AMA Pro MX High Point National – An illustrated recap

2024 Pro Motocross Championship
Round Four – High Point Raceway, Mount Morris

An evening of scattered thunderstorms gave way to picture-perfect weather conditions and an ever-changing racetrack on Saturday as the Pro Motocross Championship kicked off its East Coast swing with the annual Father’s Day weekend tradition from the legendary High Point Raceway.

The 47th running of the High Point National Presented by Sustainable Yard Management represented Round 4 of the 2024 season, where the “Country Club of Motocross” welcomed a massive crowd that saw reigning 450 Class Champion Jett Lawrence pilot his Team Honda HRC machine to a 1-1 effort for his third win of the season.

In the 250 Class, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Ty Masterpool prevailed with a breakthrough maiden victory that also signified an unprecedented 300th victory for the most successful team in the history of the sport.

450 Moto One

The Lawrence brothers led the field through the first turn to open Moto 1, with points leader Hunter Lawrence inching ahead of Jett to earn the holeshot and hold onto the early lead.

Behind them, Phoenix Racing Honda’s Dylan Ferrandis battled his way into third. The Frenchman held the position for just over a lap until Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper made the pass.

A little more than seven minutes into the moto, Hunter Lawrence lost traction coming out of a turn and stopped briefly, which allowed Jett Lawrence to assume the lead.

Moments later, Cooper endured a similar hiccup, which allowed Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Chase Sexton to move into third.

As the moto wore on, the Lawrence brothers increased their advantage over the field as some miscues by Sexton allowed the lead to grow to nearly 20-seconds entering the final 10 minutes of the moto.

The distance between Jett and Hunter hovered around two seconds, with some ebb and flow as the pair navigated lapped riders.

With three laps to go the intensity picked up, with less than a second between the siblings. They mirrored lap times and took the white flag with eight-tenths separating the team-mates. Hunter Lawrence went on the attack and looked for alternate lines to attempt a pass, but it was too little too late.

Jett Lawrence captured his fourth moto win of the season a mere seventh-tenths ahead of Hunter.

Sexton followed in a distant third, 36 seconds back. Cooper finished fourth, with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger in fifth.

450 Moto One Results

450 Moto Two

The final moto of the afternoon started with Phil Nicoletti leading the field to the holeshot before giving way to Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson.

Jett Lawrence then slotted into third, with Hunter Lawrence following into fourth. The Lawrences were quick to pass Nicoletti and take over the remaining podium positions.

Sexton followed through into fourth and started to pressure Hunter Lawrence for third.

Sexton made quick work of the points leader to slot into the top three five-minutes into the moto.

Sexton continued his push and pressured Jett Lawrence for second, which saw the champ close in on Anderson for the lead.

A battle for the top spot ensued, and as Anderson looked to fend off Lawrence, it allowed Sexton to make the move past both riders and jump from third to first.

Lawrence then completed the pass on Anderson and quickly worked his way around Sexton to seize control of the lead 10 minutes into the moto.

From there, Lawrence and Sexton settled into their respective positions through the heart of the moto.

With a little more than 10 minutes to go, Sexton mounted an attack on Lawrence and made an easy pass to move into the lead. Lawrence gave chase and passed Sexton back, only for Sexton to do the same and put his KTM back out front.

Sexton kept a patient Lawrence at bay, and as the moto dipped into its final five minutes, Sexton lost the front and went down, handing the lead back to Lawrence. Sexton remounted in second place, but then found himself under fire from Hunter Lawrence in third.

Sexton dug deep to get Jett Lawrence back within his sights but the Honda rider managed the lead through to the finish to wrap up his second sweep of the motos this season. Jett crossed the finish line 3.7 seconds ahead of Sexton, with Hunter Lawrence in third.

450 Moto Two Results

450 Round

Jett Lawrence’s second 1-1 effort of the summer resulted in his third overall win in four rounds and the 14th victory of his 450 Class career and provided back-to-back wins to follow up his worst outing in the premier class in which he crashed and suffered minor injuries.

Sexton (3-2) earned the tiebreaker over Hunter Lawrence (2-3) for the runner-up spot, while the elder Lawrence, who is the championship leader, remains the only rider to finish on the overall podium at each round thus far and maintains his six-point lead over Sexton at the top of the points table. Jett Lawrence is now only two-points behind Sexton. Justin Cooper is a further 20-points behind in fourth.

Jett Lawrence – P1

“Chase had some good lines [in Moto 2]. It was a bummer to see him go down. It was his race for sure. My shoulder was a bit more fatigued today. I struggled a bit, so it’s good to get the overall and head into the break.”

