2023 Hangtown Motocross | Race Report & Results

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Round two of the Pro Motocross Championship is officially in the books, as the 2023 Hangtown Motocross saw its victors this weekend. Four brutal motos on the challenging Northern California track provided race fans with entertaining battles in both classes. Though, both the 250MX and 450MX championships saw repeat winners in Hangtown, as the Lawrence brothers took the top step on the podium in their respected classes. 

250 Class | Moto One

The gate was down for the first moto of the day and Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rookie Haiden Deegan was off to the early lead at Hangtown. Teammate Justin Cooper trailed in second place, while Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Jett Reynolds held onto third place. Tom Vialle shuffled his way into fourth place after a few corners and quickly caught draft of Reynolds. 

As Haiden Deegan laid down some fast laps and did his best to pull away from his veteran teammate, Hunter Lawrence battled his way into the top-5 after a not so great start. While dealing with pressure from Vialle, Jett Reynolds jumped off track and nearly into an oncoming lane before hitting the ground. Jett remounted outside of the top-15. 

Guillem Farres now sat in fourth place, but had Ryder DiFrancesco and Hunter Lawrence in tail. Hunter was the first to advance in that group, as he made the pass on DiFrancesco after squaring him up following the finish line. Meanwhile, Haiden Deegan continued to lead and now held a 4-second lead over Justin Cooper. 

Caden Braswell had an early crash that resulted in a pit-stop, placing him a lap down early in the race. Guillem Farres was on the charge, as he caught Tom Vialle and was pressuring for third place. However, Farres had to deal with Hunter Lawrence before attempting a pass on Vialle, as the red-plate holder joined the battle for third place. 

As Farres fended off Lawrence, the duo pressured Vialle for third place. Guillem Farres cut inside of Tom to make the pass for third place and Hunter Lawrence followed by in the following corner. Hunter then challenged for third, but Farres took him wide. However, Hunter was late to the brakes going down the next hill and blitzed into third place with ease. 

Meanwhile, Rj Hampshire was entering the picture, as he made his way into sixth place after a bad start. Jo Shimoda was now pressuring Ryder DiFrancesco and made the pass for seventh place after sweeping around an outside. Carson Mumford worked his way into 10th place but was then taken wide and off course in a tight area, which made it difficult to re-enter. 

Out front, Justin Cooper had closed Deegan’s lead down to just 2-seconds. Though, Haiden Deegan worked to drop his lap time and open his lead back up. A few positions behind, Tom Vialle fell back to seventh place after both Hampshire and Shimoda made passes. Laps later, Rj made mistake and allowed Jo Shimoda to take over fifth place. Shimoda then went after Farres and secured fourth place with just a few laps to go. 

Rj Hampshire then made a pass on Farres and took control of fifth place. Justin Cooper cut Deegan’s lead down to just over a second, but Haiden fended off the pressure and crossed the checkered flag to secure his first ever moto victory. 

250 Class | Moto Two

As the second 250MX moto of the day left the gate, Justin Cooper claimed the early race lead ahead of Hunter Lawrence and the rest of the field. A handful of riders were down hard in the second corner, including Jeremy Martin, Jett Reynolds, Jordon Smith, and Michael Mosiman. Jeremy Martin ran off track with a visibly broken arm, while Michael Mosiman was treated to by the medical team. 

Jalek Swoll trailed Hunter Lawrence in third place and had rookie Chance Hymas in tail. Tom Vialle then made a quick pass on Hymas for fourth place. Meanwhile, moto one winner Haiden Deegan sat in seventh place at the end of the opening lap. Jalek made a slight mistake, which allowed Vialle to close-in and challenge for third. 

Haiden Deegan made the pass on Shimoda for sixth place before setting his sights on Hymas. Up front, Hunter Lawrence took the race lead away from Justin Cooper. Once gaining the lead, Hunter laid down some fast laps and built up a 3-second cushion over Cooper. While running in third place, Jalek Swoll jumped off course and had to miss the wall-jump before rejoining the track. Jalek regrouped in fifth place, as both Vialle and Hymas made passes. 

