The Minneapolis Supercross was a weekend of highs and lows for Team Honda HRC, with Jett Lawrence taking a convincing win in the first AMA Supercross 250SX East race of the 2022 season, while teammates Ken Roczen and Chase Sexton suffered crashes in the 450SX main event, Sexton’s fall coming after an otherwise dominant performance that saw him lead a total of 17 laps.
When the 250SX East Region class main event kicked off, Lawrence and Austin Forkner battled for the lead. With less than a minute off the clock, Lawrence made an aggressive lap-two pass aboard his CRF250R, and the 18-year-old Australian dominated from there, turning in a seemingly effortless performance to earn the fourth 250SX win of his young career.
As the gate dropped in the 450SX class main event, Sexton found himself in second with his eyes set on the leading Cooper Webb. Just over five minutes in, the 22-year-old made an impressive pass in the turn after the finish. Sexton led 17 laps of the 20-minute-plus-one-lap race before he tucked his front wheel in a rut on a jump face. With only two laps remaining, Sexton was tossed into the following jump. The Illinois native struggled to get up, and he was escorted off the track to be evaluated at the Alpinestars Medical Unit. Although banged up, Sexton felt relatively well when he left the venue, but officials will have him undergo concussion protocol this week.
Meanwhile, Roczen contended for a podium position early on but suffered a crash after landing from a triple. The German remounted and salvaged an eighth-place result. Sexton now sits sixth in the title chase while Roczen remains in eighth.
