450 Class Recap: Budds Creek
Chase Sexton: Inched closer to the 450 Class title with his sixth victory of the season and 12th of his 450 Class career to enter the finale +28 over second place. Half of Sexton’s career Pro Motocross victories have come this season alone. He sits tied with legends Ryan Villopoto, Jeff Stanton, and Mike Kiedrowski for 13th on the 450 Class wins list. His sixth KTM victory moved him past Ken Roczen for 3rd on KTM’s 450 Class wins list. KTM is seeking its fourth 450 Class title (2012, 2014, & 2015) and its first since Ryan Dungey 8 seasons ago.
Hunter Lawrence: Scored another moto victory for his third of the season, doing so for the first time over back-to-back rounds. With a pair of ties with Sexton the past two rounds, Lawrence has pushed the title fight into the final round. He will need to gain at least 4 points on Sexton in the first moto to extend the battle into the final moto of the season. Lawrence now has 55 podiums in 110 career SMX starts (50%) and will chase that elusive first-career win at Ironman.
Aaron Plessinger: Made his 50th career 450 Class start and captured his 12th podium with a 3rd-place finish. Plessinger’s finish moved him into the top-50 in all-time SMX podiums with 51, tied with Guy Cooper and Ryan Hughes. He has pulled away from Justin Cooper for 3rd in the championship entering the finale (+22), which is both his home race and most successful venue.
Notes:
Malcolm Stewart (4th) Equaled the best Pro Motocross finish of his career in 4th place, which also occurred at Budds Creek during the 2013 season.
Christian Craig (6th) Scored his best overall finish of the season and 47th career 450 Class top 10 (31st all-time).
Dean Wilson (24th) Made his landmark 250th career SMX start and will look to make his 50th career 450 Class start at Ironman.
Max Miller (35th) Made his 50th career SMX start.
Preston Kilroy (29th) & Devin Simonson (36th) Earned their first career 450 Class starts.
450 Class: Ironman Historical Notes
History Lesson: The first 450 Class round held at Ironman Raceway was on August 16, 2014, when KTM-mounted Ken Roczen won an epic mudder as a premier class rookie. Roczen entered the round only 7 points up on teammate Ryan Dungey but left with a 20-point lead following Dungey’s 9th-place finish in the second moto. Roczen captured his first title in Utah the next weekend.
10 Years of History: Ironman Raceway celebrated its first decade of Pro Motocross competition last season. The venue hosted the penultimate round in 2014 and became the site of the finale from the 2015 to 2019 seasons. In 2020, Ironman held its typical late-August date but was the third round on the covid-altered schedule. Ironman returned to its position at the end of the calendar last season and will host the championship finale for the seventh time. In the history of 450 Class racing, only Steel City has hosted more final rounds: Steel City – 12, Ironman – 7, Glen Helen – 5, Fox Raceway – 4.
Herlings’ Guest Appearance: The 2017 MXGP season presented the perfect opportunity for Dutchman Jeffrey Herlings to make his highly anticipated American debut. With a bye week before the USGP round in Florida, Herlings decided to make a guest appearance at the Ironman National. He went 1-1 in Indiana, followed by Marvin Musquin and Blake Baggett on the overall podium, which established the only podium sweep for KTM in series history. Herlings then went on to edge Eli Tomac in Florida the following weekend with 2-1 moto scores.
Championship %: The winner of the 450 Class at Ironman has won the title in 5 of 10 seasons (50%). Jett Lawrence completed this feat last season, while Chase Sexton is looking to do the same on Saturday.
450 Manufacturer Overall Wins at Ironman (Last Overall Win)
- Kawasaki: 3 (2021)
- KTM: 3 (2017)
- Honda: 2 (2023)
- Yamaha: 1 (2018)
- Suzuki: 1 (2016)
450 Manufacturer Moto Wins at Ironman
- KTM: 6
- Honda: 4
- Yamaha: 4
- Kawasaki: 3
- Suzuki: 3
450 Top Overall Winners at Ironman
- 1) Ei Tomac: 3 (2019-2021)
- 2) Ken Roczen: 2 (2014 & 2016)
- 3) Justin Barcia: 1 (2018)
- 3) Ryan Dungey: 1 (2015)
- 3) Jeffrey Herlings: 1 (2017)
- 3) Jett Lawrence: 1 (2023)
- 3) Chase Sexton: 1 (2022)
450 Top Moto Winners at Ironman
- 1) Ken Roczen: 4
- 1) Eli Tomac: 4
- 3) Justin Barcia: 2
- 3) Jeffrey Herlings: 2
- 3) Jett Lawrence: 2
- 3) Marvin Musquin: 2
- 450 Class: First-Time Overall Winners at Ironman
- 2017: Jeffrey Herlings, KTM
250 Class Recap: Budds Creek
Haiden Deegan: Added to his championship hardware with his first 250 Class title to accompany the 2023 SMX 250cc World Championship. Coincidentally, his milestone achievement came during his lowest-scoring outing of the summer (1-10 // 37 points). Deegan has made 45 career SMX starts, with 11 wins and 26 podiums. It was his 15th career 250 Class podium, which has placed him 42nd on the all-time list. He is 88th in all-time SMX podiums.
