Follow the 2023 Pro Motocross Championship with direct updates from round four of the season at High Point through Racefeed.

Image: Octopi Media.

250MX qualifying:
Hunter Lawrence was comfortably quickest aboard his Team Honda HRC-prepared Honda CRF250R in the second and final 250MX qualifying outing in Pennsylvania, but a quicker lap from Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan earlier in the morning stood strong as the class-leading time. At 2:20.801s, Deegan’s quickest revolution of the rain-affected High Point track put him 0.933s clear of Lawrence on the combined timesheet. Jo Shimoda (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) owned the fastest lap in the first session before Deegan surpassed him with a late flyer, relegating the Japanese rider to third when the sessions are combined. Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) was fourth on the strength of his first-session lap, but the championship contender was slow to get up and rode off behind his mechanic following a high-speed crash later in the morning. Ryder DiFrancesco (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) and Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM) completed the top five.

450MX qualifying:
Similar to in the quarter-liter class, times from the first 450MX qualifying session proved fastest leading into the motos. Ken Roczen made a splash early in his one-off Pro Motocross Championship appearance with Progressive Insurance Ecstar Suzuki, pacing Qualifying 1 by 3.148s over Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha’s Garrett Marchbanks. Just a few tenths of a second back was the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing-prepared Yamaha YZ450F ridden by former series champion Dylan Ferrandis, while Adam Cianciarulo (Monster Energy Kawasaki) and Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) rounded out the top five.

250MX moto one:
Multiple significant mistakes for RJ Hampshire hindered his charge toward race leader Deegan, but time after time the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider reeled the young factory Yamaha representative in, setting up a final-lap charge. Hampshire was successful and defeated Deegan by a margin of 2.669s. Including the all-important final lap, Hampshire led eight laps to Deegan’s seven having controlled the opening half of the race before hitting the ground and watching Deegan go by. Points leader Hunter Lawrence, representing Team Honda HRC, may have factored into the battle for the win if not for his involvment in a large pileup in the second turn. Lawrence stormed from about the middle of the pack to third at the end and took the checkered flag 22.449s in arrears of Hampshire. Jalek Swoll ran a strong third aboard his own Rockstar Energy Husqvarna before the charging older Lawrence brother swiped the final podium spot in the closing minutes. DiFrancesco was more than a minute back from the leaders but completed the top five aboard his Kawasaki KX250.

450MX moto one:
Lawrence overcame a near-race-long challenge from Roczen and a sizeable crash alone while leading to maintain his perfect record to this point in the 2023 Pro Motocross Championship. Roczen assumed the lead as Lawrence, no longer with the visor attached to his Red Bull-themed helmet, began to recover from his off. The young Australian rookie returned to the rear wheel of Roczen’s Suzuki and took back the lead on the 12th of 15 laps. Struggling to change his line while approaching a lapper on the muddy track, Roczen hit the ground and lost considerable time as he worked to kickstart his machine while on a hill. A second-place start for Marchbanks and steady pace near the podium postions paid off as Roczen dropped from the front and the ClubMX rider returned to the second position. Marchbanks finished there, 26.205s back from Lawrence. Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM) was next, followed by two Kawasaki KX450 bikes: the factory-prepared ride for Cianciarulo and Masterpool’s privateer entry, which was smoking in the closing minutes after a fall. Ferrandis reached sixth after an unideal start and led Roczen, Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM), Derek Drake (BarX Suzuki), and Romain Pape in completing the top 10.

250MX moto two:
The day’s concluding 250MX moto took a turn right from the start when first-moto leaders Hampshire and Deegan faced early trouble. Hampshire came together with his teammate Swoll on the opening lap following the strong opening moto for both Husqvarna riders. At the same time, Deegan was scored in 18th while Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing), DiFrancesco, and Chance Hymas (Team Honda HRC) engaged in a battle for the lead as the race began to unfold. Lawrence worked the first lap near the bottom of the top 10, but soon got by DiFrancesco for third, securing the day’s overall victory as they ran. Kitchen and Hymas were next for Lawrence in his bid to extend his streak of winning every second moto thus far in 2023, and the Honda rider was successful in passing both riders and taking control of the race. At the end, Vialle and Shimoda got the best of Kitchen and Hymas, slotting into the moto’s final two podium positions and strengthening their overall results. After Kitchen and Hymas in fourth and fifth, Deegan completed the top five having charged toward the front throughout the race along with Hampshire, who finished seventh. DiFrancesco, Dilan Schwartz (BarX Suzuki), and Jordon Smith (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) filled the final top-10 positions, beating Swoll, Max Vohland (Red Bull KTM), and Caden Braswell (TLD Red Bull Gas Gas) who took the checkers in the first few positions outside the top 10.

450MX moto two:
Looking to exit the season’s fourth round with his perfect record intact, Lawrence faced another severe challenge en route to his eighth moto victory of 2023. Roczen led early with Cianciarulo trailing him and Lawrence working to quickly catch both. Lawrence cut down Roczen’s lead until the 11th of the race’s 16 laps, at which point he returned his No. 18 Honda CRF450R to its familiar position of first and closed out another 1-1 moto result. Roczen settled for second in the moto and also was second overall after his seventh-place result in the first moto. Ferrandis overcame Cianciarulo for third, but fell short of the overall podium with 6-3 moto scores. By finishing fourth in both High Point motos, Cianciarulo earned his first podium outdoors thus far in 2023. Plessinger, Webb, Masterpool, Marchbanks, Harlan, and Freddie Noren (Twisted Tea HEP Suzuki) comprised the bottom half of the top 10 in the event’s final moto.