Hunter Lawrence Prevails with Maiden Pro Motocross Championship 450 Class Victory at Ironman Raceway After Wild Afternoon

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (August 9, 2025) – The stretch run of the 2025 Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, began with the series’ annual visit to the motorsports mecca of the greater Indianapolis area and Ironman Raceway for Race 9 of the summer campaign and Round 26 of the SMX World Championship regular season. Abundant sunshine and hot, humid conditions provided an added challenge at the Tucker Freight Lines Ironman National where a wild afternoon of 450 Class competition saw Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence emerge with his maiden victory in the top division. In the 250 Class, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan reasserted his dominance of the division with an emphatic sweep of the motos that moved him another step closer to successfully defending his title.

Moto 1
The premier class got underway with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac grabbing his first Pro Motocross Holeshot of the season while Hunter Lawrence slotted into second. Meanwhile, both Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Chase Sexton, the defending champion, and Honda HRC Progressive’s Jett Lawrence, the points leader, both endured through adversity on the opening lap. First, Lawrence flinched forward before the gate drop and hit the gate, which then fell backwards and allowed the Honda rider to move forward and inch slightly ahead of the riders still stationed behind the gate. As this happened, the gate then dropped for the rest of the field and ultimately caused Lawrence to get off the line slower as he navigated the issue and dropped him deep in the field. Just before the completion of the opening lap Sexton, tipped over while looking to challenge for a spot inside the top three. While Sexton was able to resume still within the top 10, Lawrence was mired outside the top 20. Back up front, Tomac managed a couple-second advantage over Hunter Lawrence.
 
The battle for the lead heated up 10 minutes into the moto as Hunter Lawrence started to apply pressure on the lead. After a brief battle, the Honda rider made the pass. Behind the leaders, both Sexton and Lawrence had largely overcome their misfortune to slot into fifth and sixth, respectively. Hunter Lawrence, meanwhile, opened a lead of more than 3.5 seconds over Tomac. That lead continued to grow as Tomac started to lose ground to a fierce battle behind him with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire, Sexton, and Jett Lawrence. The latter trio all made their way around Cooper and Sexton then made the move on Hampshire for third. Sexton then made the pass on Tomac for second as Jett Lawrence was able to get around Hampshire. The championship leader continued his push and made an easy pass on Tomac to secure third with a little more than eight minutes to go in the moto.
 
As the moto entered its final five minutes the top three were within 5.5 seconds of one another. An intense battle for second unfolded between Sexton and Jett Lawrence, with the two rivals side-by-side on several occasions, making slight contact with one another a couple of times in corners, which forced Lawrence to slow his momentum to keep his Honda on two wheels. From this, Sexton was able to pull away and soon caught Hunter Lawrence. He made quick work to take the lead as time ran out on the moto. 
 
Sexton closed it out to take the moto win by 4.7 seconds over Hunter Lawrence, followed by Jett Lawrence in third. Hampshire finished in fourth, while Cooper rounded out the top five.
 
At the conclusion of the moto, race officials determined that Jett Lawrence’s incident involving the start gate was in violation of the rulebook [Section 1.8.9, C.1.*], with a resulting penalty of one lap, which dropped Lawrence to 17th place. That moved Hampshire up to third, Cooper into fourth, and Tomac into fifth.
 
*1.8.9 Starting Procedures; C. Defined Start Violations and Penalty Options, 1. Jumping or fouling the gate may result in a penalty of one lap or disqualification.

Moto 2
The second moto saw Tomac sweep the Pro Motocross Holeshots, but he was quickly passed by Hunter Lawrence with an aggressive move. Cooper started in third, while Jett Lawrence was on a march to the front. Sexton started outside the top 10 but was able to make early passes to get on the cusp of the top five.
 
