Motocross

AMA Pro Motocross round 6 recap: Career first for Tom Vialle

Tom Vialle grabs first career win in the U.S. at The Wick 338.

By Chase Stallo

8 min readPublished on 07/10/2023 · 5:29 PM UTC

Surrounded by baseball fields, high schools and neighborhoods, The Wick 388, located just inside the Massachusetts border in the sleepy town of Southwick, is more intertwined with its local racing heritage than any track on the circuit. The only sand-based track on the schedule, best known for the local heroes, is the toughest test riders face in the AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Saturday was no different, as riders were met not only with a rough, deep track, but also sweltering heat at round 6 of the championship.

Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence had done a great job managing the 250 championship up until a crash off the start in the second moto at RedBud. Banged up and bruised, Hunter still maintained an 11-point lead heading into the weekend and was seeking to get his championship run back on rails.

Justin Cooper grabbed the holeshot in the first 250 moto over Jalek Swoll and Seth Hammaker. But the rider on the move early was Red Bull KTM’s Tom Vialle. The two-time MX2 World Champion was a favorite entering the weekend due to his time training in the deep Belgium sand while in Europe. Meanwhile, title contenders Haiden Deegan and Hunter were buried just inside the top 10. Hunter was methodical in his move toward the front and by lap 8 had moved all the way to fourth.

Hunter Lawrence at Round 6 of the AMA Motocross Series
© Garth Milan / Red Bull Content Pool

Up front, Cooper was maintaining a small gap over Vialle midway through the race before going down in the turn before Buckley Berm. This allowed the Frenchman into the lead for the first time and he pulled away from there to take a 17.4 second win, the first in his AMA career.

Late in the race, Hunter was settled into fourth and was in good position to pick up points on Deegan. But with just two laps remaining, smoke began to pour from his bike and then it finally let go. He was unable to finish the race and was credited with 26th and zero championship points.

Stuck with a terrible gate pick for the second moto, Hunter got squeezed off the start and was as far back as 17th as Vialle took the holeshot. Vialle led the opening five laps before being passed by Jo Shimoda and then Cooper. Needing third in the moto to claim the overall, Vialle was tasked with holding off a hard charging RJ Hampshire down the stretch. He caught a break when Hampshire lost his goggles late in the race, but he showed the poise of a veteran to finish third and claim his first career overall in the U.S. with 1-3 motos. Hunter had a tough time getting through the field and finished eighth in the moto.

“This means a lot. I had a few tough races, and it took time, even to get on the podium,” said Vialle. “This is my first win but also my first podium. It was tough, to be honest. Getting everything together now, feel better on the bike and starting to feel like myself, like last year, on the bike. Track was nice. Like I said on the podium, a little bit like what I know. Even if the track was different than Lommel or tracks like that, with the hard base, it was still good to be back into the flow of a sand track. Hopefully we can continue like that next weekend.”

Cooper took second overall (2-2) ahead of Shimoda, who scored his first moto win of 2023 in the second moto.

“I felt like I gave it away to be honest, but overall it’s a really good day, my riding is good,” said Cooper. “Man, I feel like I’m so close to that win, I just couldn’t get it done today. My breathing is still a little bit off and my neck is still sore, that doesn’t affect the riding, but it’s tough with deep breathing. But once we’re out there racing, it doesn’t make me any better or any worse.”

After a second straight race with a DNF, for the first time all season Hunter has lost the points lead. Behind 4-10 motos on Saturday, Deegan now holds a five-point lead over Hunter in the championship.

Jett Lawrence at Round 6 of the AMA Motocross Series, The Wick 338 Raceway
© Garth Milan / Red Bull Content Pool

Talks of a perfect season have begun to reverberate through the pits. Through five rounds, Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence has been flawless. At The Wick 338, it was much the same. It was his teammate Chase Sexton taking the holeshot in the first 450 moto but Jett quickly pounced and took the race lead on the opening lap. Sexton pushed Jett early, closing the gap to a second on lap 6, but Jett was able to turn it up a notch and went on to lead every lap of the moto en route to a seven second win.

