2022 Ironman Motocross Recap

Eli Tomac and Chase Sexton have turned the 50th anniversary season of Motocross into a barnburner as just a point separates the two heading into the final round.

Tomac (1-2) and Sexton (2-1) each won a Moto and took second in the other on Saturday for Round 11 of the 2022 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship series at the Ironman National in Crawfordsville, IN continuing a season long trend. Of the 22 Motos raced this year, 15 feature Tomac and Sexton finishing first or second, meanwhile Sexton has finished first or second in all Motos except two.

At Ironman, Sexton grabbed the overall on the tie-breaker but remains a point back in the standings as Tomac won the opener. The two head into the finale headlining one of the most anticipated 450 class Championship race in recent memory. Each have four overalls on the season but Tomac leads in Moto wins with 12 to Sexton's eight, a possible factor if the two end next week in a points tie.

Tomac and Sexton made critical mistakes on Saturday disrupting their flow and preventing an all out assault towards the finish line and a potential sweep but both riders displayed a riding craft the rest of the field can simply watch. In Moto 1, less than two seconds separated Tomac from Sexton but Aaron Plessinger (3-3) finished more than 30 seconds behind in third and in Moto 2 Sexton won by 11 seconds while Plessinger and Jason Anderson (6-4) tied for third 36 seconds later. According to scoring, Anderson and Plessinger had the same finishing time, however, Anderson came across first but was docked a position for accelerating off the track.

All that to say, just two riders remain in the fight for the 2022 premier class Motocross Championship. A slow start to the season for Tomac might prove his downfall while a docked point at Thunder Valley for jumping on a Wheels on the Ground light could be the decider for Sexton.

2022 Motocross 450 Class Standings after Round 11

  1. Eli Tomac - 496
  2. Chase Sexton - 495
  3. Jason Anderson - 402
  4. Ken Roczen - 373
  5. Christian Craig - 335

In the 250 class, Jett Lawrence (1-3) got his first Moto win since Spring Creek securing the overall and all but assuring he rides away next week with back-to-back 250 class Championships. Lawrence holds a 41 point lead over Joe Shimoda who finished second on a (5-1) day. Hunter Lawrence (4-2) finished third overall and sits seven points back of Shimoda for second on the standings.

Believe the Hype 2 got off to a rough start as amateur star Haiden Deegan entered his first pro race since a controversy earlier this month at Loretta Lynn's (Amateur National Motocross Championship) involving his race bike being claimed by another rider and then not claimed and a whole lot of he said he said ensued without resolution. Deegan finished 31st on a (34-24) day. A pretty good crash ended his Moto 1 but he managed to bounce back for that 24th in Moto 2.

2022 Supercross 250 Class Standings after Round 11

  1. Jett Lawrence - 478
  2. Jo Shimoda - 437
  3. Hunter Lawrence - 439
  4. Justin Cooper - 375
  5. RJ Hampshire - 314

The MotoSport Sponsored Muc-Off / FXR / ClubMX Team

Shane McElrath (10-12) took 11th overall putting in his best day since Spring Creek in his second round on the team. He looks good to finish in the Top 10 for the season. Garrett Marchbanks had a rough go of it in Moto 1 and didn't line up in the second race and Alex Martin didn't race at all.

The 2022 Motocross season concludes Saturday at Fox Raceway in Pala, CA. Expect a heat wave with temperatures soaring past 100 degrees a factor that might very well help decide who wins the title.

2022 Ironman Motocross