It’s a Monster Energy MX sweep @ Hangtown! Anderson (1st), Sexton (2nd) & Tomac (3rd)

Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson wins his first ever MX National overall, 2^nd place Chase Sexton (Honda) holds onto the 450 class point lead

CORONA, CA – June 6, 2022 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) –  Massive day for Monster Energy pro motocross racers on Saturday at the famed Hangtown MX track in northern California for the Carson City Motorsports Hangtown Classic, Round Two of the 2022 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, presented by Monster Energy. The iconic M-claw logo swiped all three spots on the premier 450cc class podium, with the victory (1^st – 3^rd in the two moto format) going to Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson – his first-ever MX Nationals overall victory. 2^nd place would be Monster Energy-backed Chase Sexton (Honda), the Round One winner who held onto the overall class point lead with a strong 2-2 finish, and 3^rd went to Eli Tomac (Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha) – his first outdoor podium finish of the season (4-1).

Anderson rode unbelievably fast, much like he did the previous week at Fox Raceway (Pala, Calif.). His opening moto win, the fourth moto win of his career, was fueled by a blazing holeshot on his Kawasaki KX450F. And though he got held up a bit in the first turn of the second moto, he was able to pass some of the world’s top motocross racers, including European MXGP champ Antonio Cairoli (KTM) and three-time U.S. MX Nationals champion Ryan Dungey (KTM) to place 3^rd – while receiving a bit of a boost when Tomac won the second moto ahead of Sexton.

“Damn, that’s 12 years too long,” said an elated Anderson from the podium. “It’s been 12 years since I’ve been giving it a go at this outdoors stuff – I’m damn happy I did it today. And let’s keep this good season going!”

Sexton would be near equal to Anderson, and was poised to win – had it not been for a second moto surge to victory by Tomac. “It was a tough two motos,” said Sexton. “I put in a lot of good laps today, but just couldn’t get the win. But we kept the red plate (signifying the class point lead).”

Coming off the 2022 Monster Energy AMA Supercross overall championship, and with three MX Nationals 450 class titles to his credit, Tomac bounced back after a somewhat disappointing 4^th place finish at the MX Nationals’ opening round at Fox Raceway. “That was just some fun racing right there,” said Tomac. “Me and Chase (Sexton) found some lines and had a great battle.”

Also for Monster Energy, Christian Craig (Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha) continues to run very well on the 450s outdoors following his 250 Western Supercross title, placing 5^th at Hangtown with a solid 5-5 effort. And making his debut this summer following ACL/knee surgery, Joey Savatgy (Monster Energy/Kawasaki) broke into the top ten at Hangtown with a 9^th place finish (11-9).

In 250cc class racing at Hangtown, Justin Cooper (Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha), would lead five Monster Energy-backed athletes in the top ten overall with a 2^nd (2-3) place finish. Also flying the M-claw fast at Hangtown were Jo Shimoda (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki in 4^th place (5-4), Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha) in 6^th (6-6), Seth Hammaker (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki) in 7^th (8-8) and Nick Romano (Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha) in 10^th (10-9).

450 class podium L to R – Monster Energy’s Eli Tomac, Jason Anderson and Chase Sexton

Here’s a look at what went down at Fox Raceway, beginning with the 450 class.

450 Moto 1 – Chase Sexton (Honda)

Qualifying was all Monster Energy as Anderson (2:06.296), Sexton (2:06.660), Tomac (2:06.726) and Craig (2:07.662) would secure the top four times and subsequent gate picks.

Off the start Sexton beat Anderson to the holeshot chalk line by a whisker, with Tomac coming around in 5^th place following the opening lap. … Sexton and Anderson would quickly separate from the pack and Tomac would move up to 4^th place when Aaron Plessinger (KTM) went down in a corner. … Savatgy also benefitted from a solid start and was up to 7^th place early on in Moto 1. … With Sexton up 5.8 seconds, Anderson would battle with Ken Roczen (Honda) for the No. 2 position. … Craig, who started near Savatgy in 8^th, began to pick off riders in his run towards the leaders, highlighted by out-jumping Dungey into a corner and holding on to take 5^th place. … Riding with flawless speed and style, Sexton drew a great comment from 6-time MX champion Broc Glover: “If you ride, emulate this guy’s style,” said Glover of Sexton at Hangtown. … At the midway point of Moto 1 Anderson wicked it up and was running laps that were consistently 6/10ths of a second faster than Sexton, cutting the Honda racer’s lead to four seconds. … At the nine minute mark Tomac would catch and pass Roczen for 3^rd place, and soon after Anderson would put up the moto’s top lap – a 2:07.5 in his feverous pursuit of race leader Sexton. … With four laps to go Anderson was on the rear fender of Sexton, caught the leader on one of the massive uphill sections, then laid claim to the real estate in the ensuing corner to take the lead. … Sexton then put the chase on Anderson, dogging the 2022 Monster Energy AMA Supercross runner-up through the finish line in a 3/10ths of a second photo finish. … 3^rd place Roczen was 27 seconds behind Anderson and Sexton (with Tomac 4^th).

Said Anderson: “I just wanted to get the holeshot and run away, make it easy on myself.”

Said Sexton: “That was a really good moto. I know Jason would be good at the end. And obviously, he got me. But I think I made it close there at the end.”

