Sexton wraps up AMA Pro MX Title with double victory at Ironman finale

2024 Pro Motocross Championship
Round 11 – Ironman Raceway

Victory in the final round of the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship saw Chase Sexton and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing clinch the 450MX title with a clean sweep at the Ironman National, completing a spectacular first outdoor season together with a total of seven overall wins from the 11 rounds.

Aaron Plessinger took second at Ironman with 2-2 results which secured him third in the final standings behind Hunter Lawrence.

Eli Tomac returned to the podium at Ironman on the back of 4-3 results which saw Hunter Lawrence miss the rostrum after carding 3-6 results at the finale. Hunter finished the season 42-points behind Sexton, but 59-points ahead of Plessinger.

Despite contesting less than half the races this season, Jett Lawrence still finished ninth in the championship.

The 250 round win for Tom Vialle at the Ironman finale elevated the Frenchman to second position in the 250MX title race behind Haiden Deegan, who had wrapped up the championship the previous week at Budds Creek.

Chance Hymas was second at Ironman after carding 6-2 results ahead of RJ Hampshire. Despite only finishing 11th at Ironman Levi Kitchen still wrapped up third place in the 250 Championship ahead of Chance Hymas.

450 Moto One

The first moto saw Yamaha’s Phil Nicoletti grab the holeshot in the final Pro Motocross race of his career, but he soon gave way to Team Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger. By the completion of the opening lap, Sexton had moved into third, closely pursued by Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac. Out front, Plessinger made his way around Lawrence to take the lead. Not long after that, Sexton was able to get the better of Lawrence for second in what proved to be a championship-winning pass. As the moto surpassed its opening 10 minutes, just three-seconds separated the top four.

Sexton was able to close in on the rear fender of his team-mate and needed a couple pass attempts to eventually seize control of the moto. While Plessinger was able to keep Sexton honest for a few laps, the championship leader was able to put a little breathing room over his rivals halfway through the moto with a margin of 2.5 seconds. Plessinger, meanwhile, was forced to contend with a resurgent Lawrence in third, while Tomac continued to lurk in fourth. The top four tightened up once again inside the final 10 minutes, but Sexton responded to establish his largest lead of the moto.

Sexton continued to pull away in the closing stages and captured his 12th moto win of the season by a margin of 4.8 seconds over Plessinger. Lawrence finished third, just ahead of Tomac, while Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson finished in a distant fifth. The victory was enough for Sexton to clinch his first 450 Class title with one moto to go.

450 Moto One Results

450 Moto Two

The final moto of the 2024 season started with the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing machine of Justin Cooper edging out Lawrence and Plessinger for the holeshot. Plessinger had the momentum to grab the lead while Cooper, Lawrence, and Sexton engaged in a three-wide battle for second. Sexton came out on top and continued his push past Plessinger to go from about fifth to first on the opening lap. Cooper settled into third, with Lawrence and Tomac in pursuit.

The KTM team-mates looked to sprint away from the field as Lawrence was able to assert himself into third and bring Tomac along into fourth. A few laps later, Tomac made his way around Lawrence for third and faced about a six-second deficit to the lead with less than 20 minutes to go. Back up front, Sexton briefly stalled his motorcycle, which allowed Plessinger to close in and go on the attack. Plessinger made a couple attempts to slip past, but Sexton fended him off and reestablished a gap that continued to grow as the moto continued.

Sexton didn’t put a wheel wrong the rest of the way and wrapped up a baker’s dozen of moto wins by 26.1 seconds over Plessinger. Tomac grabbed a moto podium in third in just his second race back from injury. Lawrence faded late to finish sixth.

450 Moto Two Results

450 Round

Sexton’s fifth 1-1 effort of the season capped off an impressive six-race win streak that carried him to the title. He now has 13 career victories, which moves him into a tie for 11th on the all-time 450 Class wins list. Plessinger finished in the runner-up spot (2-2) for his sixth podium result of the season and his fourth in-a-row. Tomac’s strong second moto landed him third overall (4-3), for his 72nd career podium, the second most in 450 Class history.

