2023 Spring Creek Motocross Photo Gallery

2023 Spring Creek Motocross Recap

Chase Sexton battled crashes more than Jett Lawrence while Hunter Lawrence sort of showed whose boss at Round 7 of the 2023 Pro Motocross Championship series on Saturday at Spring Creek MX Park in Millville, MN.

The 250 class continues to draw the highlight reels for this season as rookie Haiden Deegan discovered riding the Red Plate sometimes adds 100 pounds to dirt bikes for those not used to holding the points lead. In Moto 1, Joe Shimoda looked to capitalized where he left off last week - winning Moto 2 at Southwick - and grabbed the MotoSport.com Holeshot then pulled away with Deegan in tow. Meanwhile, Lawrence who lost the points lead at Southwick after scoring zero points in Moto 1 from a bike malfunction and a pile-up at the start of Moto 2 at RedBud two weeks ago, began outside the Top 10 and charged forward.

Lawrence quickly rode his way into the Top 10 then slowly worked his way into the Top 3 showing no ill effects from a lingering rib injury, getting past Justin Cooper for third after 11 minutes. A minute later, Deegan holding steady in second made a mistake and went off the track giving way to Lawrence who gladly took the runner-up spot and Cooper followed in third. With time run out and three laps to go, Lawrence and Shimoda battled for the lead, each making minor mistakes - and at one point nearly side-swiped each other - to help drag out the fight for the checkers. Finally, Lawrence made his statement and took the kead with two laps remaining.

In Moto 2 it was all Lawrence from the start as he looked for the sweep and a rear tire change after the site lap to a scoop or sand tire made all the difference. Grabbing the MotoSport.com Holeshot maybe a fender in front of Levi Kitvchen, Lawrence pulled away and settled in for the win until...

Like a Moto Houdini, Cooper suddenly emerged as the leader with two laps remaining. Lawrence, now riding without a visor, apparently tangled with some lappers and crashed somewhere off camera which for those watching on TV caused a bit of confusion. The win didn't negate the overall for Lawrence (1-2) but did give Cooper (4-1) second for the day and Shimoda took third overall on a (2-3) day. Lawrence gets the Red Plate back and takes a 13 point lead over Deegan (5-8) who took seventh overall tying points wise his worst outing of the year from the week prior. Shimoda moves into a tie with RJ Hampshire for third with Cooper just a point behind.

Lawrence said he came to the race with a job to do and did it. "We were so close to a perfect day," he concluded before admitting the need to be careful around lappers.

2023 Motocross 250 Class Standings after Round 7

Hunter Lawrence - 260
Haiden Deegan - 247
RJ Hampshire - 240
Jo Shimoda - 240
Justin Cooper - 239

450 Class

Things looked interesting in the 450 class, for about half a minute but all things remain the same as Jett Lawrence continued his undefeated streak while Sexton crashed trying to catch up.

In Moto 1, Adam Cianciarulo (7-5) grabbed the MotoSport.com Holeshot and his lead evaporated just about the time his rear wheel crossed the chalk. Maybe not that fast but you get the idea as Lawrence settled in to his now usual position leading the pack on the first lap. Sexton, making a run up front from third, went down pretty hard when his bike went sideways dropping him to eighth. That didn't matter much as he got back into third by the 24-minute mark getting by Jason Anderson, who did some magical riding of his own a few minutes earlier when he slipped into third from fifth-place.

Sexton found an extra gear and managed near 15 minutes of ebbing and flowing behind Lawrence but never able to fully make a pass and it was all over on the final lap when he crashed again and settled on second. Anderson took third nearly 50 seconds back of Lawrence.

Sexton took the MotoSport.com Holeshot from Lawrence in Moto 2 then squirreled out in a sand section losing the lead and once again would battle from behind. He mounted another charge, got to within 1.5 seconds of Lawrence then lost his front end in a corner, dropped to third, reclaimed second but by then Lawrence was too far gone. One-two overalls for Lawrence (1-1) and Sexton (2-2) again with Dylan Ferrandis taking third on a (5-3) day. Anderson (3-38) crashed on the first lap of Moto 2, ending his day and chance for overall podium.

Lawrence holds an 81 point lead over Ferrandis heading into the final four rounds. Sexton, who missed three rounds after finishing second overall at the opener, pops into the Top 5.