Chase Sexton – P2

“Round 4 was better than Thunder Valley, my speed was a little better, but I just made way too many mistakes. These next two weeks, I’ll be trying to rest because I’ve been physically exhausted the last couple of weeks. I’ve gotta get back to 100 percent and we’ll come out swinging for the upcoming middle four races of the season.”

Hunter Lawrence – P3

“It’s pretty gnarly out there. In the second moto I just didn’t have the explosive fire like I had in Moto 1. I think that was pretty clear. It was good to minimize the damage [in points] and not do anything silly.”

Aaron Plessinger – P4

“Overall, today was the most comfortable I’ve felt on the bike in a long time or, really, ever. I was just gelling. Qualifying went pretty good in seventh, and then in the first moto I really botched the start and had to come from around 20th to fifth. The result didn’t reflect how awesome I was riding, because I felt so good, could really push, and get going! Second one, I got a better start and made my way into fifth early, so it was 5-5 for today. I ended up fourth overall, which isn’t too bad. I’ll take a relaxing weekend off and come back swinging at Southwick – I’m ready for it!”

Jason Anderson – P6

“Solid ride today for me and the team. We had a great qualifying session but unfortunately my start wasn’t there in Moto 1. I had to put in work to get myself back up into the Top 10. Moto 2 was way better, and we made some changes on my KX450SR that I was happy with. It felt good to lead some laps and battle up front, but I know I have more . We have been training in South Carolina to prepare for the back east races and I feel like it’s paying off also. Thanks to my team for supporting me and let’s get ready for The Wick.”

Justin Barcia – P8

“Today started really good, P3 in the first practice, but then on the last lap I slid out on a blind jump and got my knee run over, so that was a struggle! I went out for the second session and was in pretty bad pain, so qualified P6 overall, and I knew the motos would be tough. We did everything we could – tape and that kind of thing – to get out there, but both of my knees are extremely weak right now and hurting pretty bad. We salvaged what we were able to today, which is a bit sad because the bike was really good and I thought we could have had a successful day. All-in-all, we scored points, and I’m happy we have a weekend off now so I can sort these knees out, and come out swinging for Southwick!”

Malcolm Stewart – P9

“Today was okay, the track was very, very tough after the rain on Friday night, and it got really rutty out there,” said Stewart. “All-in-all, I had a really good time. We did the best we could, and 9-9 finishes aren’t the results we want, but sometimes when you’re a little bit off this track can work you! We’re safe and we’ll enjoy this weekend off before Southwick – I think I’m going to shine at that one and am looking forward to getting out there in the sand!”

450 Round Results

450 Championship Points

250 Moto One

The opening moto of the day got underway with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Nick Romano out front for the holeshot, but he was quickly passed by Troy Lee GASGAS Factory Racing’s Ryder DiFrancesco and the Kawasaki of Masterpool.

However, the rider to watch was Team Honda HRC’s Chance Hymas, who clawed his way into the lead before the completion of the opening lap.

Well behind was point leader and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider Haiden Deegan, who started the moto outside the top 20.

As the moto wore on, Hymas, Masterpool, and Team Honda HRC’s Jo Shimoda settled into the top three, and all three remained within striking distance of one another as they navigated tricky track conditions.

Just as the moto surpassed its halfway point, Hymas had a slight bobble while attempting to navigate lapped riders. With the Honda man’s momentum halted momentarily, both Masterpool and Shimoda were able to get by and drop Hymas to third. Behind them, Deegan was on an impressive comeback and managed to claw his way into the top four.

Deegan’s charge forward brought him within reach of Hymas, which forced the Honda rider to respond. With the moto winding down, the battle for second became a three-rider affair between Shimoda, Hymas, and Deegan.

A savvy move allowed Deegan to pass Hymas and move into the top three. Deegan then went on the attack against Shimoda and took advantage of a lapper to make the pass for second and then had two laps to track down Masterpool.

Deegan closed in and took advantage of his first opening to make the move on Masterpool just before the white flag. The Kawasaki rider battled back and kept the fight tight through the finish, but Deegan completed an impressive come-from-behind effort by 2.6 seconds over Masterpool. Shimoda followed in third, with Hymas fourth and DiFrancesco fifth. Deegan posted his fastest lap of the moto on the final lap, to put the finishing touch on a statement ride.

250 Moto One Results

250 Moto Two

The second moto saw the trio of Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha riders at the head of the pack, with Coty Schock earning the holeshot over team-mates Jett Reynolds and Mark Fineis. As they jockeyed for position, it was the rookie, Fineis, who emerged with the lead for the first time.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle was also in the mix and made quick moves to jump into second and gave pursuit of Fineis.

