2023 High Point Motocross | Race Report & Results

2023 HIGH POINT MOTOCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE

The 2023 High Point Motocross challenged riders in almost every way imaginable. Heavy rains leading up to the weekend soaked the Pennsylvania facility and turned the clay-loam-mulch mix into heavy slop during the first laps of practice, but constant work by the bikes and equipment paired with afternoon sun helped the terrain tack up and take shape for the 30-minute plus two lap motos at round three of the Pro Motocross Championship.

250 Moto One

The gate was down for the first race of the day and Rj Hampshire was off to the early lead with Jalek Swoll behind. Jo Shimoda went in hot in the second corner and went down, which collected Hunter Lawrence, Tom Vialle, and more. Haiden Deegan was quick to make passes, as he immediately made a pass on Swoll and took over second place on the opening lap. 

Hunter Lawrence and Jo Shimoda were on the move following their second corner fall, as the pair was advancing inside of the top-15. Hunter Lawrence was the first to break inside the top-10, as he passed Jorgensen and then Hawkins to secure ninth place. Meanwhile, Rj Hampshire continued to lead and now held a 5-second cushion over Haiden Deegan. Ryder DiFrancesco and Maximus Vohland rounded out the top-5, as they trailed Jalek Swoll. 

While leading, Rj Hampshire nearly went down in the stair-step rollers but had an incredible save to hold onto his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna. A few positions back, Hunter Lawrence had passed Caden Braswell and then passed Chance Hymas for sixth place. Maximus Vohland had fallen off the pace of the rest of the top-5, which made him the next victim to Hunter’s charge. After an inside line, Hunter Lawrence was up to fifth place and had Ryder DiFrancesco just ahead. 

Just after the halfway point, Rj Hampshire went down while leading and handed the race lead over to Haiden Deegan before remounting in second place. After running in the top-10, rookie Matti Jorgensen suffered a mechanic issue and was forced out of the race. A few laps after giving up the lead, Rj Hampshire upped his pace and was reeling in Haiden Deegan. 

While being lapped, Derek Kelly went down and held up Deegan. However, Haiden managed to get going before Hampshire could attempt a pass. A few laps later, Rj Hampshire was back on Deegan’s rear wheel but he then made another mistake and lost some time. With two laps to go, Hunter Lawrence made the pass on Jalek Swoll and secured third place. On the final lap, Rj Hampshire charged to an inside line and took Haiden wide in a rut to take the race lead back. After the veteran move, Rj Hampshire secured the win in moto one. 

250 Moto Two

The second 250MX moto of the day was off, as Levi Kitchen led the field into the second corner with Chance Hymas in tail. Meanwhile, Haiden Deegan, Rj Hamphire, and Jalek Swoll were down in the second corner. Chance Hymas made a quick pass on Kitchen to take over the race lead on the opening lap. Ryder DiFrancesco ran in third place and was pressuring Kitchen for second early-on. 

Hunter Lawrence and Jo Shimoda were battling for fifth place, but Hunter used a sneaky outside line to make the pass on Jo. Hunter then passed Tom Vialle for fourth place after Tom made a slight mistake. Hunter then beat DiFrancesco to the corner after the stair-step rollers to take over third place. 

Haiden Deegan was nearing the top-10 after his second corner fall, as he passed Kilroy for 11th place. Rj Hampshire followed Deegan past Kilroy and then latched on to the rookie. The pair continued to charge through the pack, passing Talon Hawkins, Schwartz, and Braswell. Up front, Hunter Lawrence was challenging Levi Kitchen for second place and ultimately made the pass. 

Chance Hymas continued to lead, but his teammate Hunter Lawrence was closing. Hunter Lawrence used an outside line to pull alongside and past Hymas, taking over the race lead. Tom Vialle ran in third place and was starting to close on Chance Hymas. Tom caught and passed Hymas to take over second place after railing an outside rut. 

Meanwhile, Haiden Deegan was up to sixth place after passing DiFrancesco. Rj Hampshire also made the pass on Ryder a few laps later and claimed seventh place. Levi Kitchen then advanced past Hymas after catching the rookie, rewarding him with third place. With two laps to go, Jo Shimoda shuffled Hymas back another position after making the pass for fourth. On the final lap, Jo Shimoda raced down the hill and beat Levi Kitchen around the next corner to grab third place. Hunter Lawrence crossed the checkered flag to collect another moto win and his fourth overall victory of the season.

