250 class
Moto one
Jett Lawrence rode a calm, calculated race to go from fifth to first in moto one with RJ Hampshire second and Hunter Lawrence coming from the back of the top ten to third. Farres took another impressive top ten with ninth while Haiden Deegan crashed out while in a strong 11th.
After the race Hunter and Cooper were docked 2 points for jumping on cross flags.
Moto two
Jo Shimoda kept the championship alive until the final round with a fine moto win in race two as Jett Lawrence suffered a terrible start but came from outside the top ten to third behind brother Hunter to secure the overall win.
Yet again it was the Japanese star and the Aussie brothers on the podium in the US Nationals as RJ Hampshire took top American with fourth, passing Justin Cooper who was up front early but faded back.
Overall
Points standings
450 class
Moto one
What a race! Chase Sexton chased Eli Tomac through the field to the lead by the halfway point as the two title contenders then pulled away and engaged in an intense battle for the win. Sexton made the move when Tomac got stuck in a rut with five minutes to go, going around the outside of the championship leader but, with three laps to go, Tomac returned the favour passing Sexton in the same section going around the ruts and around the outside of Sexton. Tomac then put the pedal to the metal and unleashed a lap of pure speed, giving him the fastest lap of the race to open up a four second lead, enough to control the last two laps and come away with a crucial moto win and a four point lead with 3 motos left!
Tomac said: “It was an all or nothing sutation, that’s where I had to dig. We passed each other in the same turn, that was awesome.”
Sexton said: “It was not a great start, I spent a lot of energy to get ot the front, I just rode my butt off. Eli passed me in the same spot, it’s an awesome battle. Hopefully we can do that again in the second moto and I can come out on top this time.”
Moto two
Chase Sexton pulled the trigger once again when he really needed to win by taking the holeshot in a critical race two at Ironman. Eli Tomac started sixth, got into second and had a five second gap to make up on Sexton but he went to work and got it down to 1 second with about five minutes to go, if he went 1-1 he only needed a 2-2 at the final round even if Sexton won both moto. Tomac had the momentum and was getting ready to make the move when he bobbled in a rut, coming in at the wrong angle and stalling the bike, costing him two crucial seconds as Sexton put in one of his best laps to hold Tomac off.
From there Eli settled for second, meaning Sexton won the overall with a 2-1 and there is now ony 1 solitary point between the top twp going into the final round of the season at Pala – a track Sexton is phenomenal at! Tomac can afford to go 1-2 gain but getting that moto win won’t be easy. That was a huge race win for Chase Sexton. What a performance under pressure – from both riders.
Sexton said: “Man, I finally got a good start. I jsut tried to sprint away. Eli closed up on me and I was like, aw it;s going to be a hard race.’ I just never gave up that’s my mentality.”
Tomac commented: “I made a big push, I felt like he got stuck behind a few lappers, so I really attacked, I tried a little too hard and got cross rutted. We will go on to Pala.”
Aaron Plessinger got his first podium of the year then gave a hilairous insight into his race by saying: “I can’t even remember the moto!”
Overall
Points standings
Image: Honda
