A summer of intense and exciting competition culminated in the racing capital of the greater Indianapolis area as the 2024 Pro Motocross Championship Finals saw Chase Sexton emerge with the Edison Dye Cup at the Tucker Freight Lines Ironman National to become the prestigious series’ newest 450 Class Champion with a dominant 1-1 performance that encapsulated his title campaign.
In the 250 Class, Frenchman Tom Vialle ended his season on a high note and captured his second career victory with a 1-4 performance. It was a banner afternoon for the KTM, which not only went 1-2 in the 450 Class but also completed its first sweep of the overall wins since the inaugural Ironman National during the 2014 season.
450 Class
The first moto saw Phil Nicoletti grab the Holeshot in the final Pro Motocross race of his career, but he soon gave way to Australian Hunter Lawrence and Aaron Plessinger. By the completion of the opening lap, Sexton had moved into third, closely pursued by Eli Tomac. Out front, Plessinger made his way around Lawrence to take the lead. Not long after that, Sexton was able to make his way around Lawrence for second in what proved to be a championship-winning pass. As the moto surpassed its opening 10 minutes, just three seconds separated the top four.
Sexton was able to close in on the rear fender of his teammate and needed a couple pass attempts to eventually seize control of the moto. While Plessinger was able to keep Sexton honest for a few laps, the championship leader was able to put a little breathing room over his rivals halfway through the moto with a margin of 2.5 seconds. Plessinger, meanwhile, was forced to contend with a resurgent Lawrence in third, while Tomac continued to lurk in fourth. The top four tightened up once again inside the final 10 minutes, but Sexton responded to establish his largest lead of the moto.
Sexton continued to pull away in the closing stages and captured his 12th moto win of the season by a margin of 4.8 seconds over Plessinger. Lawrence finished third, just ahead of Tomac, while Jason Anderson finished in a distant fifth. The victory was enough for Sexton to clinch his first 450 Class title with one moto to go.
The final moto of the 2024 season started with Justin Cooper edging out Lawrence and Plessinger for the Holeshot. Plessinger had the momentum to grab the lead while Cooper, Lawrence, and Sexton engaged in a three-wide battle for second. Sexton came out on top and continued his push past Plessinger to go from about fifth to first on the opening lap. Cooper settled into third, with Lawrence and Tomac in pursuit.
The teammates looked to sprint away from the field as Lawrence was able to assert himself into third and bring Tomac along into fourth. A few laps later, Tomac made his way around Lawrence for third and faced about a six-second deficit to the lead with less than 20 minutes to go. Back up front, Sexton briefly stalled his motorcycle, which allowed Plessinger to close in and go on the attack. Plessinger made a couple of attempts to slip past, but Sexton fended him off and reestablished a gap that continued to grow as the moto continued.
Sexton didn’t put a wheel wrong the rest of the way and wrapped up a baker’s dozen of moto wins by 26.1 seconds over Plessinger. Tomac grabbed a moto podium in third in just his second race back from injury. Lawrence faded late to finish sixth.
Sexton’s fifth 1-1 effort of the season capped off an impressive six-race win streak that carried him to the title. He now has 13 career victories, which moves him into a tie for 11th on the all-time 450 Class wins list. Plessinger finished in the runner-up spot (2-2) for his sixth podium result of the season and his fourth in a row. Tomac’s strong second moto landed him third overall (4-3), for his 72nd career podium, the second most in 450 Class history.
Sexton became the 28th different rider to capture a 450 Class title in 53 seasons and is also the 17th racer to win both a Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and Pro Motocross Championship. Lawrence, who finished fourth (3-6), finished second in the standings, 42 points behind Sexton, while Plessinger finished third, 101 points behind his teammate.
“Last summer was tough for me, not being fully healthy,” Sexton said. “Then this supercross season, to build up, come down, build up, and come down…to come out here outdoors and have such an awesome season, I don’t know what to say. This is the best I’ve ever ridden. It’s such an amazing feeling. This one is special to me. Now I just want more.”
250 Class
The first moto kicked off with Tom Vialle at the head of the pack to open Moto 1 with the Holeshot, ahead of Chance Hymas and Jordon Smith. Newly crowned champion Haiden Deegan started his first race carrying the No. 1 plate on the ground after a tip-over on the opening lap, forcing him to start outside the top 30 in the 40-rider field.
It didn’t take long for the lead trio to settle into their respective positions, with Vialle managing a lead of just over a second on Hymas. As the moto surpassed its opening 10 minutes Vialle was able to withstand a brief challenge from his Honda rival and move back out to a margin of two seconds. That lead continued to grow as the moto reached the halfway point and soon Hymas found himself under pressure from Smith, who made the pass for second. Not far behind was Ty Masterpool, who soon made the move on Hymas for third. Masterpool continued to push and closed in on Smith to establish a battle for second. However, as he looked to find a way around, Masterpool went down and lost several positions, remounting in sixth. His misfortune saw Levi Kitchen move into third, with Hymas fourth and RJ Hampshire in fifth.
