The 2023 Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, continued with its second California round, this time in the northern half of the state in the shadow of the capital of Sacramento. The history of the iconic Carson City Motorsports Hangtown Motocross Classic is one of the richest and deepest in the sport and always provides one of the toughest tests of the summer. Temperatures that hovered around 90 degrees made for challenging conditions at this early juncture of the championship, but the end result on the track was the same as the previous week as the Australian siblings from Team Honda HRC, Jett and Hunter Lawrence, prevailed once again in the 450 Class and 250 Class, respectively.
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For the second week in a row Lawrence led every lap of competition to cap off another dominant 1-1 effort. Plessinger’s misfortune allowed Ferrandis to finish in the runner-up spot (2-3) and also moved Webb onto the overall podium in third (4-2) for the first time since the final round of the 2021 season.
Lawrence now joins elite company with Jeff Ward as the only two riders in Pro Motocross history to go 1-1 in the first two races of their 450 Class career. His lead in the championship standings now sits at 18 points over Ferrandis, while Webb moved into third, 26 points out of the lead.
“The track was so brutal [in the second moto]. You had to be patient and couldn’t take too much. I didn’t eat enough between motos and lost energy halfway through and just relied on technique to keep it going. On this track you really had to manage everything because if you took too much it could bite you. It almost got me a couple times so I really had to focus and keep it on two wheels.”
250MX: Hunter Lawrence Wins Again in 250 Class for Another Sibling Sweep
With another 3-1 effort to open the season Lawrence parlayed his second moto win into back-to-back overall victories. Cooper’s consistent afternoon (2-2) put him on the overall podium for the first time this summer in the runner-up spot, while Deegan brought home a second straight top-three result in third (1-4).
The win is the third of Lawrence’s career and establishes his first ever winning streak in Pro Motocross competition. He extended his points lead to 10 over Deegan, while Cooper moved into third, 12 points out of the lead.
“The start was crucial [in Moto 2]. They put a lot of water down and I didn’t want to be behind anyone for long with that. It was the first hot one of the year, a bit of a wake up call, but happy to get out of here safe and healthy.”
