Hangtown race delivered in a big way
The temps were up on Saturday and the racing delivered even more heat than we could have hoped for.
450 Class
The first lap of moto 1 shocked everyone as they watched Jett take an uncharacteristic risk and pay big for it. He cased a jump and had a big crash that left him on the ground for a bit and he eventually remounted and worked his way from 40th to 24th position. Jett did not earn any points from the moto and his win streak ended. Chase Sexton looked really good and was able to work his way to the front for a moto win. Jett was not feeling well after the crash but did line up for the second moto. In a pre-moto interview with Katie Osborne, he mentioned he felt like Sh*t but would be out there giving his best. It had been since Redbud 2020 for the last KTM 450 class moto win in Pro Motocross by Blake Bagget that day.
In moto two Jett got an ok start running around sixth place and Sexton went down in the first turn and was running 40th after the start. Justin Cooper was running up front with the holeshot, only to lose the lead to Plessigner partway through the first lap. The rest of the race was an absolute clinic put on by Sexton in terms of speed and pure determination as he made the charge forward from the back of the pack. Jett was has high as second place at the midway point in the race but the crash from the first moto caught up with him and faded back to sixth place. Sexton caught Plessigner on the last half lap of the moto and made the pass for the lead and moto two win. The performance by Chase will live in history for a long time as one of the few last to first performances ever, but this one he did without bad weather or much help from others crashing.
450 Hangtown Results
Chase Sexton (1,1)
Hunter Lawrence (2,4)
Aaron Plessinger (5,2)
250 Class
Despite his misfortune in the second moto, Deegan still prevailed with the overall win by virtue of his 1-2 finishes for the fourth victory of his career. Vialle’s impressive performance in Moto 2 vaulted him into the runner-up spot with a 4-1 effort, while Kitchen rounded out the overall podium in third (3-3). The same three riders comprised the overall podium at the opening round. Deegan became the sixth different 250 Class rider to win at Hangtown over the past six years and added to his early season points lead, which now sits at 13 points over Kitchen. Vialle solidified his hold of third, 16 points out of the lead.
250 Hangtown Results
Haid Deegan (1,2)
Tom Vialle (4,1)
Levi Kitchen (3,3)
