Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence completed a near-perfect day at the opening round of the 2023 Pro Motocross Championship at Fox Raceway, with a double-moto victory in his first 450MX outing.

The talented rookie’s impressive performance means he remains undefeated at the Pala circuit, as he saw off a fierce challenge from his team-mate, Chase Sexton, who finished the day with 2-2 results.

Returning former motocross champion Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) completed the podium with a consistent 3-3 scorecard.

After topping the qualifying sheets earlier in the day, Lawrence put in a near-flawless performance to open his 450MX account with a win in the opening moto.

Lawrence found himself leading the field through the first turn, and after quickly establishing a healthy buffer, controlled the race to finish with a 10-second margin over Chase Sexton.

Ferrandis finished third after holding down P2 for the first half of the moto.

Red Bull KTM pairing Cooper Webb (P4) and Aaron Plessinger (P5) traded positions throughout the race as Plessinger crashed multiple times.

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo finished a distance sixth ahead of the Venezuelan Lorenzo Locurcio (Wildcat Race Team), Jerry Robin (Yamaha), Grant Harlan (Yamaha) and Spain’s Jose Butron (Wildcat Race Team).

Off the gate for the second moto, Lawrence again led the pack through the first turn, and spent the vast majority of the race holding off a relentless attack from Sexton on his way to a perfect 1-1 450MX debut.

Sexton clung doggedly to the back of Lawrence, but couldn’t quite get close enough to stick a pass around the degrading Pala track, and had to settle for second, just one second behind his team-mate.

A distant 44.90 seconds down the track, Ferrandis successfully defended his third-place spot from Plessinger after a lengthy battle, while Webb finished with another top five result.

P6 went to Harlan, while Cianciarulo rebounded from an opening lap crash to finish seventh. Butron, Noren and Drake rounded out the top 10 spots.

The second round of the 2023 Pro Motocross Championship will be held at Hangtown, Sacramento, CA on 3 June.

Detailed results