Now, into the back half of the Pro Motocross Championship, things shifted to one of the best circuits anywhere on the planet: Millville, Minnesota's Spring Creek. Everything you could want in a track you have there: extreme elevation change, tons of line options, and some make-or-break sand rollers that shake things up just enough. Of course, none of that stopped Jett Lawrence a year ago, but he's, of course, not here, and all the 450 momentum lies with the man who finished second here last year, Chase Sexton. Coming off a monster 1-1 outing at RedBud, the Red Bull KTM rider looked to avenge last year's outing, where he applied a ton of heat on Jett but could not capitalize in the form of a win.
Over to the 250 side, a stray downed rider in Moto 2 was the catalyst for Haiden Deegan's worst round of 2024. While his points lead coming into this weekend was good, he didn't look strong in qualifying, and losing eight points a weekend doesn't seem like a sound strategy. With that in mind, it is a massive opportunity for guys like Chance Hymas and Tom Vialle simply to keep applying pressure to have a chance to get back into this Championship.
Daytime Program/Injury Notes:
- 450s first, with the main NBC network broadcasting the early slate.
- All the gear companies rolled out some of their 2025 offerings this weekend, as has been tradition at Millville.
- The Chadapult being close to 15 years ago makes me feel ancient.
- If the GPs ever did a points-paying round in the States again, it should be here 100%.
- 250 Fastest Qualifier: No. 16 Tom Vialle (2:07.225)
- 450 Fastest Qualifier: No. 21 Jason Anderson (2:06.566) (Only nine riders ran under a 2:10.000; real hoop has arrived)
450 Class Recap
1st - No. 4 Chase Sexton (Red Bull KTM) (1-1)
No tucking the front end at Millville this year. Sexton was flawless after some relatively fine starts and, surprisingly, pulled some massive gaps on Hunter Lawrence once he made the winning moves in both Motos. There's not much else I can say here, but he's up 13 on Hunter with four rounds to go, which isn't exactly the worst place to be.
2nd - No. 96 Hunter Lawrence (Honda HRC) (2-2)
I was ultimately a bit disappointed in how Lawrence quickly fell out of things in Moto 1, giving up four-plus seconds on back-to-back laps post-surendering the lead to Sexton and then later in the day in Moto 2. A 13-point deficit at this point in the year isn't exactly insurmountable, but it's no secret that HLaw can't afford many more days, finishing 2-2 behind Sexton, if any at all.
3rd - No. 32 Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) (5-3)
It took some convincing from team manager Jeremy Coker, but they finally got Cooper to switch over to the scoop tire, and it paid off in spades on the Moto 2 gate drop. Now you have to wonder how much better he would've done in the three prior Motos had he switched to it earlier. I can definitely understand the comfort aspect of why he didn't switch, but Cooper's Moto 2 holeshot yesterday was his only start inside the top three these last two weeks. That's not a coincidence.
450 Class Millville Top 10
1st No. 4 Chase Sexton (1-1)
2nd No. 96 Hunter Lawrence (2-2)
3rd No. 32 Justin Cooper (5-3)
4th No. 7 Aaron Plessinger (3-5)
5th No. 21 Jason Anderson (4-4)
6th No. 14 Dylan Ferrandis (6-6)
7th No. 28 Christian Craig (7-7)
8th No. 36 Phil Nicoletti (9-8)
9th No. 79 Harri Kullas (10-12)
10th No. 27 Malcolm Stewart (8-15)
450 Class Points After Millville
1st No. 4 Chase Sexton (310 Points)
2nd No. 96 Hunter Lawrence (297 Points)
3rd No. 32 Justin Cooper (249 Points)
4th No. 7 Aaron Plessinger (239 Points)
5th No. 21 Jason Anderson (221 Points)
6th No. 1 Jett Lawrence (210 Points)
7th No. 14 Dylan Ferrandis (204 Points)
8th No. 27 Malcolm Stewart (185 Points)
9th No. 51 Justin Barcia (148 Points)
10th No. 28 Christian Craig (136 Points)
250 Class Recap
1st - No. 47 Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki) (1-1)
After the beyond-brutal start to the year (rounds two and three, respectively), no one needed a day like yesterday more than Kitchen, who showed off some great long-term pace in drastically different conditions. I was also very impressed with how patient he was running down Casey Cochran in Moto 2. Given that he made things a 21-second victory, he knew he had time to play it as safely as he could, and it was good on him for that. Obviously, he's a bit out of the title picture, but give him props for a great run.