Sexton became the 28th different rider to capture a 450 Class title in 53 seasons and is also the 17th racer to win both a Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and Pro Motocross Championship. Lawrence, who finished fourth (3-6), finished second in the standings, 42 points behind Sexton, while Plessinger finished third, 101 points behind his team-mate.

Chase Sexton (1-1)

“I felt the safest out front in Moto 1, they were all riding really good, and the pace was high, so that was a dream ride for me to wrap it up in that one with no mistakes. The championship’s what we came for and we accomplished that, so I appreciate it and we’re excited! To come out here in the outdoors and have a really awesome season, I don’t know how to put it into words… This is the best form I’ve had to date in my career, the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team is awesome, and it means a lot. I’m stoked – I just want to keep doing this, because every title you get makes you want to win more. Thank you!”

Aaron Plessinger (2-2)

“I put it all out there, I was trying and giving it my all to keep with Chase. Those last few laps were tough – I left it all on the track today. It’s all of these people who kept me going because it was a long, hot day, but I have to give it up for my family, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, and everybody behind me! It has been such a good season and I’m really proud of Chase and the whole team.”

Eli Tomac (4-3)

“I was just flowing in both motos. It’s good to be up here [on the podium]. It’s easy to think you can just jump right back into this, but it’s tough. The bike was working great today and it’s good to be back.”

Christian Craig (10-7)

“Last round of the outdoors, I was pumped to make it through the whole season and with just one DNF. We scored points in every moto we finished though and built throughout the season. I struggled a little bit today with the track, just couldn’t get comfortable, and had a couple of big crashes in practice, but in the races I did what I could. The second moto was better and we ended up eighth overall, so riding is good, and I’m excited for my first time in SMX now. We’ll keep trying to put in the good results.”

Malcolm Stewart (7-11)

“Ironman, we had a good first moto and the fans were awesome, which I’m always really thankful for.  I’m more so happy with finishing the whole season of Supercross and Pro Motocross without any injuries or missing any races. We have to think of all the positives and, no matter how you look at it, gate drops are the best thing you can get. In the second moto today I had a bad start, had to ride hard, and then kind of faded a little bit, and was cramping up, but it was a really good season for us overall. I’ll enjoy this next weekend off and then head into SMX excited for what’s to come!”

450 Round Results

450 Championship Points

250 Moto One

The first moto kicked off with Vialle at the head of the pack to open Moto 1 with the holeshot, ahead of Team Honda HRC’s Chance Hymas and the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing ride of Jordon Smith. Newly crowned champion Haiden Deegan started his first race carrying the No. 1 plate on the ground after a tip-over on the opening lap, forcing him to start outside the top 30 in the 40-rider field.

It didn’t take long for the lead trio to settle into their respective positions, with Vialle managing a lead of just over a second on Hymas. As the moto surpassed its opening 10 minutes Vialle was able to withstand a brief challenge from his Honda rival and move back out to a margin of two seconds. That lead continued to grow as the moto reached the halfway point and soon Hymas found himself under pressure from Smith, who made the pass for second. Not far behind was Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Ty Masterpool, who soon made the move on Hymas for third. Masterpool continued to push and closed in on Smith to establish a battle for second. However, as he looked to find a way around, Masterpool went down and lost several positions, remounting in sixth. His misfortune saw Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen move into third, with Hymas fourth and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire in fifth.

While Vialle moved out to a seven-second lead the battle for second intensified between Smith and Kitchen, with the Kawasaki rider able to make the pass with two laps to go. Back out front, Vialle went wire-to-wire for his third moto win of the season, 4.4 seconds ahead of Kitchen. Smith earned his best moto result of the season in third, with Hampshire fourth and Masterpool fifth.

250 Moto One Results

250 Moto Two

The final moto in the 250 Class started the same as Moto 1, with Vialle out front to sweep the holeshots, just ahead of Hymas. Both Kitchen and Smith found themselves mired outside the top 10, with Kitchen eventually crashing out of the moto. Back up front, Vialle and Hymas engaged in a spirited battle for the lead, with the Honda rider showing a wheel in several spots, only to have Vialle close him off. That allowed Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing’s Ryder DiFrancesco to close in from third, along with Deegan and Hampshire. Deegan made the move on DiFrancesco to take over third.

