AMA 450 Outdoor Motocross Championship has a spectacular finale!
Going into the final race of the season in Pala, at FOX Raceway, Eli Tomac was one point ahead of his closest and only remaining competitor; Chase Sexton. On a course where it is over 40° Celsius, in the shade, it was racing against the competition but also against the treacherous course and the elements in this case, the heat!
In the first series we got a nice match between Chase Sexton and Eli Tomac. The Yamaha pilot camped in the wheel of the HRC Honda pilot in the first half of the race, handing out more and more shots as the race went on. Ultimately, Chase Sexton succumbed to Eli Tomac's urge to attack. At that moment, Chase Sexton lost the virtual championship lead and Monster Energy STAR Yamaha pilot Eli Tomac took an even bigger lead. With just over a second and a half, Eli Tomac managed to win the first heat and thus secure a four-point lead. Not an insignificant change, because now finishing second was enough to become champion, if Chase Sexton managed to win the series.
Things looked good for Chase Sexton at the start of the second series, the Honda pilot also had a mediocre start but was still better than Eli Tomac who was hovering somewhere around tenth position. This situation created opportunities for the still very young HRC Honda pilot, if he could drive past Justin Barcia, Jason Anderson and Christian Craig, among others, to the lead of the race, there was still some hope that one of the aforementioned or another pilot would emerge. Eli Tomac would post. Because he also had to pass Ryan Dungey, Aaron Plessinger and others... Unfortunately, the good starting position for Chase Sexton had already gone completely wrong in the second lap. Under the pressure to quickly take first place, he crashed and fell back to just behind Eli Tomac. The Honda pilot wanted to quickly pass his direct competitor so that he could again hunt for the lead in the race and for someone who could act as a buffer, but again he was a little too hasty and fell, after which he experienced at least one more crash . In the meantime, this all happened behind the back of Eli Tomac, who drew on his years of experience and remained calm under the enormous pressure. He managed to pass teammate Christian Craig and after a few attempts also the race leader Jason Anderson. Eli Tomac never looked back and took his second series victory of the day to his fifth AMA Motocross Outdoor title, his fourth in the premier class. Possibly also his last, because for the time being the American Yamaha pilot has signed an AMA Supercross-Only contract with Monster Energy STAR Yamaha to keep himself open for both the AMA Outdoors and the brand new Supercross World Championship that will take place in 2023 over many more motos and in competition. with the MXGP and AMA Motocross season.
