Predictions: AMA Motocross 2024

Jonathan McCready: It feels crazy to write this but there probably a bigger chance Jett Lawrence could go 44-0 than lose this title based on speed. Barring injury, Jett is the heavy favourite and my pick for Pala where he always excels and the title. If anyone can beat Jett it’s Chase Sexton but it all depends on how comfortable he is on the KTM, the battle for third overall could well be the rookies, Justin Cooper and Hunter Lawrence, I expect both to be better outdoors than supercross and maybe even give Chase and Jett a run for their money at times. Anderson and Plessinger could also be podium wildcards.

In the 250s there are 5/6 guys who could win but the Vialle/Deegan rivalry combined with their speed and Vialle hopefully ready to show his GP level now he knows the tracks, might make them the duo to beat. But Levi Kitchen is awesome this season and very good outdoors as is RJ Hampshire (if he stays on) and Jo Shimoda – but can he holeshot on the Honda? The wildcard for the title is Joey Savatgy on the already proven Triumph, he’s motivated, fast and had all year to prepare and should be a factor up front!

*update RJ Hampshire is out of the opener after sustaining a wrist injury during press day, more here.

Andy McKinstry: About a month ago there was real excitement for this series with Eli Tomac announcing he’d race the full series but sadly he got injured meaning he’ll miss a lot of the rounds. A real shame. We’ll never know now but there was a possibility Ken Roczen may have raced the full series too but an injury has ruined any hopes of that. 

As a result, it really leaves Jett Lawrence the clear favourite, he would have been anyway but Tomac and Roczen in for the full series might have made things interesting. Whilst, Chase Sexton should certainly win moto’s and some overalls with the likes of Hunter Lawrence, Justin Cooper and Dylan Ferrandis capable of winning races, it’s hard to look past Jett. Jason Anderson and Aaron Plessinger are the ones to look out for. 

The 250 class is probably going to be deeper than the 450 class so it should be an exciting one. Vialle won the SX title and he’s stronger in MX so in theory he is probably favourite but you can never rule out the very motivated Deegan. 

RJ Hampshire should have been a contender but being ruled out for round one and already having surgery, it remains to be seen when he’ll be back. Jo Shimoda is consistent but will be looking to turn that into wins and repay Honda after they signed him up. 

Joey Savatgy could be one to watch. It is easy to forget about him after not racing the AMA Supercross series but Triumph has already proved in the MX2 World Championship it is fast and Savatgy will have had more MX prep than most. You can’t beat racing though which he lacks so he may need a round or two to get back into the racing intensity.