2021 Pro Motocross Championship
Round 5 – Southwick National

Images by Jeff Kardas

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The fifth round of the 2021 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship returned to “America’s Sandbox” at The Wick 338 for what many consider to be the most physically demanding round of the season. In the absence of last year’s Twisted Tea Southwick National, passionate Northeastern fans turned out in huge numbers to cheer on their favorite riders in an afternoon packed with bar-to-bar action.

Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Dylan Ferrandis and Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence entered the championship’s only sand race of the season with possession of the red plates as the respective point leaders and both managed to keep them after a challenging day. For the fourth time in five races, Ferrandis captured the 450 Class victory, extending his championship lead in his rookie season in the premier class.

In the 250 Class, Team Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence swept both motos to capture his first career win. Jett Lawrence got caught up in the first moto but fought back to ninth and improved to third in the second Moto. Jett’s main championship rival, Justin Cooper, scored five more points than Jett to reduce the Australian’s Championship lead to three-points.

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 Southwick National AMA Pro Motocross Video Highlights

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450 Moto 1

When the 40-rider field rounded the first turn for the opening 450 Class moto it was Ferrandis who prevailed with the Motosport.com Holeshot ahead of his teammate Aaron Plessinger and Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing’s Justin Barcia. Ferrandis’ championship rival Ken Roczen was just outside of the top-five off of the start in sixth aboard his Team Honda HRC machine. Ferrandis would lead the field around on the opening lap, while Barcia would move into second, sliding Plessinger back to third.

Out front, Ferrandis found himself under heavy pressure during the early stages of the moto, however, the charge from both Barcia and Plessinger proved to be short-lived as the Frenchman upped his pace to open a comfortable lead. The battle for second was wide open as Plessinger stalked Barcia for the majority of the 30-minute-plus-two-lap moto.

At the checkered flag, it was Ferrandis taking his third moto win of the season by 5.4 seconds. Barcia held on for second to give him his best finish of the season, just ahead of Plessinger in third.

450 Moto 1 Results

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450 Moto 2

The final and deciding 450 Class moto kicked off with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Cooper Webb launching out of the gate for the Motosport.com Holeshot ahead of Roczen and Plessinger. Exiting the first turn, Roczen used a handful of throttle to slingshot his way past Webb for the lead, while Plessinger would exit the racetrack with a mechanical issue. It was Roczen, Webb, and Cianciarulo inside the top three at the completion of the opening lap, while Ferrandis started in sixth.

Roczen was on a tear at the front of the field, opening a commanding lead in the early laps, while Webb and Cianciarulo maintained second and third. With 20-minutes to go, Cianciarulo found his way by Webb for second, followed shortly after by Ferrandis who bumped Webb outside of podium contention. A mistake by Ferrandis saw him slide out and lose one position to Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac.

Three-time champion Tomac began to find his rhythm, making the move on his teammate Cianciarulo for second and clocking the fastest laps of the race as he set his sights on reducing the gap to Roczen. As the race entered the final 10-minutes of the moto, Tomac’s relentless pursuit to the front saw him hot on the heels of Roczen before charging his way past for the lead.

Tomac proved to be unstoppable as he recorded a dominating moto win with 16.4 seconds to spare on the second place Roczen. Ferrandis would finish third, followed by Barcia in fourth.

450 Moto 2 Results

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450 Overall

It was Ferrandis’ consistency that paid off for the overall victory (1-3). Roczen finished the day runner-up in second place (4-2) and Barcia earned his first podium of the season in third (2-4). Tomac just missed the overall podium in fourth (8-1).

Dylan Ferrandis

“It’s amazing to win another overall,” said Ferrandis. “The team showed me on the pit board to save my bike in moto 2. Eli [Tomac] was riding really well in that last moto and it made me just want to go faster and faster, but I had to be smart for the bike. I wanted to beat Ken [Roczen] so badly, but the team asked for me to save the bike. It was a great day overall, getting another win and picking up some more points on the day. As a rider I always want to win so I’m a little bit frustrated to not be able to push as hard as I would have liked at the end.”

With the win Ferrandis was able to extend his lead in the championship standings to 19-points over Roczen. Plessinger’s second moto mechanical issue moved Tomac into third in the standings and slid Plessinger back to fourth.

Justin Barcia

“The fans kept me on my toes today, it made that charge through the pack feel way better in the second moto. We’ve been working extremely hard and things have been a little bit tough, but today feels amazing! I can’t thank the crew enough, they’ve been awesome and the setting we have here will work good in Millville, so let’s keep the ball rolling!”

Cooper Webb

“I made a lot of progress this week so I came into today pretty happy with things and I felt like my riding was a lot better than it has been. Today was definitely a lot better of a day and I’m happy with the progress in a short amount of time, so hopefully we’ll continue to get better from here.”

Marvin Musquin

“Conditions were really tough today; it was definitely a tougher Southwick. My starts were good, I feel like I always have good starts here in the sand, and my bike was hooking up really good in both motos. I had decent speed at the beginning and then I started to get passed by a couple riders and lost rhythm and it was hard to keep up, so that was the biggest issue on the weekend.”

Christian Craig

“It was a tough day for me. I had to come from the back in Moto 1 to finish ninth. In the second moto, I had a better start and was running towards the front, but unfortunately had a big crash towards the end and just had to ride it in from there.”

Aaron Plessinger

“I had a really good day going and was feeling good up front but unfortunately had an issue that took me out of the second moto. The track was gnarly today with a hard base but super deep where It was really sandy. I’m happy with my starts and my riding. We’ll keep working and bring the heat next weekend at Spring Creek.”

