Justin Cooper cruised to the win on a rutted track after Haiden Deegan tipped over in a rut while leading lap one. Hunter Lawrence just about avoided a big pile up to work his way through the pack into second.
Tom Vialle was not so lucky, going down hard in the start straight pile up and was very slow to get up, eventually remounting way behind the pack and working his way up to 16th only to crash hard again and dnf the moto, very battered and bruised. Any title hopes are now over, with KTM bewilderingly not prioritising outdoor testing until the end of a supercross season costing themselves and an uncomfortable Vialle a shot at the outdoor title.
.@DangerBoyDeegan takes your @MotoSportInc 250 moto 1 holeshot!🔵#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #ThunderValley pic.twitter.com/LbBg4mh8IV
— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 10, 2023
Problems for Tom after his comeback in moto 1 🤕#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #ThunderValley pic.twitter.com/b36AjYeue8
— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 10, 2023
Guillem Farres was also involved in the massive pile-up and left the track grimacing in a sling and a big blow after what was a great start to the season.
Meanwhile, Shimoda rode fantastic to get to third despite being involved the the first turn crash, what a ride!
Joel Rizzi just missed out on points with 21st on his AMA debut.
Justin Cooper took the holeshot in race two but had Hunter Lawrence and Levi Kitchen on his tail early and then fell handing the lead and the win to Hunter Lawrence who controlled out front on his way to the overall win.
Cooper got back to fourth for second overall with Kitchen’s 5-2 giving him his first podium of the year. Lawrence has a 16 point lead over Cooper as the two pre-season favourites start to make themselves the title duo.
Tom Vialle didn’t start the second moto after his big crashes in the opening moto but Joel Rizzi scored three points in hid AMA debut with 18th in moto two.
Image: Honda