Max Anstie 9-5
No. 951 Ryan Surratt 8-8
No. 19 Justin Bogle 10-7
No. 94 Ken Roczen 2-DNF
No. 69 Robbie “The Wage Man” Wageman 12-9
Top 10 Points Finishers In 450 Class
No. 1 Dylan Ferrandis 531 Points
No. 3 Eli Tomac 458 Points
No. 94 Ken Roczen 446 Points
No. 2 Cooper Webb 358 Points
No. 23 Chase Sexton 343 Points
No. 29 Christian Craig 292 Points
No. 25 Marvin Musquin 240 Points
No. 17 Joey Savatgy 240 Points
No. 51 Justin Barcia 239 Points
No. 7 Aaron Plessinger 232 Points
Motocross Curtain Call
That is officially it for the AMA Supercross/Motocross calendar year. Had an absolute blast writing on objectively my favorite motorsport and appreciate everyone who took the time to tune in. Was an overall pretty good year and was great to start seeing fans back at the races. It made the world of difference, especially in Motocross. While the racing is over, silly season is about to really heat up. Be sure to tune in, in the coming weeks as some major league moves start going down.
One final note, as some of you may know, there were some awful floods that absolutely devastated the town of Waverly, Tennessee. About 10 minutes away from Waverly, is the famed Loretta Lynn’s ranch, the mecca of Amateur Motocross racing. The fine folks over at Road2Recovery, who do phenomenal work for those injured in Motocross/Supercross accidents, have recently kicked off a fundraiser for relief efforts.
At the time this is being typed, they have raised over $150-thousand dollars. Large in part due to a ton of riders chipping in with some memorabilia for an auction. From jerseys to bike plastics, hats to helmets, they have just about everything. If you are interested in donating/bidding, a link to the eBay auction is right here. Some items are expiring or already have so get them while you can.
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Main Image Credit:Embed from Getty Images
