By APS Staff

Mt. Morris, Pa. — Famed High Point Raceway hosted the East Coast debut of the 2023 Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, on Saturday, which featured the sport’s own unique Father’s Day celebration at the GEICO Motorcycles High Point National.

The 46th running of the legendary event welcomed its largest crowd ever as rain on Friday coupled with dense morning cloud cover resulted in wet conditions that continued to evolve as sunshine emerged and started to dry out the racing surface.

The most competitive afternoon of racing of the young season ended with the same result: as Australia’s Lawrence brothers both stood atop the overall podium for the fourth time to remain unbeaten and continue the dominance by Team Honda HRC, as Jett Lawrence remained perfect in the 450 Class and Hunter Lawrence continued his unbeaten streak in the 250 Class.

Jett Lawrence’s fourth straight 1-1 sweep equals the single-most-successful class start in the history of the sport as his eight consecutive moto wins to open his 450 Class career is shared with Hall of Famer David Bailey, who accomplished the same feat to start his 500cc career during the 1984 season.

In his first start of the summer Ken Roczen (Suzuki ECSTAR) finished in the runner-up spot (7-2) while putting up a worthy fight, but a crash in Moto 1 with only a lap and a half remaining led to a serious loss in standing for the German.
Adam Cianciarulo (Monster Energy Kawasaki) took third (4-4), for his first podium result since the 2021 High Point National.

After a contentious review by AMA Pro Racing officials, Hunter Lawrence was penalized seven championship points for failure to adhere to signal flags on the track. Despite this, Hunter Lawrence remained first in 250 Class, with RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) taking second, and Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing) picking up third in spite of several setbacks early on.

“That was some crazy racing,” said Deegan. “I crashed on the start and got ran over. Kind of the whole nine yards. My thought after that was either crash or get on the podium today. I gave it my all and it paid off.”

Overall Standings

450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish // Points)

1. Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld.,Australia, Honda (1-1 // 50)
2. Ken Roczen, Mattstedt, Germany, Suzuki (7-2, 36)
3. Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki (4-4 // 36)
4. Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Yamaha (6-3 // 35)
5. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM (3-6 // 35)
6. Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Yamaha (2-8 // 35)
7. Ty Masterpool, Fallon, Nev., Kawasaki (5-7 // 30)
8. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM (8-5 // 29)
9. Grant Harlan, Justin, Texas, Yamaha (11-9 // 22)
10. Derek Drake, San Luis Obispo, Calif., Suzuki (9-12 // 21)

450 Class Championship Standings (Round 4 of 11)

1. Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 200
2. Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Yamaha – 151
3. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM – 147
4. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM – 138
5. Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki – 134
6. Ty Masterpool, Fallon, Nev., Kawasaki – 92
7. Lorenzo Locurcio, Valencia, Venezuela, GASGAS – 85
8. Fredrik Noren, Lidköping, Sweden, Suzuki – 81
9. Derek Drake, San Luis Obispo, Calif., Suzuki – 79
10. Grant Harlan, Justin, Texas, Yamaha – 78

250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points)

1. Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld.,Australia, Honda (3-1 // 45)
2. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (1-7 // 39)
3. Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (2-6 // 37)
4. Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Kawasaki (7-3 // 34)
5. Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM (11-2 // 32)
6. Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda (8-5 // 29)
7. Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., Kawasaki (5-8 // 29)
8. Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Husqvarna (4-11 // 28)
9. Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Yamaha (12-4 // 27)
10. Max Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., KTM (6-12 // 24)

250 Class Championship Standings (Round 4 of 11)

1. Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld.,Australia, Honda – 175
2. Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 147
3. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 133
4. Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Kawasaki – 129
5. Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 121
6. Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Yamaha – 115
7. Max Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., KTM – 107
8. Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM – 100
9. Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda – 92
10. Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., Kawasaki – 92

All eyes remain on the Lawrence boys this coming Independence day weekend as they head to the FMF RedBud Nationals in Buchanan, Mich. on July 1st.

More details can be found at ProMotocross.com.

Cover photo: Mt. Morris, Pa. played host to the GEICO Motorcycles High Point National this past weekend which saw the Lawrence brothers dual victories Saturday, June 17. | Via Motor Sports NewsWire & MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.