The first half of the 2023 Pro Motocross Championship has delivered some big surprises and notable battles across the two classes. As the series heads into the final five rounds, MotoOnline takes a closer look at the Top 10 topics to follow.

Image: Octopi Media.

1. The possibility of Jett Lawrence going 22-0 as a rookie:
After teenager Jett Lawrence shocked many by beating Team Honda HRC teammate and recently-crowned Monster Energy Supercross 450SX champion Chase Sexton at the opening round of the 2023 Pro Motocross Championship at Fox Raceway, the question, ‘can Lawrence really go 22-0?’ started to get thrown around. Then, Sexton missed a few rounds after a practice crash ruled him out with a concussion. As the series has hit its midway point, the 450MX rookie has grown even more since his initial 1-1 at the season-opener, he looks even better now. The first real challenge for Lawrence came at High Point when Ken Roczen lined up for a one-off outdoor race. The Suzuki rider lead laps during the motos, but even then, Lawrence would overcome him in both outings, even after a decent-sized crash in the opening moto. Since then, Lawrence has cruised to moto wins over his rivals, and the question has almost become, ‘who’s actually going to beat him?’.

2. 250MX title tightening up:
With the recent misfortunes of longtime red plate-holder Hunter Lawrence (Team Honda HRC), the hunt for the 250MX title has well and truly tightened up. The vibe from the outside is that a lot of these guys feel they’ve now got a second chance at winning this title. Lawrence was looking primed to run away with it, but that has quickly turned on its head, with Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) at the top of the standings and the top five separated by only 22 points with five rounds remaining in the series.

3. Deegan takes the red plate:
After a successful rookie season in Monster Energy Supercross, everyone was eager to see how Deegan would fare in his first full Pro Motocross campaign. The 17-year-old impressed early, landing on the podium at the opening two rounds with second at Fox Raceway and third at Hangtown. He’s since gone on to podium two more times, including a popular win at RedBud. While it’s obvious that Deegan has inherited the points lead due to the disastrous last two rounds of Lawrence, you can’t discredit the professionalism of Deegan and how he’s conducted himself being in the title hunt at such a young age and, at times, it makes you forget that he’s a rookie

4. The arrival of Ty Masterpool:
Now, it’s not really the ‘arrival’ of Ty Masterpool as such, because we’ve seen him put in rides like this before. But, it is the apparent arrival of Masterpool into the 450MX fold. The number 81 has really shocked the industry with some outstanding rides this season, the most notable coming at Thunder Valley when he seemingly rode his way around a number of factory riders in the second moto to finish fourth. Since then, the privateer Kawasaki rider has continued to impress, finishing every single moto since stepping into the premier class inside the top 10, barring one DNF when his bike let go in moto two at RedBud. Masterpool sits P6 in the 450MX standings with five rounds remaining in the series.

5. Vialle gets his first Pro Motocross win:
One of the biggest talking points heading into 2023 was the addition of two-time MX2 world champion Tom Vialle. Many thought the Frenchman would be in the hunt for race and overall wins straight off the bat, but it’s taken until round six at Southwick for the Red Bull KTM rider to get both of those. Vialle has shown tonnes of promise throughout the opening rounds, finishing inside the top five overall and in the top three in the second moto at every round except for Thunder Valley, where a crash in the opening moto ruled him out for the remainder of the day. Observers were curious to see Vialle in action in the sand at Southwick and he delivered, taking 1-3 in the motos to secure his first-career overall win on American soil.

Image: Octopi Media.

6. Webb exits Red Bull KTM:
It was a pleasant surprise to see Webb even line up outdoors to begin with, as most assumed that after his crash at Nashville ruled him out of the remaining Monster Energy Supercross rounds, he would likely miss the Pro Motocross Championship. But, in a last-minute decision, it was announced that Webb would be there for the opening round of the series at Fox Raceway, where he would go on to finish a respectable fifth overall. The improvements were swift as he landed back-to-back podiums at Hangtown and Thunder Valley with third overall, before finishing in fifth again at High Point. Unfortunately, a crash in the two-week break ruled Webb out of the RedBud round and then, the real shock would come afterward, as Red Bull KTM announced that Webb and the team would mutually part ways prior to Southwick. Now the big question remains around what the two-time Monster Energy Supercross champion will do next… He’s been linked to returning to his former team, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing, however, time will tell how that plays out.

7. Time to bounce back for Hunter Lawrence:
After Lawrence opened the series by winning the first four overalls, the wheels have started to somewhat fall off for the Australian, but to no fault of his own. A DNF at RedBud in moto two was almost the beginning of the end as he went down in a first-turn pile-up and left the track clutching his arm. Many thought that might’ve been it for Lawrence, but in gritty fashion, he returned to the starting line at the following round at Southwick, only to DNF the opening moto due to a bike malfunction in the closing stages. Battered and bruised following his RedBud incident, it was apparent that Lawrence was not at 100 percent at Southwick, as he fought to P8 in the final moto of the day. After entering round five at RedBud with a 28-point lead in the championship, he leaves round seven at Spring Creek in second place, five points down on Deegan with five rounds left in the series.

8. Sexton fighting to get back to last season’s form:
When title rival Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) bowed out of the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship with an achilles injury at the penultimate round, it was expected that Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton could potentially run away with the 450MX Pro Motocross title after last year’s battle. A crash after the opening round at Fox Raceway left Sexton sidelined with a concussion, until he returned at RedBud, going 2-3 for third overall and losing second place on a countback to Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing). He then went on to finish second in both motos at Southwick to Team Honda HRC teammate Jett Lawrence. Not to be mistaken, these are still great results, but it feels as though we have yet to see the Chase Sexton we saw challenge Tomac down to the wire in 2022. Or is it a case of Lawrence really being that good?

9. The physical condition of Adam Cianciarulo:
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo has really been through injury after injury since stepping up to the premier class in 2020 and, unfortunately, the injury that stands out most is the nerve injury in his right arm. It’s been a lingering issue since 2021 and, while outright speed is never the issue for AC, the question still remains, will we ever see the best of him? So far, Cianciarulo sits fourth in the 450MX standings and stood on the podium with third overall at High Point.

10. Ferrandis gaining comfort on new YZ450F:
When Eli Tomac went on to dominate the early stages of Monster Energy Supercross on the 2023 YZ450F, it was obvious that this new-generation Yamaha was the real deal… on a Supercross track, at least. Unfortunately, Dylan Ferrandis sat out the majority of the 450SX season due to injury, which also meant losing valuable time learning the new model. After the first few rounds of Pro Motocross, it was obvious that the Frenchman wasn’t 100 percent at one with the bike. But, as the rounds have gone on, 2021 champion Ferrandis has been vocal about his progression and appears to be creeping closer to the lead, moto-by-moto. He currently sits second in the 450MX series, some 67 points back from Team Honda HRC’s Lawrence, but if Supercross was any indication, it’s not over, until it’s over.