Jett Lawrence was on a mission. He made the pass on Cooper and then charged around Tomac to take second. A brief sibling battle unfolded for the lead, but Jett made quick work on Hunter to seize control of the moto. Hunter then settled in behind his younger brother, while Tomac kept them within reach from third. Sexton, meanwhile, was able to methodically work his way up to fourth. Shortly after, Hunter Lawrence went down while running second and reentered just as Sexton passed him to move into third. On the following jump, Sexton crashed after his front wheel appeared to lock up off a jump, which ultimately ended his race. That allowed Hunter Lawrence to reclaim third.
 
With half the moto to go, Jett Lawrence’s lead sat at 11 seconds over Tomac, with Hunter Lawrence a few more seconds behind in third. As Jett Lawrence sustained his lead, Hunter Lawrence briefly closed in Tomac but then settled into third. However, Tomac stalled his motorcycle late in the moto, which allowed Hunter Lawrence to take over second as Tomac resumed in third.
 
Jett Lawrence went unchallenged en route to his 13th moto win of the season, finishing 6.4 seconds ahead of Hunter Lawrence. Tomac followed in third.

Overall
A consistent afternoon saw Hunter Lawrence parlay his pair of second place finishes into his first 450 Class victory in his 20th start. RJ Hampshire made his debut on the overall podium in second (3-4), while Tomac captured his 78th career podium finish in third (6-3).
 
Following the Moto 1 penalty, Jett Lawrence finished sixth overall (17-1), while Sexton ended up 10th overall after his DNF (1-40).
 
The unpredictable outcome saw Jett Lawrence lose 14 points to his older brother as he now holds a 47-point lead over Hunter Lawrence. If Jett can gain three points on Hunter at the next race, he will clinch the title and hoist the Edison Dye Cup for the second time in three years. 

Eli Tomac's third-place finish was the 78th podium of his 450 Class career.
Photo Credit: MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.

1st Place: Hunter Lawrence, Honda HRC Progressive (2-2)
“I haven’t got the energy to be emotional or happy. It’s hot and I’m finished. I’m just happy to get one [a win]. A lot of second place finishes, but it’s good to get the monkey off my back.”
 
2nd Place: RJ Hampshire, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (3-4)
“This just shows I’m a man of my word. I said I'd be on the podium by the end of this [season]. My speed is getting better, my bike is getting better, my health is getting better. I’m just so happy riding this 450 and being able to show what I’m capable of.”
 
3rd Place: Eli Tomac, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing (6-3)
“I’m surprised I’m on the podium. I’ve been having a rough day. Physically, I’m not well at the moment and I’m just glad I was able to hold on there in the end and keep fighting. It was a bit of a rough one for us, but I’ll take the podium.”

Moto 1
The opening moto of the afternoon began with Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda out front with the Pro Motocross Holeshot ahead of Triumph Factory Racing’s Jalek Swoll and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Daxton Bennick, with his teammate Deegan a couple positions back in fifth. The clear track became a huge advantage for Shimoda early as he quickly opened a three-second lead over the field. Meanwhile, Deegan made a couple passes to move up into the top three. The defending champion and points leader then made the move around Swoll for second and looked to make inroads on a 5.7 second deficit to Shimoda.
 
While Deegan initially gained some ground on Shimoda his momentum stalled out. The Honda rider then added to his advantage throughout the middle of the moto, which surpassed seven seconds. Behind them, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle broke into the top three. Back up front, the lead stabilized for a few laps, but Deegan then started to pick up the pace and began to consistently eat into Shimoda’s lead. With five minutes to go, less than two seconds separated the top two, with Deegan carrying the momentum as the fastest rider on the track. He continued to close in and made a tactful pass on Shimoda to take the lead with a little more than two minutes to go. 
 
Deegan sprinted away in the closing laps to take his 11th moto win of the season, 7.9 seconds ahead of Shimoda. Vialle finished third, followed by Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Garret Marchbanks in fourth and Triumph Factory Racing’s Mikkel Haarup in fifth.

