finish line. Instead, he was obvi-
ously frustrated with his team
for not letting him know that his
brother (and Honda teammate),
Hunter, who was locked in a
tight battle with Jo Shimoda for
second place in the champion-
ship, was right behind him. Had
Jett known it was his brother, it
appears he would've let Hunter
by for the win and the extra
points. However, it was all for
naught since Shimoda ran off
with the second-moto win (by 24
seconds over Jett), while Hunter
gated poorly and would finish
out the moto in fifth.
Shimoda took second in the
championship, 12 points ahead
of Hunter. Beating his perhaps
was so frustrating. I was trying
so hard and made three mis-
takes. I was going for it."
Officially, Tomac finished the
season seven points ahead of
Sexton, with Anderson, who was
third overall on the day, third in
the championship, 99 points
behind Sexton.
250MX
Jett Lawrence capped off his
championship-winning season
the way it started, with an-
other overall victory at Pala. He
wanted to clinch the title with
a win, which he did in the first
moto, though he didn't look like
someone who had just clinched
the title after he crossed the
was worried at this point, know-
ing Anderson had the capabili-
ties to run off with the win, and
Sexton seemed to have the
momentum—until he crashed
again, and then yet again later
in the race, most likely all due to
fatigue. They were minor wash-
outs, but the damage was done
for Sexton, who couldn't muster
a third comeback attempt in the
blazing heat. Tomac later passed
Anderson and went on to win
the moto, nine seconds ahead
of Sexton, who also got around
Anderson, on lap 10 (of 13).
"I had a never-quit attitude
all year," said Sexton. "Eli is so
tough, and he got the upper
hand on me. That second moto
ROUND 12 / SEPTEMBER 3, 2022
FOX RACEWAY AT PALA / PALA, CALIFORNIA
P78
MOTOCROSS I LUCAS OIL AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
Hunter Lawrence
was hoping to make
it a Lawrence family
1-2 in the 250MX
Championship, but
Shimoda had something
to say about that.