Haiden Deegan was now pressuring Swoll, while Shimoda lurked behind the duo. Deegan looked inside of Swoll a few times, but Jalek continued to shut the door on the moto one winner. While fending off the pressure, Jalek Swoll caught Chance Hymas. Deegan then dove inside of Swoll before the finish line jump to take over fifth place. 

Haiden then made a mistake and allowed Swoll to pass him right back just a few sections later. Fourth through ninth place now sat within 4-seconds of each other, as the Swoll and Deegan battle bunched everyone up. Deegan hit a lapped rider while exiting a corner, which took the lapper out. Jo Shimoda then hit the down rider and went down off of the track. Jo remounted from the incident in 13th place. 

Haiden Deegan eventually made the pass on Jalek Swoll for fifth place stick. Laps later, Deegan cuts down and rips past Chance Hymas to take over fourth place. Laps later, Rj Hampshire uses an outside line to also pass Hymas and secure fifth place. Hunter Lawrence crossed the checkered flag to collect the second moto win and the overall victory at Hangtown. 

450 Class | Moto One

The first 450MX moto of the day was off, as Dylan Ferrandis led the field out of the first turn but Jett Lawrence shuffled his way into first place by the second corner. Cooper Webb trailed Ferrandis in third place, as his teammate Aaron Plessinger took Cianciarulo wide to lock down fourth. Rj Wageman was off to a great start and sat in sixth place on the opening lap, but was then passed by Kessler and Noren. 

Aaron Plessinger darted inside of Cooper Webb and took third place over the finish line jump. Plessinger then switched his focus to Dylan Ferrandis and second place. Meanwhile, Jett Lawrence built a 2.5-second lead after a few laps and managed it. A couple positions back, Freddie Noren passed into sixth place. 

Aaron Plessinger continued to work on Ferrandis for second place, while Jett enjoyed a 4-second lead. Jerry Robin made the pass on Jace Kessler for seventh place after using an outside line in the split-lane. Ty Masterpool worked his way into the top-10 and passed Kyle Chisholm for ninth place. 

Derek Drake joined Masterpool in a charge through the top-10, as he passed into tenth before latching onto Ty. Masterpool then advanced up to seventh place after making two more passes. Before securing the moto victory, Jett Lawrence built up an 8-second lead over Ferrandis and seemed to do so with ease. The Team Honda HRC 450MX class rookie crossed the checkered flag to make it three for three in moto wins. 

450 Class | Moto Two

The final moto of the day was off, as 450MX moto two left the gate and Jett Lawrence shuffled his way into the race lead, again. As Jett led Cooper Webb around the course for the opening lap, a number of riders were down hard after a huge pileup occurred on the outside of the first turn. Aaron Plessinger trailed behind Webb in third place, as Dylan Ferrandis lurked in fourth. 

In an attempt to break away from Dylan Ferrandis, Aaron Plessinger began pressuring his teammate Cooper Webb for second place. Jett Lawrence built up a 5-second cushion while Plessinger and Webb continued to battle over second. Dylan Ferrandis upped his pace and joined the KTM battle for second place. 

After over ten-minutes of pressuring Webb, Aaron Plessinger finally made the pass for second place after scrubbing past Webb following a better drive out of the corner. Dylan Ferrandis was now on Webb’s rear wheel and challenging. While running in second place, Aaron Plessinger laid it down in the flat corner following the finish line. In the crash, Aaron snapped off his clutch lever – which made restarting the bike a longer process. Aaron eventually remounted in fifth place.

Dylan Ferrandis continued to pressure Webb for position, but was running out of time. On the final lap, Cooper Webb had opened his lead on Ferrandis up to 5-seconds to secure second place. Jett Lawrence crossed the finish line and made it 4 for 4 in the 450MX class.