Motocross Statistics | Numbers at Hangtown 1

Another season of 2023 Pro Motocross is underway and that means that it's time to dive into even more statistics, so settle down and prepare to digest many facts and figures. In this regular feature that has become a hit, uncover points of interest that lurked in the shadows at Hangtown in California.

• Jett Lawrence is off to an absolutely perfect start in 2023 Pro Motocross. Qualification was another example of his raw speed and potential, as he logged a time that was 02.013 quicker than anyone else. Lawrence was more than two seconds clear in timed qualification at Fox Raceway too, so he has pulled that off on successive weeks. Who is possibly going to stop him from running the table in qualification?

• Lawrence may have tried to maintain his comfortable lead in each moto, but where was he gaining ground when unleashing his raw pace in qualification? Well, shockingly, he was not the fastest in each sector (he occupied three of the five). The fifth sector was incredible for him though. Lawrence ran a 20.544 on that portion of the track and the next closest rider was Dylan Ferrandis (21.231). Seven tenths quicker on a small chunk of the circuit is mind boggling.

• Weirdly, Lawrence did not dominate on that portion of the track all day. Aaron Plessinger was the quickest in sector five in moto one, then Lawrence reclaimed his spot in moto two. The fifth sector covered the final four turns of Hangtown, so it is not like there was a jump that only certain riders could do. Breaking down the speed that '18' uncorks in the timed qualification sessions is a rather good way of determining how much more he has in the tank in the motos.

• Let's continue the trend of positivity for Adam Cianciarulo and his qualification prowess. '9' ended second in qualification and maintained his streak of top three finishes in the timed sessions. Where is the streak at now? Well, he has qualified in the top three in his last sixteen Pro Motocross starts (eight of those have been second places). The speed has never been an issue for Cianciarulo, just as this statistic supports.

• When discussing qualification last week, it was mentioned that Plessinger has never managed to take pole position. Did you know that he has qualified inside of the top three just three times since his outdoor debut? The third time was this past weekend! '7' qualified third in 250MX at round eight of 2018 and second in 450MX at round eight of 2021. If he secures a maiden pole position then let's hope that it is celebrated accordingly.

• Considering how dominant Lawrence has been, it may come as a surprise that moto one was the closest that the top three riders had been in 1001 days. Lawrence, Ferrandis and Plessinger were separated by 04.552 at the finish line. It was at RedBud, round four of 2020 Pro Motocross, that there was last a gap smaller than that. Zach Osborne, Justin Barcia and Cianciarulo were separated by 03.578 at the end of moto one on that day.

• Plessinger looked extremely motivated early on in moto one, as he desperately tried to find a way around Ferrandis and into second place. The pair were extremely close in the early stages, as the times below indicate, but then Plessinger had a couple of bad laps and lost the tow. Although he picked it up again and got close, he could not quite make a move and had to settle for third. The average times were very close (02:11.683 for Ferrandis versus 02:11.661 for Plessinger).

• In order to appreciate the speed that Cooper Webb uncovered in the second moto, one must first understand how much he struggled in the first stint. Webb ended in fourth quite comfortably and yet he recorded times that were a second or two slower than both Ferrandis and Plessinger. Check Webb's times in comparison to Plessinger – the rider ahead of him – in the same time period as the table below.

• Lawrence set his quickest time of the second moto on lap ten of sixteen, so late in the day. There was just one rider who set a personal best later than that, that being Cody Groves (who ended in eighteenth and set his fastest time on lap fourteen). There was a slight difference in pace between the two though. A 2:10.799 was Lawrence's best lap and, in comparison, Groves did a 02:21.107. It is just a minor difference.

• Lawrence set that lap in response to a charge that Plessinger made. Plessinger set his fastest lap of the moto on lap nine (02:11.251) and took a second and a half out of that deficit that he faced to Lawrence. '18' remained calm, upped his pace and broke his rival. It was really that simple. The table below covers the times that the two posted in that portion of moto two. Plessinger definitely made a bit of a run there!

• When was the last time that three different nationalities filled the 450MX podium? It did not occur at all last season, because of Eli Tomac and Chase Sexton's domination, so it was at the ninth race of 2021 Pro Motocross. Ferrandis (France), Ken Roczen (Germany) and Tomac climbed on the box on that day. Yamaha and Honda filled the top two spots on that day, just as they did at Hangtown. What a random fact that means absolutely nothing.

• A tip of the hat to Ferrandis, who maintained his impeccable podium percentage aboard the 450F. Ferrandis gained a trophy and slotted into the top three in the two motos, meaning that his overall podium percentage has risen to 88%. The 450MX moto podium percentage that '14' has is 79% now – he has missed the podium six times in twenty-eight motos. It is all very, very impressive. It has to dip at some point though, right?

• Would it surprise you to learn that Hangtown was Webb's fifth 450MX podium in forty-one starts? It is often overlooked that Webb's first 450MX podium was when he went 1-1 at Millville in 2019. It took him twenty-four starts to get onto the podium! In contrast, he has pulled four podiums in his last five starts (he ended the 2021 term with three on the bounce). Hangtown was the twenty-fifth podium of his career.

• There were two Kawasaki athletes in the top six of the 450MX overall classification, thanks to the unlikely duo of Cianciarulo and Ty Masterpool. When was the last time that 'green' possessed two spots near the front? It was just 336 days prior at event five of 2022 Pro Motocross, RedBud, as Jason Anderson and Joey Savatgy were fourth and sixth overall. The classification was very whacky on that day.

• Noren finished in the top six in a moto for the first time in 1015 days on Saturday. When was the last time that he finished inside of the top six? Well, funnily enough, it was in the first moto of the second round of 2020 Pro Motocross. '47' was fourth on that day, which remains his career best. Suzuki was his motorcycle of choice then too, so an RM-Z450 is seemingly something that works for him.

• Perhaps this was not shown on television, but Noren was in no-man's land throughout moto one. How did his times in the early stages compare to Adam Cianciarulo (ahead in fifth) and Jerry Robin (in seventh by lap five)? The table below covers that and confirms that, yes, he was in a world of his own. Noren should fill that sixth spot quite comfortably most weeks, by the way, so look for a lot more of this.

• How quickly can a situation change in a sport as hard as this? Ten of the riders who qualified for the 450MX motos at Hangtown in 2022 achieved the same feat this past weekend. Those athletes are Aaron Plessinger, Fredrik Noren, Marshal Weltin, Ryan Surratt, Jerry Robin, Grant Harlan, Tyler Stepek, Josh Mosiman, Scott Meshey and Ezra Lewis. This is just insane. Where did everyone go?