Despite the heavy pressure from Hymas in the opening laps, Vialle withstood the challenge and stabilized his lead right around a second. Meanwhile, Deegan made the move past Hymas for second. Just past the halfway mark, Deegan closed in and attempted a pass on Vialle, initiating some contact between the two in the track’s tightest corner. Deegan slipped ahead briefly, but Vialle countered to reclaim the position. This battle allowed Hymas to close back in from third. The battle for the lead continued, with more physical racing from the lead duo, while Hymas bided his time in third. Deegan went after Vialle once more and successfully completed the pass with a little less than 10 minutes to go. Hymas also got around Vialle for second and looked to track down Deegan. A couple laps later, Vialle gave up third to Hampshire.

Deegan withstood Hymas’ initial challenge and was able to pull away in the closing stages of the moto to finish off his championship-winning campaign the way he started it, with a moto win, his 10th of the season. Hymas finished in second, 6.6 seconds behind Deegan, with Hampshire in third and Vialle fourth.

250 Moto Two Results

250 Round

Vialle’s 1-4 effort easily secured his first overall win of the season and the second of his career. He became the fifth different rider to claim victory in the 250 Class this summer, which is the most since the 2021 season. Hymas made an anticipated return to the podium in second (6-2) for his fourth on-the-box result of the season, which ended a four-race drought dating back to his win at RedBud. Hampshire rounded out the podium in third (4-3) in just his second start of the season. It was the 12th podium result of his career.

Despite his Moto 2 win, Deegan failed to finish on the overall podium for just the second time in 2024 and completed the season with a championship-winning margin of 69 points over Vialle, who moved into second with his victory. Kitchen wrapped up third in the final standings, 76 points behind Deegan.

Tom Vialle (1-4)

“I was really trying to get that overall and we were able to today! The start is so important, it makes it so much easier, and I had a good moto in the first one. I had a gap and it was really amazing, I felt so good on the track. And then I was able to make it happen for the overall in that second moto – I’m really happy.”

Chance Hymas (6-2)

“I definitely need a little rest after this summer. It was a good way to cap off the season with a battle with those boys. We’re stoked right now. I’ll take a little time off and then get ready for SMX [playoffs].”

RJ Hampshire (4-3)

“It was awesome to be back at the races again.  We were here for the gate drops and to get some intensity back, and somehow pulled off a podium. I felt pretty good on the bike, definitely still not even close to 100 percent, but it was nice to grind it out and suffer a bit today. I’m happy to be rewarded with a podium and look forward to Charlotte here in a couple of weeks.”

Ryder DiFrancesco (7-5)

“Ironman was my best weekend and it’s always been my favorite track ever since I first raced here. Good vibes all day, just felt like I wasn’t behind the eight ball at all, and back to myself. It was good to finish the season with P5 in that final moto, it’s nice to have some momentum and good for the confidence going into Charlotte and the SMX series!”

Julien Beaumer (8-30)

“It was a decent day for me at Ironman. My riding in Moto 2 was really good until I had a crash late in the race, but overall – mentally and physically – we’re in a good spot, ready to head into SMX and finish this year with a bang.”

Pierce Brown (10-38)

“It wasn’t the best day for me at Ironman. First moto, I had a mid-pack start and ended up 10th, before in the next moto I had a better start, but collided with some guys in the first turn and got run over a couple of times. My leg was hurting pretty bad and unfortunately went numb in my boot, so I couldn’t finish, and had to get it checked out – we will hear more soon. That’s a wrap for the outdoor season, so hopefully we’ll be healthy and ready to go for SMX in a couple of weeks.”

250 Round Results

250 Championship Points

Next Up

With the regular season of the 2024 SuperMotocross World Championship Series now complete, we now look ahead to the SuperMotocross World Championship Finals. The three-race playoffs will begin on Saturday, September 7, from zMax Dragway at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Each of the newly crowned Pro Motocross Champions, Sexton and Deegan, will enter the SMX Finals as the top seeds in the combined Supercross/Pro Motocross standings.