Alabama Slammer - Jett Lawrence and Tom Vialle top the Birmingham stop of AMA Supercross series
By Team TMX on 10th Mar 24
News Supercross AMA Supercross
Team Honda HRC's Jett Lawrence grabbed the holeshot inside Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, dodged the Monster Energy start-board girl and never relinquished the lead spot to become the first rider to string back-to-back wins in the 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. Heavy rains the night before the race saturated the red dirt track but only light rain fell during the racing at Round 9 of the 17-round season.
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Cooper Webb chased Jett from the start but after the opening laps was never close enough to mount an attempt at the lead. Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki's Ken Roczen recovered from outside the top 10 to pass his way forward on the rutted track and claim a third-place finish.
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“That was a very difficult track,” said Lawrence afterwards. “You just had to be very, very patient and not just push this track, it could bite you pretty quickly. It's just been an awesome, awesome weekend and an awesome race. Shout out to the team they're awesome and now hopefully we can maybe click off some more, but we'll have to wait and see… the races, they're all pretty gnarly with all these great riders out here.”
In the Eastern Regional 250SX Class, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Tom Vialle backed up his win last week with a commanding win in Birmingham.
The fourth round of the Eastern Regional 250SX Class saw Tom Vialle take over the lead on the opening lap and never get challenged for the top spot; the win moved him into the championship points lead. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Cameron McAdoo took over second place just a minute into the 15-minute plus one lap race to earn his third consecutive second-place finish of the season. After going through the LCQ, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Seth Hammaker recovered from a start outside of the top five to grab the final spot on the Birmingham podium.
“Grabbing another win, I didn't expect it,” said Vialle. “I felt great all day and I had a good heat race… I didn’t have the best start, but I caught all the guys and I was P1. Then I just tried to do some good laps and be consistent all moto. I tried to save energy for the last four or five laps and it was great. I love the track and we were lucky with the weather [and so] the track was pretty good and I'm really happy. Another win, taking the red plate, and I mean, it's been a long time [that] I didn't win two races in a row, [not] since I was back in the GPs. So I feel good and it's nice to win, I can tell you.”
There was heartbreak for championship leader Max Anstie whose Fire Power Honda failed to finish the Main Event. The 30-year-old Brit now sits eighth in points.
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