Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1523663
seven points down. "The lappers were something else," Lawrence said. "I'd get held up a bit, then Chase would get held up a bit. I thought the blue flag could've been used more aggressively. I knew coming in it would be tough to beat Chase at his home race; you know that adds a little extra fuel to the fire. I was close in that first one until I was upside down. Thankful to not be hurt; it just happened so fast." wherever he goes, Plessinger started up front and put himself in a solid podium position near the halfway mark. With Sexton too far gone, Plessinger found a consistent flow and clicked off his laps to stay ahead of third place. It was Pless - inger's first trip to the podium since Hangtown. Second overall is his best result of the year, and he is fifth in the series standings. "We got the start in the first one, and I was feeling really good but tightened up in the middle," Plessinger said. "Second moto, I think I was in fourth and I knew I had to get up to second if I wanted any chance to be on the podium. That's what I did, and once I got to second, I kind of put it on cruise control, but I had to pick it back up because Hunter and Jason [Ander - son] were really coming. Second for second overall is unreal." Hunter Lawrence rounded out the podium in third overall. Now the only Lawrence in the champi - onship, Hunter came into RedBud looking to maintain control of the red plate. The Honda rider con- trolled nearly all of the first moto and led all but the final two laps of the race. Unfortunately for him, a late-race crash saw Lawrence hit the deck hard on the steep down- hills before remounting and salvag- ing a second. For the second moto, Lawrence opted for a regular knob- by tire instead of the sand-scoop, but his jump off the gate suffered. The other riders managed to pull distance from him in the deep and loamy conditions, and Lawrence only salvaged a fourth. A 2-4 result dropped him to third overall and saw the red plate change hands over to Sexton. Lawrence is now solidifying the overall results from race one with a Kawasaki podium sweep. TICKLE RETURNS Broc Tickle returned to profes- sional racing this weekend in his home state of Michigan. The for- mer pro racer turned professional test rider, rode for the Monster Energy Kawasaki team in his first outdoor national since 2020. Tickle qualified 14th and finished 12-15 for 13th overall. He'll race again at Budds Creek. "I knew coming back into racing would not be easy, but I definitely feel like we made a lot of positive moves," said Tickle. "Jason [Anderson] and I had a lot of similar comments on ways we could improve, and it was awesome to be able to do some testing in a racing environment." Briefly... Hunter Lawrence led all but two laps during the first 450MX moto. VOLUME ISSUE JULY , P75