Behind the top two, Masterpool was also pushing forward to slot into third. Deegan, meanwhile, found himself on the ground and started outside the top 20 for the second consecutive moto.

Vialle was patient and waited for his opportunity, which he capitalised on to seize control of the lead just over five-minutes into the moto.

While leading, Vialle landed off-kilter and went down, which handed the lead back to Fineis and dropped the Frenchman to fourth.

Fineis’ lead was short-lived as Masterpool made a quick pass to grab the top spot, while Hymas followed from third.

With a comfortable gap on the field, Masterpool went down and gave the lead back to Fineis, but quickly remounted in second. Fineis then crashed out from first a short time later, which allowed Hymas to slip past Masterpool and become the moto’s fifth different leader right as it reached the halfway point.

Hymas was able to quickly establish a multi-second lead on Masterpool, who settled into second.

Behind the leaders, Vialle ran third but faced pressure from a hard-charging Deegan, who once again marched his way into the top five. Deegan bided his time and eventually took advantage of a mistake by Vialle to move into third.

Back up front, Masterpool mounted a charge for the lead with less than four-minutes to go and forced a mistake from Hymas, which allowed the Kawasaki rider to reclaim the lead.

With pressure coming from Deegan, Hymas was able to erase the deficit to Masterpool and make it a three-rider battle to the finish.

Deegan got by Hymas and was on Masterpool’s rear fender in the final turns, but the Kawasaki rider held off the threat to secure his first career moto win by a mere three-tenths of a second. Hymas finishing third.

250 Moto Two Results

250 Round

With the moto win, Masterpool (2-1) and Deegan (1-2) finished tied atop the overall classification, but Masterpool earned the second-moto tiebreaker to capture the first overall win of his professional career.

Masterpool became the 175th rider in Pro Motocross history to earn a 250-class victory, which also signified the milestone 300th win for the decorated Pro Circuit race team led by Mitch Payton.

Hymas secured his second straight podium result in third (4-3).

With three wins and a runner-up finish through the first four rounds, Deegan’s lead in the championship standings sits at 32 points over Hymas. Vialle, who finished fifth (8-4), sits third, 38 points behind Deegan.

Ty Masterpool – P1

“It’s been a rough three to four years. I’m lucky to have a great team around me and just keep my head down. This is proof hard work pays off. I believed in the team around me and in God’s plan and it all worked out.”

Haiden Deegan – P2

“I’m super proud of Masterpool [for the win]. He’s been through a lot of highs and lows. It was a battle and we took it down to the wire. I made things hard on myself today, but we still showed a lot of speed and extended the points lead, so it was still a good day.”

Chance Hymas – P3

“I felt good on the bike all day. I just got to be better. I’m super glad to be on the podium again and show some consistency. Now I’ve got second all to myself [in the point standings] and I’m ready to come out swinging after the break.”

Tom Vialle – P5

“High Point was not really a good day. I finished with 8-4 moto results, and went down in both motos. I was leading the second moto and crashed, so we were a little bit better in that one, but that’s not where I want to be, and it’s kind of frustrating. I look forward to Southwick and being back in the sand in two weeks, so hopefully it will be a better race there.”

Julien Beaumer – P6

“It was a way better day for me today at High Point. Qualifying wasn’t good, but my starts were better, and I had good rides both times for my best overall of the season in P6. I’m happy with where we’re at right now, so am going to keep building on this. I’m excited to get back to work, try to fix some things that we need to improve on, and try to finish strong for the rest of the season. It will be my first time to Southwick, so I’m going to practice in some sand and be ready!”

Ryder DiFrancesco – P7

“High Point was better than the last few weeks. First moto I took fifth, and then in the second moto, I was running inside the top 10 and went down. That put me seventh overall, which is an improvement, so the goal going into Southwick is to put two solid motos together. It was a good day and I’m ready for a weekend off.”

Pierce Brown – P8

“We were eighth overall today. The first moto was not great after I fell and just couldn’t find my flow, but we went back to a base setting for Moto 2 and the comfort was there for me again. My start was better and I ended up sixth, so closer to the front, and we’re going to work on fixing our weaknesses during the break before Southwick.”

Levi Kitchen – P9

“This was definitely not my race, and it was more about managing. I used up a lot of energy that first race coming through the pack, and the track was very challenging in my spot. We’re going to take this weekend off to regroup and see if we get to find what we need to come out swinging at Southwick.”

250 Round Results

250 Championship Points