Lawrence would later be docked seven championship points for jumping when a red cross flag was displayed, but kept the overall win.

450 Moto One

The first 450MX moto of the day was off, as Jett Lawrence led the field out of the first corner. Garrett Marchbanks shuffled into second place after the opening corner, just ahead of Cooper Webb. Ken Roczen then looked inside of Webb and passed Cooper for third place. Ken didn’t stop there, as he continued to charge and made the pass on Marchbanks after diving to an inside rut. By the end of the first lap, Roczen was up to second place but Jett Lawrence already held a three second led. 

Cooper Webb dropped back to sixth place, as both Adam Cianciarulo and Ty Masterpool made passes. Though, Cianciarulo then stalled while running in fourth place and faded back to seventh place before restarting his bike. The RedBull KTM teammates trailed privateer Ty Masterpool, as Plessinger ran in sixth place while Cooper Webb held down fifth. 

After a few fast laps, Ken Roczen closed Jett’s lead down to 2-seconds. Though, Jett then upped the pace again and opened his lead back up. While leading, Jett Lawrence went down after loosing the front-end and dropped back to third place before remounting. Ken Roczen now held the race lead, as Garrett Marchbanks trailed in second place, 5-seconds behind. 

A few laps after going down, Jett Lawrence made the pass on Marchbanks for second place. Cooper Webb passed Ty Masterpool for fourth place, while Adam Cianciarulo passed Aaron Plessinger for sixth. Dylan Ferrandis joined the picture after a bad start, as he was making passes inside the top-10 and was up to eighth place. 

With just over 6-minutes left on the clock, Jett Lawrence had reeled in Roczen and was challenging for the lead. Jett pulled alongside up a hill and then benefited from a better rut selection and rocketed back to the lead. However, Ken Roczen then railed an inside rut a section later and took the lead back. Half a lap later, Jett jumped alongside Roczen and then beat him to the next inside corner to complete the pass and secure the lead. 

Late in the race, Ty Masterpool had reeled Cooper Webb back in and was pressuring for fourth place. With two laps to go, Ken Roczen went down and dropped back to seventh place before he could finally get his Suzuki to restart. Ty Masterpool went down with two laps to go, but remounted quickly and advanced into fourth place after Roczen’s incident. Jett Lawrence crossed the checkered flag to claim his 7th consecutive moto win. Garrett Marchbanks finished in second place, just ahead of Cooper Webb in third. 

450 Moto Two

As the final race of the day left the gate, Ken Roczen claimed the early lead and had Aaron Plessinger in tail. Adam Cianciarulo was off to another good start, as he ran in third place. While, Jett Lawrence sat in fourth place at the end of the opening lap. Adam Cianciarulo passed Aaron Plessinger for second place early-on. 

Garrett Marchbanks had to run through the mechanics area after running inside the top-10 on the opening lap, ruining any chances at an overall podium. Aaron Plessinger went down while running in third place, which held up Jett Lawrence momentarily. Plessinger remounted quickly in sixth place, but gave his podium position to Jett. 

Dylan Ferrandis ran in fourth place, two seconds up on Cooper Webb and Aaron Plessinger. Up front, Adam Cianciarulo cut down Roczen’s lead to just half a second. However, Ken Roczen upped the pace just enough to keep Cianciarulo at bay. Laps later, Jett Lawrence used an outside line to make the pass on Cianciarulo for second place. 

Following his pass on Cianciarulo, Jett Lawrence began to reel-in Ken Roczen and the race lead. Meanwhile, Garrett Marchbanks was up to 11th place after visiting the mechanics area on the opening lap. With just over 5-minutes left on the clock, Jett Lawrence railed an outside rut and then rocketed past Roczen and into the race lead. 

Adam Cianciarulo made a mistake and bounced to a far outside line, which allowed Dylan Ferrandis to go inside and make the pass for third place. Jett Lawrence crossed the finish line to collect his eighth consecutive moto win and claim the overall victory at High Point.