450 Moto 2 – Eli Tomac (Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha)

Sexton would get the best start out of the M-claw bunch in Moto 2, coming out of the first turn in 4^th, quickly moving to 3^rd, then to 2^nd by the end of lap one. … Anderson wasn’t so lucky, coming out of the first turn in 7^th – behind the six-fastest racers from Moto 1. … Tomac would go from 5^th to 4^th to 3^rd in the first three laps, and set his sights on Roczen when Sexton took the lead from the former MX Nationals champion on lap five. … At the time of Sexton’s pass on Roczen, the three Monster Energy-backed podium placers – Sexton, Tomac and Anderson – were all running 2:11 lap times to Roczen’s 2:13s. … On lap ten Tomac would grab his first moto lead of the summer, passing Sexton. … By lap 11 (of 16) Tomac, Sexton and Anderson had all passed Roczen and were running 1^st/2^nd/3^rd. … Knowing a Tomac Moto 2 victory would give Anderson the overall win, Sexton went all out to catch Tomac – but the former champion wouldn’t be denied, scoring his 56^th moto win in the thrilling final moto of the day at Hangtown.

Said Sexton: “I’m feeling comfortable on the bike and we’ve got 10 more races. It’s going to be a good summer.”

250 Moto 1 – Justin Cooper (Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha)

Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Justin Cooper, the defending 250 champ at Hangtown and No. 1 qualifier on Saturday morning, rocked the holeshot in the opening moto, leading 2^nd place Jalek Swoll (Husqvarna) and 3^rd place Michael Mosiman (Gas Gas). … Hammaker continued to impress with his starts as well, coming out in 4^th place after only his fifth pro MX National race. … Rookie Romano would round out the three Monster Energy-backed racer in the top five off the start (5^th). … Cooper would run into an issue that forced him off the track at the 17 minute mark, rounding a jump on the service drive and, carefully, not gaining an advantage. Mosiman would inherit the lead. … Cooper would hold onto 2^nd, with around a five-second differential between him and Mosiman. … At the halfway mark of the opening moto Shimoda, who placed 3^rd overall the previous week at Fox Raceway (Pala, Calif.), had moved up to 6^th place and was gaining on the lead riders. … Cooper, who lost the lead running 2:14 laps was now back up into the 2:12 range, but still six seconds back of Mosiman. … Shimoda would catch and pass Swoll on one of Hangtown’s burly uphill sections. Swoll would go down moments later, allowing Hammaker to get by as well. … Kitchen would make an appearance into the top ten (7^th) after battling through the pack due to a poor start. … At moto’s end Cooper’s 2^nd place run would lead a barrage of five (5) Monster Energy racers in the top ten (Shimoda 4^th, Kitchen 5^th, Hammaker 8^th and Romano 10^th).

Said Cooper: “My goal was to beat Jett (Lawrence) in just one moto today. And I did that in Moto 1.”

250 Moto 2 – Jo Shimoda (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki)

Cooper made it two-for-two with the holeshot and early lead over Jett Lawrence. … Slotting into 3^rd place was Romano. … Cooper would bobble, making a great save, but this allowed Jett Lawrence (Honda) to take the lead, with Romano pulling up onto his Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha teammate. … Shimoda would move up onto Romano, and pulled past him on the corner above Hangtown’s famous uphill Gully Double jump. … Romano would slide back to 5^th place as Hunter Lawrence (Honda) and Max Vohland (KTM) would get past him. … At the halfway mark Shimoda had worked his way into 3^rd place and had two of the leaders (Hunter Lawrence and Cooper) in view. … With 12 minutes plus two laps remaining, Shimoda was 1.5 seconds faster per lap than both Cooper and Hunter Lawrence). … With Cooper now riding defensive on Shimoda, Jett Lawrence was able to increase his lead. … Shimoda catches Cooper late, jumps into 2^nd place and is in hot pursuit of Jett Lawrence with seven minutes plus two laps remaining. … Shimoda would unexpectedly tip over in a deep rut, allowing Cooper to take 2^nd place back. … With three laps remaining Cooper’s doing everything in his power to hold off Hunter Lawrence, but gives up 2^nd place with just moments remaining in the race. … Shimoda (4^th), Kitchen (6^th), Hammaker (7^th) and Romano (10^th) made for another five Monster Energy-backed racers in the top ten.

Said Cooper: “12^th overall last week to this… up on the box and fighting up front. Had a chance for the win, which is frustrating, but yeah – it was fun.”

Overall 2022 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, presented by Monster Energy, Points (Round 2 of 12)

450 class

Jason Anderson

1^st – Sexton

3^rd – Anderson

4^th – Tomac

5^th – Craig

250 class

Justin Cooper

3^rd – Shimoda

4^th – Cooper

5^th – Kitchen

7^th – Hammaker

Up Next

The Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, presented by Monster Energy, moves east for Round Three of the series at Thunder Valley Raceway in Lakewood, Colo., Saturday, June 11. For more information visit www.promotocross.com

About Monster Energy

Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross, off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or the rock and roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes and musicians represent. More than a drink, it’s the way of life lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers and fans. See more about Monster Energy including all of its drinks at www.monsterenergy.com

Source: Monster Energy Company

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