As the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship heads into its first weekend off of the season, plenty of storylines have already begun to develop through four rounds of racing. In this edition of Countdown, MotoOnline takes a look at the trends emerging from the beginning of the series.

Image: Octopi Media.

8. SMX Playoff pictures taking shape:
Just like in 2023, the same 20 riders who were scoring the bulk of points in Monster Energy Supercross are not the same riders making it happen in AMA Pro Motocross. Thanks to injuries to the likes of Ken Roczen, Eli Tomac, Cooper Webb, and more, many privateers are starting to inch their way closer to the cutoff line for the SuperMotocross World Championship Playoffs. Grant Harlan has already moved into the top 20 in points as he only scored 14 points in Supercross but has already amassed 65 points in Pro Motocross to leap over Kyle Chisholm for the final guaranteed playoff spot. Then there are riders like Marshal Weltin and Phil Nicoletti who both raced 250s in Supercross but are already scoring great points in Pro Motocross and are starting to knock on the door of the bubble spots as well. That’s leaving riders like Dean Wilson in the precarious position of whether they should race more Pro Motocross races to guarantee their spot or stay on the sidelines for the summer like their original plans laid out. Not as many privateers will sneak in this year compared to last, but the tipping point will certainly be one to watch moving forward.

7. Title favorites fumbling:
While the 450MX class is experiencing quite a close title fight through four rounds, the 250MX class is seeing anything but. While Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan continues to gap the competition, key players like Red Bull KTM’s Tom Vialle and Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen have struggled to find consistency. Thanks to the variation, Vialle is already 38 points down in the championship while Kitchen is a distant 47 points back through four rounds. When the trio along with Deegan swept the podium at the first two rounds, it seemed like we might be in for a titanic title fight amongst the three of them, but it’s been anything but that in the most recent rounds. The damage may already be done for both Vialle’s and Kitchen’s title hopes, but if they have any shot at the championship still, coming out firing after the break is a must.

Image: Octopi Media.

6. The resurgence of Chance Hymas:
Team Honda HRC’s Chance Hymas suffered a torn ACL in Pro Motocross back in 2023 and missed most of the summer and all of SMX dealing with the injury. Upon getting ready for Monster Energy Supercross, Hymas reportedly tore his ACL again, but this time was able to push through and continue racing. His Supercross season was solid with several top 10 finishes and a P5 at his best in Philadelphia, but he has certainly turned a page in Pro Motocross. Through eight motos, Hymas has been P4 or better in every single moto and even picked up his first career moto victory in the second moto at Thunder Valley. He’s led more laps than anyone else in the 250MX class and consistently finds himself getting good starts and battling for the lead. Sitting P2 in the championship through four rounds, Hymas went from borderline top five threat to legitimate title contender in what feels like overnight. He credits some dietary changes and restructuring his program slightly as to why the turnaround has occurred, but he’s also riding perhaps the best he’s ever ridden. One thing that is still missing is a first career overall win which could be coming as the series crests into the second half.

5. 450MX rookies rising to the occasion:
Team Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper finished 1-2 in the 250MX championship standings in 2023 and have already become forces in the 450MX class in 2024. Both riders have led many laps, with Hunter Lawrence collecting his first career 450MX moto victory in the first moto at Thunder Valley. Despite having yet to win an overall, Hunter Lawrence leads the championship with a six-point advantage over Red Bull KTM’s Chase Sexton while Justin Cooper sits a strong P4. Both riders have outperformed their Supercross results already, though this form looked to be on the horizon regardless as Lawrence finished P2 at the penultimate round of Supercross before Cooper finished P2 at the finale. Having a few more faces in the mix at the front has certainly boosted the interesting championship dynamic in the 450MX class already and both Lawrence and Cooper have plenty of reasons to believe their first career overall victories are right around the corner.

