Image: Octopi Media.

Timed qualifying at “America’s Motocross Track” saw Jett Lawrence gap his competition in the premier 450MX class while Daxton Bennick set the mark to beat in advance of his 250MX debut at the 2023 edition of the Pro Motocross Championship’s annual RedBud visit.

Aboard his Team Honda HRC-prepared Honda CRF450R, Lawrence was more than 2s clear of his competitors in the first 450MX qualifying session with a 2:04.806s.

He improved to a 2:04.713s in Q2 to solidify his position atop the class entering the motos.

Lawrence’s teammate Chase Sexton came closest with a 2:06.145s revolution of the light rain-affected track in the second session, but could only come within 1.432s of Lawrence’s top time.

Returning to competition following a crash at the end of the Monster Energy Supercross season, Jason Anderson (Monster Energy Kawasaki) landed third on the combined timesheet, just 0.031s faster than his Kawasaki stablemate Adam Cianciarulo on their respective best laps.

Privateer Ty Masterpool completed the top five, lapping quicker than Garrett Marchbanks (Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha), Derek Drake (BarX Suzuki), Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM), Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing), and Brandon Scharer in the top 10.

Capitalizing on his placement in the B group of qualifying for the 250MX division, Bennick (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) set the fastest qualifying time in the class during preparations for his Pro Motocross debut.

With a 2:06.88s lap in the first round of qualifying, Bennick put 0.604s between his Yamaha YZ250F and that of his teammate Justin Cooper.

Cooper set the mark to beat in the A group at 2:07.484s in the second session.

Hunter Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) was third, ahead of Maximus Vohland (Red Bull KTM) and RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) in the top five.

Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing), Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM), and the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki trio of Seth Hammaker, Jo Shimoda, and Ryder DiFrancesco filled the bottom half of the top 10 when the checkered flag appeared and the top riders left the track to prepare for the day’s motos.

Detailed results