2nd - No. 38 Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) (3-4)
I really wanted to talk about the objectively phenomenal Moto 2 run Deegan had, but unfortunately, he's determined to prove that he's detached from reality. Here's the Moto 2 start from a close-up POV to refresh your memory.
Now, I'd like to think I'm reasonable, but let's use some common sense here. Does Deegan genuinely believe that Hymas would intentionally jeopardize his own race and, more so, health by deliberately sticking his foot out to dab and hit his actively moving front wheel? If the answer is yes, he's beyond saving. And then to say, "It's safe to say Chance has one coming now" because of an obvious racing incident is hilarious for all the wrong reasons.
And again, His Moto 2 comeback was incredible, maybe his best outright outing of the year, given how many points he could've potentially lost. Of course, he's hellbent on trying to be a guy with the racecraft of guys like Tomac, Villopoto, etc, but with Jason Lawrence's attitude and ego, which makes things difficult. That, by the way, will 100% bite him in the ass one day (almost certainly not this year, but down the line for sure), and you'll be able to see it from several hundred miles away. It's a shame to see a kid, and an American at that, with all-world talent going this far out of his way to be an insufferable brat on a near-weekly basis.
3rd - No. 166 Casey Cochran (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) (9-2)
Now, let's move on to a great story: Cochran's ride in Moto 2 was as impressive as anything we've seen this summer. Leading nine laps in wet conditions at Millville, of all places, is no small feat, and they alluded to this on the broadcast, but Nathan Ramsey and the boys have to be over the moon proud of their guy after this week. It will be fun to see if Cochran can capitalize on this weekend at Washougal before the double-bye.
13th - No. 30 Jo Shimoda (Honda HRC) (4-35)
It felt like we would get another great outing from Shimoda, but it was lappers who did him in Moto 1, and then that first turn pile-up in Moto 2 did him in. Small positives aside, if his Championship hopes weren't gone coming into the weekend, they certainly are now. Currently, Shimoda sits a whopping 80-plus points out despite sitting fifth in the standings.
15th - No. 48 Chance Hymas (Honda HRC) (5-40)
Just as it looked like Hymas was starting to round into form, an innocent dab attempt in Moto 2 may have well taken him out of this Championship points-wise. While his status was N/A as of Saturday night (we know for a fact he went straight to the medical rig after he pulled off), we did get a positive update this morning. Via Hymas, it appears he got away clean with the knee, but he does have some form of an ankle injury, and according to Lars Lindstrom, his X-rays came back negative, which seems like the best possible outcome, all things considered. That said, I wouldn't be shocked if they deviated from their plan to have him race at Washougal. Give him three weeks off instead of two at this point.
250 Class Millville Top 10
1st No. 47 Levi Kitchen (1-1)
2nd No. 38 Haiden Deegan (3-4)
3rd No. 166 Casey Cochran (9-2)
4th No. 37 Max Anstie (7-3)
5th No. 40 Dilan Schwartz (10-6)
6th No. 34 Ryder DiFrancesco (12-5)
7th No. 16 Tom Vialle (2-17)
8th No. 29 Ty Masterpool (8-10)
9th No. 31 Jordon Smith (6-13)
10th No. 929 Julien Beaumer (15-8)
250 Class Points After Millville
1st No. 38 Haiden Deegan (314 Points)
2nd No. 47 Levi Kitchen (263 Points)
3rd No. 16 Tom Vialle (260 Points)
4th No. 48 Chance Hymas (251 Points)
5th No. 30 Jo Shimoda (231 Points)
6th No. 29 Ty Masterpool (214 Points)
7th No. 39 Pierce Brown (162 Points)
8th No. 33 Jalek Swoll (159 Points)
9th No. 31 Jordon Smith (149 Points)
10th No. 34 Ryder DiFrancesco (147 Points)
Main Image via KTM
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