We’re back! We took a couple weeks off from this article because the Loretta’s money bus was dishing out cash but since we are all done with that, we have a good one from High Point! Tough track conditions and some surprises made for a great Saturday to be a motocross fan! Oh and we are not putting Jett Lawrence in this article as we know he’s unreal so I don’t know what else to tell you about that.
Chase Sexton: It’s tough to be a Sexton fan. You see what he did at Hangtown and we are all excited and then we see what we saw last week at Colorado and now High Point. I mean he still got second so that is great, but he had the second moto win and Gisele reared her head once more. For those of you thinking it was the Honda and I am here to tell you that it’s NOT the Honda that makes Chase wash the front end. Chase trusts his front end A LOT and expects A LOT out of it. Hangtown was unbelievable but he almost had a lot of crashes. I just know that if you ride at the level of Chase, you can’t escape all of those “oh shit” moments. Those moments will turn into what we saw at High Point. If you watched the broadcast you seen the team raise his forks up on the starting line of the second moto. Sexton needs more lean angle grip and when you have a fork that is set up on the stiff side you lose a lot of that feel. He’s compensating by raising the fork up to help lean angle bite. Looks like the team will go back to work on the off weekend. Sexton is the fastest on the track, but he needs to get off the gate better and clean up his mid moto mistakes and he’s the guy.
Hunter Lawrence: How about this guy? Hunter is FOR REAL! His speed has been better than his little brother’s at the last two rounds but he also makes a few bobbles to allow Jett to break away a bit. Hunter and Jett went back to older 2023 suspension settings and it is working! Next time you watch Hunter ride watch how he pre jumps braking bumps. It’s something he does more than his brother and this allows the bike remain flat under braking bumps.
Justin Cooper: I am calling this Cooper 450 emergence “The Gilly Effect”. Justin is getting more attention from Ricki Gilmour from KYB since Eli and Cooper are out. Having this guy around you and watching you ride, as well as set up your suspension is going to help any rider. Cooper has been riding amazing and his YZ450F looks to be working well when the track gets crappy.
Marshal Weltin: Marsh has been riding well this year in he 450 class and he’s doing it on a stock engine. He says he would like more power for the starts to get him up front earlier and that may be true but having a bike you can manage at the end of a 30 minus moto is also key. I will say that 2024 has been one of the best years of Weltin’s career and with him being in Florida this summer training, I think it’s only going to help him.
Shane Mcelrath: Dude was in the 20s to top ten. What a turnaround! Shane qualified 5th so the speed is there and from what I heard, the team has been trying to get the bike to work better for Shane. He hasn’t been pleased the past couple weeks with some settings but the Twisted Tea/HEP Suzuki team has been working hard and it showed at High Point. People forget that Shane was once a podium guy in the 250 class and could win motos. It’s nice to see him crack the top ten!
Ty Masterpool: This was the story of the weekend. This kid started on the team at Pala and now he is an overall winner. POM. That is called the Power Of Mitch! Ty is crazy talented and maybe it took a ride like this to get him over the hump. Some riders don’t perform the best within the Star Yamaha culture and I feel with Mitch guiding him a little and Ty being able to ride at home in Texas is the right recipe. I can’t imagine what his dad is feeling with ALL the emotions of Ty winning as well as the thought of Jesse. It had to be such an enormous weekend for the whole family. Not to mention that a fill in rider got Mitch’s 300th win is just a really cool story.
Haiden Deegan: 12-15 seconds back from the leader with halfway to go usually means that you’re not going to win the moto unless you’re Jett Lawrence. Danger Boy is the most fit of the 250 riders and it shows within his riding. He is the most active on the bike and that means it takes energy to ride that way. Say what you want about Deegan but he has given us some great rides to enjoy this summer. Kid has heart and digs in at the end of these motor. You can’t teach that kind of stuff when you’re this far into your career. That’s the stuff that is instilled in you at a very young age. Oh did I mention that he had the third fastest lap of the day behind Jett and Hunter? A 2:10 on the last lap of the second moto! WOW!
Chance Hymas: “Chunk” has been a surprise this summer and it’s a welcomed site after an up and down SX season. With his diet in order now (as he was allergic to a lot of foods he was eating) his riding fitness has improved and with his win last weekend, his confidence is up. I think he has a little more to work on when he’s under pressure at the end of these motos but all of that will come as he gets more time under his belt. We all forget that he is fairly new to all of this and he now sits second in the points standings. Riding with Jett and Hunter has REALLY helped Chance’s chances at winning this title. Yes, I said WINNING!