While Vialle moved out to a seven-second lead the battle for second intensified between Smith and Kitchen, with the Kawasaki rider able to make the pass with two laps to go. Back out front, Vialle went wire-to-wire for his third moto win of the season, 4.4 seconds ahead of Kitchen. Smith earned his best moto result of the season in third, with Hampshire fourth and Masterpool fifth.
The final moto in the 250 Class started the same as Moto 1, with Vialle out front to sweep the Holeshots, just ahead of Hymas. Both Kitchen and Smith found themselves mired outside the top 10, with Kitchen eventually crashing out of the moto. Back up front, Vialle and Hymas engaged in a spirited battle for the lead, with the Honda rider showing a wheel in several spots, only to have Vialle close him off. That allowed Ryder DiFrancesco to close in from third, along with Deegan and Hampshire. Deegan made the move on DiFrancesco to take over third.
Despite the heavy pressure from Hymas in the opening laps, Vialle withstood the challenge and stabilized his lead right around a second. Meanwhile, Deegan made the move past Hymas for second. Just past the halfway mark, Deegan closed in and attempted a pass on Vialle, initiating some contact between the two in the track’s tightest corner. Deegan slipped ahead briefly, but Vialle countered to reclaim the position. This battle allowed Hymas to close back in from third. The battle for the lead continued, with more physical racing from the lead duo, while Hymas bided his time in third. Deegan went after Vialle once more and successfully completed the pass with a little less than 10 minutes to go. Hymas also got around Vialle for second and looked to track down Deegan. A couple laps later, Vialle gave up third to Hampshire.
Deegan withstood Hymas’ initial challenge and was able to pull away in the closing stages of the moto to finish off his championship-winning campaign the way he started it, with a moto win, his 10th of the season. Hymas finished in second, 6.6 seconds behind Deegan, with Hampshire in third and Vialle fourth.
Vialle’s 1-4 effort easily secured his first overall win of the season and the second of his career. He became the fifth different rider to claim victory in the 250 Class this summer, which is the most since the 2021 season. Hymas made an anticipated return to the podium in second (6-2) for his fourth on-the-box result of the season, which ended a four-race drought dating back to his win at RedBud. Hampshire rounded out the podium in third (4-3) in just his second start of the season. It was the 12th podium result of his career.
Despite his Moto 2 win, Deegan failed to finish on the overall podium for just the second time in 2024 and completed the season with a championship-winning margin of 69 points over Vialle, who moved into second with his victory. Kitchen wrapped up third in the final standings, 76 points behind Deegan.
“I was super tired in the second moto,” Vialle said. “Haiden was pushing me hard, but I couldn’t hold him [off]. I knew I didn’t need the win for the overall, but I really wanted it. I’m still really happy to finish the season with a win. I felt really good on the bike all day.”
With the regular season of the 2024 SuperMotocross World Championship Series now complete, the industry now looks ahead to the postseason and the SuperMotocross World Championship Finals. The three-race playoffs will begin on Saturday, September 7, from zMax Dragway at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Each of the newly crowned Pro Motocross Champions, Sexton and Deegan, will enter the SMX Finals as the top seeds in the combined Supercross/Pro Motocross standings.
450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish // Points)
1 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., KTM (1-1 // 50)
2 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM (2-2 // 44)
3 Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha (4-3 // 38)
4 Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (3-6 // 36)
5 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (6-4 // 34)
6 Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki (5-5 // 34)
7 Phil Nicoletti, Cochecton, N.Y., Yamaha (8-8 // 28)
8 Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Husqvarna (10-7 // 27)
9 Fredrik Noren, Lidköping, Sweden, Kawasaki (9-9 // 26)
10 Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Husqvarna (7-11 // 26)
450 Class Championship Standings (Round 11 of 11)
1 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., KTM – 504 Points
2 Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 462 Points
3 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM – 403 Points
4 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 371 Points
5 Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki – 362 Points
6 Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Husqvarna – 297 Points
7 Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Honda – 288 Points
8 Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Husqvarna – 244 Points
9 Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 210 Points
10 Fredrik Noren, Lidköping, Sweden, Kawasaki – 204 Points
250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points)
1 Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM (1-4 // 43)
2 Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda (6-2 // 38)
3 RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (4-3 // 38)
4 Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (11-1 // 36)
5 Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Yamaha (3-8 // 34)
6 Ty Masterpool, Paradise, Texas, Kawasaki (5-6 // 33)
7 Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., GASGAS (7-5 // 32)
8 Max Anstie, Newbury, England, Yamaha (13-7 // 24)
9 Ken Roczen, Mattstedt, Germany, Suzuki (9-12 // 23)
10 Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Triumph (12-10 // 22)
250 Class Championship Standings (Round 11 of 11)
1 Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 481 Points
2 Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM – 412 Points
3 Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki – 405 Points
4 Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda – 349 Points
5 Ty Masterpool, Paradise, Texas, Kawasaki – 316 Points
6 Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Honda – 289 Points
7 Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Triumph – 277 Points
8 Pierce Brown, Sandy, Utah, GASGAS – 269 Points
9 Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Yamaha – 253
10 Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., GASGAS – 250 Points