The second moto holeshot went to Dylan Ferrandis, but like moto one, Jett made quick, precise moves to take the early moto lead. Similar to the first moto, Sexton pushed Jett early and stayed within two seconds before Jett found another gear and went on to a 14.7 seven second win, leading every lap again.

Jett Lawrence races at Round 6 of the AMA Motocross Series
© Garth Milan / Red Bull Content Pool

“It was a brutal day today,” said Jett. “I mean, even practice the track was kind of flat but had a few rough spots. Today was just survival, you just had to get the best start you can, fight your way up, and then it was just survival because at the end everyone was so done! I think everyone just settled down. But it was another good weekend. Two good starts, started second, but I was able to capitalize over that single in both. I’m just looking forward to getting out of this place! Looking forward to Millville! That track is a lot of fun.”

Behind 2-2 motos, Sexton took second overall ahead of Ferrandis (3-3).

“Yeah, this one is a lot harder when you haven’t been racing,” said Sexton. “RedBud I felt pretty good the whole time, but this one was tough. I felt like my riding today was a little better, I felt more solid on the bike. Speed was good, I just didn’t really have it in the second moto.”

Aaron Plessinger races at Round 6 of the AMA Motocross Series
© Garth Milan / Red Bull Content Pool

Due to a back injury, Red Bull KTM’s Aaron Plessinger hasn’t been able to ride much during the week. His back was better this weekend and he managed a fourth overall on the day.

“Yeah man that was tough,” said Plessinger. “Fans hyped me up. I had to make fourth place exciting somehow. It was a tough day. That was like the fourth fricken 35-minute moto I’ve done in the last four weeks. I just needed some extra energy I didn’t have.”

Prior to the race, KTM announced they had agreed to part ways with Cooper Webb with immediate effect following five seasons together.

“Forever grateful for the opportunity that Roger [DeCoster], Ian [Harrison] and the entire Red Bull KTM Racing team gave me. It has been one hell of a ride and I’m proud of what we accomplished these past five seasons,” Webb wrote on social media. “We have agreed mutually to part ways after my crash last week, which will leave me out for the rest of summer. See you at the races soon.”

Through six rounds, Jett holds a massive 67-point lead in the championship over Ferrandis as the series heads to Spring Creek on Saturday, July 15.

450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish // Points)

Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (1-1 // 50)
Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda (2-2, 44)
Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Yamaha (3-3 // 40)
Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM (4-4 // 36)
Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Yamaha (10-5 // 27)
Jose Butron, Cadiz, Spain, GASGAS (9-6 // 27)
Chris Canning, Coventry, Conn., GASGAS (8-7 // 27)
Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki (7-8 // 27)
Ty Masterpool, Fallon, Nev., Kawasaki (5-10 // 27)
Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki (6-14 // 22)

450 Class Championship Standings (Round 6 of 11)

Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda - 300
Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Yamaha - 233
Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM - 210
Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki - 176
Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM - 147
Ty Masterpool, Fallon, Nev., Kawasaki - 134
Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda - 130
Fredrik Noren, Lidköping, Sweden, Suzuki - 124
Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Yamaha - 118
Lorenzo Locurcio, Valencia, Venezuela, GASGAS - 110

250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points)

Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM (1-3 // 45)
Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (2-2 // 44)
Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Kawasaki (6-1 // 40)
RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (3-4 // 38)
Seth Hammaker, Bainbridge, Pa., Kawasaki (7-5 // 30)
Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (4-10 // 29)
Max Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., KTM (8-6 // 28)
Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Yamaha (5-9 // 28)
Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Husqvarna (11-7 // 24)
Caden Braswell, Shalimar, Fla., GASGAS (9-11 // 22)

250 Class Championship Standings (Round 6 of 11)

Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha - 218
Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda - 213
RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna - 205
Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Kawasaki - 198
Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha - 196
Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Yamaha - 182
Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM - 179
Max Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., KTM - 165
Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., Kawasaki - 122
Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Husqvarna - 110