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450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)

450 Class Championship Standings (Round 5 of 12)

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250 Moto 1

As the gate dropped for the first 250 Class moto of the day it was Jalek Swoll who emerged with the Motosport.com Holeshot ahead of his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing teammate RJ Hampshire and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Jo Shimoda who would quickly surrender his position to Troy Lee Design/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing’s Michael Mosiman. At the completion of the opening lap it was Swoll, Hampshire, and Mosiman leading the field around while championship point leader Jett Lawrence was 10th aboard his Team Honda HRC machine after an early fall and Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Justin Cooper way back in 22nd.

Five minutes into the race, Hampshire would grab a handful of throttle to power past his teammate Swoll for the lead. Just moments later, Mosiman and Hunter Lawrence would make their moves on Swoll for second and third, respectively. Out front, Hampshire would quickly begin to set the pace and open a comfortable lead over the field behind him.

Despite the clear track out front, Hampshire would make a mistake with 20-minutes remaining in the moto that saw him crash out of the lead, allowing Mosiman to take over the number one position followed by Hunter Lawrence. Hampshire would remount in third. As the race passed the halfway point of the moto, Hunter Lawrence and Hampshire began to inch their way up to the rear wheel of Mosiman, eventually leading to a three way battle for the lead.

Mosiman would lose the front end and go down with eight minutes remaining and Hunter Lawrence would take over the number one spot followed by Hampshire and Shimoda. Hampshire’s effort to challenge for the win was cut short by a second crash that left him picking up his motorcycle. Hunter Lawrence held on to take his third career moto victory by 7.8 seconds over Hampshire who recovered for second. Shimoda crossed the finish line for a season-best third, while Cooper would come-from-behind for sixth and Jett Lawrence ninth after a pair of crashes.

250 Moto 1 Results

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250 Moto 2

The final 250 Class Moto of the afternoon saw Hampshire get out of the gate quickly to capture the Motosport.com Holeshot ahead of Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Jeremy Martin and Cooper. The opening moments of the race saw Cooper waste no time in making his way around Martin for second. As they crossed the line on the opening lap it was Hampshire, Cooper, Shimoda, Hunter Lawrence, and Jett Lawrence in sixth.

Hampshire looked to have the race under control out front, but it was misfortune that struck the Husqvarna rider once again as he gave away the lead with 20-minutes remaining due to a crash. The mistake by Hampshire handed the lead over to Cooper who was being pursued by Shimoda and Hunter Lawrence who began to close in and made the pass stick on Shimoda for second. Hampshire, who remounted in fourth, had a second crash just a few laps later that would shuffle him further back in seventh.

With less than 10-minutes to go, Hunter Lawrence began to make his attack, pulling alongside Cooper several times before diving down the inside to take control of the lead. Cooper would attempt to strike back, but it was Hunter Lawrence who remained unphased to take his second moto win of the season by 4.5 seconds. Cooper was second, just ahead of championship rival Jett Lawrence in third. Shimoda and Hampshire finished fourth and sixth.

250 Moto 2 Results

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250 Overall

The 1-1 sweep for Hunter Lawrence gave the Australian the overall victory for the first time in his career since moving to America. Shimoda’s consistent 3-4 moto scores were good enough for a career-best second overall, while Cooper completed the podium in third (6-2). Jett Lawrence was sixth overall (9-3).

Hunter Lawrence

“Ah, man, this feels so good,” said Hunter Lawrence. “Huge shoutout to my entire team around me. None of this would be possible without them. This 1-1 feels so good and is such a great way to stamp the weekend here at Southwick. It’s a bit of an emotional win for me with everything that I’ve been through these past few years. I just want to keep building and take this momentum into the rest of the season.”

Jo Shimoda

“It’s great to put the team on the podium,” said Shimoda. “We’ve been working really hard on starts and it paid off today. Being up there battling rather than having to use all my energy moving forward was very helpful. With two more races before a break, I hope we can keep this ball rolling over the next couple rounds.”

Jett Lawrence maintains his hold of the championship point lead by just three points over Cooper who picked up an additional five points on the day. Hunter Lawrence sits 26 points out of the lead in third.

Jett Lawrence

“My starts really hurt me a lot, but I showed I have the speed to come through,” said Jett Lawrence. “Not the greatest weekend. I lost a lot of points, especially in that first moto, but we still have the red plate and I’m not backing down. I’m going to push forward and be there every race and make sure that I back that up. Whoever wants to have a go, come at me!”

Justin Cooper

“Southwick was an up and down day for me. I found myself on the ground on the first lap of Moto 1 and then had to fight my way through the pack from last to salvage some points with sixth. In the second moto, I just didn’t have the energy to hold Hunter (Lawrence) back. I gave it all I had today and gained some points in the process. The bike was working well all day on a really rough track. I’m looking forward to going racing again next weekend!”

RJ Hampshire

“I had good speed again today and I was fastest in qualifying, which was a first with the team,” Hampshire said. “I felt awesome out there and my bike was really good, I just had a couple mistakes that cost me. It’s not a bad points day but I’m looking forward to Millville and going up from here.”

Colt Nichols

“Southwick was a step in the right direction for me. The bike is feeling better, and the team has been working hard to get me comfortable, and we are getting there. This track is tough as usual, but I always enjoy racing ‘The Wick,’ and I’m happy to have two solid motos in the right direction.”

Jeremy Martin

“I got good starts in both motos but unfortunately went down on the first lap in both of them. I had to work really hard to get those 11-16 moto scores. It was a tough day, but we have some things to take away from it. I’m looking forward to my home race next Saturday.”

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250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)

250 Class Championship Standings (Round 5 of 12)

Source: MCNews.com.au