Fox Raceway (Pala): Results Series 1 – 450 Class
1. Eli Tomac (YAM), 13 Laps
2. Chase Sexton (HON), +01.540
3. Christian Craig (YAM), +1:17.327
4. Jason Anderson (KAW), +1:27.618
5. Justin Barcia (GAS), +1:33.508
6. Benny Bloss (KTM), +1:47.096
7. Aaron Plessinger (KTM), +1:54.777
8. Ken Roczen (HON), +2:00.874
9. Fredrik Noren (KTM), +2:06.714
10. Ryan Dungey (KTM), +2:10.696
11. Garrett Marchbanks (YAM), +2:19.948
12. Grant Harlan (HON), +2:23.149
13. Dean Wilson (HUS), +1 Rnd.
14. Marshal Weltin (SUZ), +1 Rnd.
15. Malcolm Stewart (HUS), +1 Rnd.
16. Shane McElrath (YAM), +1 Rnd.
17. Bryson Gardner (HON), +1 Rnd.
18. Justin Rodbell (SUZ), +1 Rnd.
19. Tristan Lane (KTM), +1 Rnd.
20. Brayden Lessler (KTM), +1 Rnd.
21. Bryce Hammond (HON), +1 Rnd.
22. Kyle Greeson (GAS), +1 Rnd.
23. Josh Mosiman (KTM), +1 Rnd.
24. Joan Cros Cortes (KAW), +1 Rnd.
25. Isaiah Clark(HON), +1 Rnd.
26. Alain Schafer (HON), +1 Rnd.
27. Cristian Furlotti (HUS), +1 Rnd.
28. Justin Jones (HON), +1 Rnd.
29. Clayton Tucker (YAM), +1 Rnd.
30. Connor Olson (KTM), +1 Rnd.
31. Wyatt Lyonsmith (KAW), +1 Rnd.
32. Kayden Palmer (GAS), +1 Rnd.
33. Jerry Robin (GAS), +1 Rnd.
34. Jackson Gray (HUS), +2 Rnd.
35. Kolton Dean (YAM), +2 Rnd.
36. Jace Kessler (HON), +2 Rnd.
37. Dominic DeSimone (HON), +2 Rnd.
38. Colby Copp (GAS), +2 Rnd.
39. Matias Pavez (KAW), +6 Rnd.
40. Scott Meshey (HUS), +7 Rnd.
Fox Raceway (Pala): Results Series 2 – 450 Class
1. Eli Tomac (YAM), 13 Laps
2. Chase Sexton (HON), +09.211
3. Jason Anderson (KAW), +25.679
4. Christian Craig (YAM), +31.144
5. Ryan Dungey (KTM), +38.548
6. Justin Barcia (GAS), +58.711
7. Aaron Plessinger (KTM), +1:14.598
8. Benny Bloss (KTM), +1:30.791
9. Dean Wilson (HUS), +1:42.225
10. Shane McElrath (YAM), +1:44.587
11. Grant Harlan (HON), +1:47.272
12. Marshal Weltin (SUZ), +2:10.607
13. Ken Roczen (HON), +2:11.824
14. Fredrik Noren (KTM), +1 Rnd.
15. Bryson Gardner (HON), +1 Rnd.
16. Tristan Lane (KTM), +1 Rnd.
17. Brayden Lessler (KTM), +1 Rnd.
18. Scott Meshey (HUS), +1 Rnd.
19. Kyle Greeson (GAS), +1 Rnd.
20. Justin Jones (HON), +1 Rnd.
21. Josh Mosiman (KTM), +1 Rnd.
22. Alain Schafer (HON), +1 Rnd.
23. Bryce Hammond (HON), +1 Rnd.
24. Cristian Furlotti (HUS), +1 Rnd.
25. Matias Pavez (KAW), +1 Rnd.
26. Clayton Tucker (YAM), +1 Rnd.
27. Isaiah Clark(HON), +1 Rnd.
28. Justin Rodbell (SUZ), +1 Rnd.
29. Wyatt Lyonsmith (KAW), +1 Rnd.
30. Kolton Dean (YAM), +1 Rnd.
31. Connor Olson (KTM), +2 Rnd.
32. Jackson Gray (HUS), +2 Rnd.
33. Dominic DeSimone (HON), +2 Rnd.
34. Chase Adams (YAM), +2 Rnd.
35. Joan Cros Cortes (KAW), +7 Rnd.
36. Garrett Marchbanks (YAM), +7 Rnd.
37. Kayden Palmer (GAS), +8 Rnd.
38. Colby Copp (GAS), +9 Rnd.
DNF Jerry Robin (GAS)
DNS Malcolm Stewart (HUS)
Fox Raceway II (Pala) – Overall Results – 450cc Class
1. Eli Tomac (YAM), 50 Points
2. Chase Sexton (HON), 44 pts
3. Jason Anderson (KAW), 38 pts
4. Christian Craig (YAM), 38 pts
5. Justin Barcia (GAS), 31 pts
6. Aaron Plessinger (KTM), 28 pts
7. Benny Bloss (KTM), 28 pts
8. Ryan Dungey (KTM), 27 pts
9. Ken Roczen (HON), 21 pts
10. Dean Wilson (HUS), 20 pts
11. Grant Harlan (HON), 19 pts
12. Fredrik Noren (KTM), 19 pts
13. Shane McElrath (YAM), 16 pts
14. Marshal Weltin (SUZ), 16 pts
15. Bryson Gardner (HON), 10 pts
16. Garrett Marchbanks (YAM), 10 pts
17. Tristan Lane (KTM), 7 pts
18. Malcolm Stewart (HUS), 6 pts
19. Brayden Lessler (KTM), 5 pts
20. Scott Meshey (HUS), 3 pts
21. Justin Rodbell (SUZ), 3 pts
22. Kyle Greeson (GAS), 2 pts
23. Justin Jones (HON), 1 pts
Final standings in the AMA 450cc Outdoor Motocross National Championship
>>1. Eli Tomac (YAM), 546 Points<<
2. Chase Sexton (HON), 539 pts
3. Jason Anderson (KAW), 440 pts
4. Ken Roczen (HON), 394 pts
5. Christian Craig (YAM), 373 pts
6. Ryan Dungey (KTM), 359 pts
7. Aaron Plessinger (KTM), 322 pts
8. Justin Barcia (GAS), 303 pts
9. Joseph Savatgy (KAW), 222 pts
10. Shane McElrath (HUS), 213 pts
...
16. Antonio Cairoli (KTM), 97 pts
18. Dean Wilson (HUS), 63 pts
19. Malcolm Stewart (HUS), 61 pts
22. Max Anstie (HON), 45 pts
24. Dylan Ferrandis (YAM), 43 pts
Text: Matthias Van Eeckhoven – Photo: Monster Energy Media // Octopi Media
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