4. The breakthrough for Ty Masterpool:
On Thursday before the opening round of Pro Motocross, Ty Masterpool took to the track aboard a 450 on press day with HBI Racing Kawasaki, the team that had backed him for over a year through Supercross and Motocross. On Friday, the day before the season began, news broke that Masterpool was jumping back to a 250 to fill-in at Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki for the recently injured pair of Cameron McAdoo and Seth Hammaker. Masterpool had one day to learn the bike before going racing and he had an up and down day at Fox Raceway going 24-10. Each week since, Masterpool has shown steady improvement as he ran up front briefly at Hangtown and then even qualified P1 at the third round in Colorado. But then High Point came around and Masterpool broke through in a huge way as he nearly won the first moto and then did win the second moto, the first of his career, to take a triumphant overall victory in Pennsylvania. In barely three weeks, he’d turned a fill-in ride into winning a Pro Motocross National. The win was the 300th career win for Pro Circuit Kawasaki as a team and suddenly Masterpool looks to be another face that can mix it up at the front of the 250MX class. Now the question is if he can back up this outstanding performance by doing it again when we return to racing.

Image: Octopi Media.

3. Roller coaster ride for Sexton:
Perhaps nobody has had more of an on or off season already than that of Red Bull KTM’s Chase Sexton who sits P2 in the 450MX standings. Sexton crashed in the first moto of the year and made it back to fourth at the checkered flag but appeared to struggle. Then in the second moto at Fox Raceway, he hung on reigning champion Jett Lawrence’s hip the whole way. Sexton then won the first moto at Hangtown the following week after Lawrence had a huge crash while leading, but his second moto was the real icing on top. Sexton crashed on the first lap and rode from dead last to win the moto, passing literally all the contenders to do so. It was the type of ride that really seemed to have turned a page for Sexton and KTM as he now held the championship lead. But then, Sexton had a rough third round at Thunder Valley with crashes and mistakes that left him P5 overall and dropped him from the championship lead. High Point was mixed again as he finished a distant P3 in the first moto before completely turning it around for the second moto as he passed Jett Lawrence and pulled away in the lead, only to crash late in the moto and finish second. Through all of this, he’s still right in the thick of the title fight, but the inconsistency in his riding could lead to problems if Jett Lawrence gets back on track as the season progresses.

2. Deegan in a dominating position:
If any one rider has been the star of the season in AMA Pro Motocross thus far, it has to be Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan. Three of the first four overall wins in 250MX thus far have gone to Deegan and he hasn’t finished worse than P2 in any moto through the first eight motos of the year. High Point was perhaps his finest work as both motos saw Deegan work from outside of the top 20 into a position where he could win both motos. He actually did win the first moto, but Ty Masterpool narrowly got the best of him in the second. Either way, Deegan proved he could ride through anyone in the class and has certainly put the field on notice that they are going to have to beat him to have a shot at the championship. In his second year of professional racing, many believed he would contend for the 250MX title on the heels of a strong rookie season and a close championship fight in Supercross, but this level of dominance from the Californian has been other worldly by anyone’s expectations and he somehow seems as though he’s only getting better.

1. Jett Lawrence powers through adversity:
When Jett Lawrence went 1-1 at Fox Raceway to start the year, he became just the third different rider to win 24-straight motos as his streak continued from his perfect season achieved in 2023. Lawrence had been nearly flawless in Pro Motocross through his first 12 races in the 450MX class, but the second round at Hangtown finally saw a big mistake from the champ as he crashed hard from the lead on the opening lap of the first moto. His day would culminate in 24-6 moto finishes as he battled through the pain from the crash where he tore a gash in his hip and damaged his shoulder. He’s been far from 100% since and all he’s done is go 2-1-1-1 in the following four motos. In two races, he’s carved up the sizeable advantage Sexton had over him after Hangtown to be just two points behind the KTM rider, while he sits eight points back of his championship leading brother Hunter Lawrence. The points suggest a close championship fight, but Jett Lawrence’s form while clearly still dealing with the pain suggests everyone else needs to be worried once he’s back to full health.

Image: Octopi Media.