Moto 2
Deegan seized the moment to begin Moto 2 by storming out to the Pro Motocross Holeshot, ahead of Vialle and Shimoda. As Deegan looked to slip away, Shimoda made the move around Vialle and gave chase to Deegan. The lead trio then settled in throughout the heart of the moto, with a few seconds separating Deegan from Shimoda.
 
Shimoda was able to gain ground on Deegan as the moto approached its final 10 minutes, but the Yamaha rider responded and was able to establish his largest advantage. Deegan put the exclamation point on a sweep of the motos with a wire-to-wire effort that saw him take moto win number 12 by 12.3 seconds over Shimoda. Vialle finished in a distant third.

Overall
Deegan’s fifth 1-1 outing of the summer provided him with his sixth win of the season and the 13th victory of his career. Shimoda’s strong second half continued with a runner-up effort (2-2) and a fourth consecutive podium result. After sitting out the previous race, Vialle’s return to action resulted in his fourth podium finish of the season in third (3-3).
 
With the win, Deegan’s second straight title is now within reach as he has a 51-point lead over Shimoda. If Deegan’s lead remains at 50 points or more the conclusion of the next race, he will clinch the Gary Jones Cup one race early. Additionally, Deegan was able to secure the top seed for the SMX Playoffs.

1st Place: Haiden Deegan, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing (1-1)
“I felt like myself again, which was nice. It’d been a while. I was able to find some sick lines. It was awesome, especially to do it when I was announced to be a part of Team USA (for the Motocross of Nations).”
 
2nd Place: Jo Shimoda, Honda HRC Progressive (2-2)
“[Deegan] was just riding too good. I had nothing for him [today]. I had a good start and saw his lines and tried to follow, but I just need to be better. I’m enjoying it, so let’s keep going.”
 
3rd Place: Tom Vialle, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (3-3)
“It was good to be back. I was able to get good starts and run up front. I didn’t have the pace to run with Haiden [Deegan] and Jo [Shimoda] but I am really happy with the result and I’m looking forward to Unadilla.”

The 2025 Pro Motocross Championship will continue with the penultimate race of the season on Saturday, August 16, from Central New York’s legendary Unadilla MX for the Elf Lubricants Unadilla National. Exclusive and comprehensive live broadcast coverage of the 10th race of the season can be seen on Peacock, beginning with Race Day Live at 7 a.m. PT / 10 a.m. ET, followed by uninterrupted coverage of the motos at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET.

MX Sports Pro Racing
MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc., manages and produces the world's premier motocross racing series – the Pro Motocross Championship sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. MX Sports Pro Racing is an industry leader in off-road powersport event production and management, whose mission is to showcase the sport of professional motocross competition at events throughout the United States. Through its various racing properties, partnerships and affiliates, MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc., organizes events for thousands of racing athletes each year and attracts millions of motorsports spectators.
 
Visit MXSportsProRacing.com for more information.

Pro Motocross Championship
The Pro Motocross Championship sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing features the world's fastest outdoor motocross racers, competing aboard homologated bikes from one of eight competing manufacturers on a collection of the roughest, toughest tracks on the planet. Racing takes place each Saturday afternoon, with competition divided into two classes: one for 250cc machines, and one for 450cc machines. MX Sports Pro Racing, the industry leader in off-road powersports event production, organizes the Pro Motocross Championship series.
 
More information can be found at ProMotocross.com.

SMX World Championship
The SMX World Championship™ is the premier off-road motorcycle racing series in the world that combines the technical precision of stadium racing with the all-out speed and endurance of outdoor racing. Created in 2022, the SMX World Championship Series combines the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the Pro Motocross Championship sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing into a 28-round regular season that culminates with the season-ending SMX World Championship Playoffs.
 
Visit SuperMotocross.com for more information.

AMA Pro Racing
AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization for North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. It serves as the sanctioning body of the Pro Motocross Championship.
 
Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at AMAProRacing.com.