Levi Kitchen: Became the 60th rider to win 3 times in the 250 Class, all of which have come in the past 4 rounds, including back-to-back victories. He now has 20 career SMX podiums and 7 wins in 58 tries. Mitch Payton’s Pro Circuit Kawasaki effort has more wins this year (4) than the past 4 season’s combined (3). Kitchen has the inside track to become championship runner-up over Tom Vialle, with 14 points separating the pair.
Tom Vialle: Rode to his eighth career 250 Class podium in 21 starts. With the end of his second full season in the 250 Class approaching, Vialle has amassed 1 win, 8 podiums, 15 top-5’s, and 18 top-10’s. In his first 43 career SMX starts he has been inside the top-10 a total of 34 times (79%).
Notes:
Chance Hymas (4th) Made his 15th career 250 Class start and earned his eighth top-5 finish. He can finish no better than 4th in the championship, which he currently holds by 22 points.
Jalek Swoll (5th) Back-to-back top-5 finishes for Swoll, who sits on 47 career 250 Class starts and 81 SMX starts. It was his ninth SMX top-5 finish.
Pierce Brown (7th) Made his 40th career 250 Class start and earned his 18th top-10 finish.
Jordon Smith (8th) Made his 120th SMX start and secured his 72nd top-10 finish (60%). Will look to make his milestone 50th 250 Class start at Ironman with a potential 20th top-10 finish.
Ty Masterpool (10th) Made his 40th career 250 Class start and will chase his 20th top-10 in the finale. Remains within reach of 4th in the championship, 28 points behind Hymas.
250 Class: Ironman Historical Notes
History Lesson: The first 250 Class round held at Ironman Raceway was on August 16, 2014, when KTM’s Musquin scored the win with 3-1 finishes. Jeremy Martin clinched the 250 Class title one race early following an 8th-place finish and 2-15 moto scores.
10 Seasons of History: The 250 Class history at Ironman coincides with the 450 Class as both have raced side-by-side since the inaugural 2014 event. Ironman’s initial 5-season run as the finale saw just 2 years of championship battles come down to the final round. However, that was not the case last summer as Hunter Lawrence outlasted Justin Cooper to capture the Aussie’s first AMA National title.
bLU cRU Ascends: Haiden Deegan will come to the Hoosier State with the 2024 championship already in hand. Yamaha has now won 6 of the past 11 titles in the 250 Class dating back to 2014, which followed a 35-year dry spell that went all the way back to the 1979 season. The 2024 title was Yamaha’s 25th in Pro Motocross (11 in 250 Class, 8 in 450 Class, & 6 in 500cc class) and 55th SMX title (17 in 450SX, 12 in 250SX, 1 SMX World Championship).
Championship %: The 250 Class winner at Ironman has won the title in 4 of 10 seasons (40%). This includes back-to-back years with Jett Lawrence in 2021 & 2022 but came to an end last summer when Jo Shimoda prevailed aboard his Kawasaki while Hunter Lawrence enjoyed the championship spoils.
250 Manufacturer Overall Wins at Ironman (Last Overall Win)
- Honda: 3 (2022)
- Yamaha: 3 (2019)
- Kawasaki: 2 (2023)
- Husqvarna: 1 (2017)
- KTM: 1 (2014)
250 Manufacturer Moto Wins at Ironman
- Yamaha: 8
- Honda: 5
- Kawasaki: 4
- Husqvarna: 2
- KTM: 1
250 Top Overall Winners at Ironman
- 1) Aaron Plessinger: 2 (2015 & 2018)
- 1) Jett Lawrence: 2 (2021-2022)
- 3) Dylan Ferrandis: 1 (2019)
- 3) Austin Forkner: 1 (2016)
- 3) Jeremy Martin: 1 (2020)
- 3) Marvin Musquin: 1 (2014)
- 3) Zach Osborne: 1 (2017)
- 3) Jo Shimoda: 1 (2023)
250 Top Moto Winners at Ironman
- 1) Aaron Plesssinger: 4
- 2) Dylan Ferrandis: 3
- 2) Jett Lawrence: 3
- 4) Zach Osborne: 2
- 4) Jo Shimoda: 2
250 Class: First-Time Overall Winners at Ironman
- 2015: Aaron Plessinger, Yamaha
- 2016: Austin Forkner, Kawasaki
