Late in the final lap of the second moto at the 2022 Thunder Valley Motocross National, race leader Chase Sexton suffered a minor entering a deep rut, handing the Moto 2 and overall win to Ken Roczen. Sexton had taken the lead from Roczen at the halfway point, and maintained a comfortable margin over Roczen until the fall. Roczen was fresh from an epic battle with hometown hero Eli Tomac for P2, with Roczen pulling away after a Tomac blew through a rut while attempting a pass on Roczen at the redesigned Thunder Valley MX Park circuit. Sexton’s fall took the overall win from crowd-favorite Tomac and transferred it to Roczen, with Sexton retaining his P3 overall.Ken Roczen (#94)Tomac won the first moto, passing Roczen on Lap 11 of 16. Anderson rounded out the Moto 1 podium. Anderson fell in the second moto, eventually finishing in P6 in the race and P4 overall. Antonio Cairoli had his best day of the season—his 5-4 finishes put him in P5 overall, well clear of Dungey in P6. After finishing in the Top 5 in the first four Motos of the season, Christian Craig suffered falls that resulted in a 10-12 and P12 overall.
Roczen gained seven points on 2022 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross National Championship Series leader Sexton, with Roczen now five points behind Sexton. Tomac moves past Anderson to take over P3 in the series, nine points ahead of Anderson and behind Roczen. Despite his difficult day, Craig retains P5 in the series standings, though just three points ahead of Cairoli and Ryan Dungey.The next race is in a week—the High Point National at High Point Raceway in Mount Morris, Penn. Check our 2022 Motocross TV Schedule for cable and streaming coverage times.Photography by Align Media
2022 Thunder Valley Motocross National Results, Thunder Valley MX Park, Lakewood, CO
Ken Roczen, Honda, 2-1; 47 points
Eli Tomac, Yamaha, 1-3; 45
Chase Sexton, Honda, 4-2; 40
Jason Anderson, Kawasaki, 3-6; 35 points
Antonio Cairoli, KTM, 5-4; 34
Ryan Dungey, KTM, 7-7; 28
Justin Barcia, GasGas, 6-8; 28
Shane McElrath, Husqvarna, 12-5; 25
Joey Savatgy, Kawasaki, 8-9; 25
Garrett Marchbanks, Yamaha, 9-11; 22
Aaron Plessinger, KTM, 11-10; 21
Christian Craig, Yamaha, 10-12; 20
Marshal Weltin, GasGas, 15-13; 14
Brandon Hartranft, Suzuki, 14-14; 14
Henry Miller, KTM, 17-15; 10
Justin Rodbell, Husqvarna, 16-16; 10
Alex Martin, Yamaha, 13-32; 8
Tristan Lane, KTM, 27-17; 4
Bryson Gardner, Honda, 20-18; 4
Josh Gilbert, Husqvarna, 18-20; 4
Grant Harlan, Kawasaki, 22-19; 2
Tyler Stepek, KTM, 19-21; 2
2022 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross National Championship Series (after 3 of 12 rounds)
Our first segment introduces you to the new Arch 1s. This latest, slightly more sporting American V-twin, adds to the original KRGT1 coming from the boutique manufacturer based in Hawthorne, Southern California. Senior Editor Nic de Sena rode through Malibu with Gard Hollinger, who co-founded Arch Motorcycle with his friend, Keanu Reeves. The 1s is a unique ride for sure, and Nic explains what makes the bike really stand out.
For the entertaining story behind Arch Motorcycle from Gard Hollinger himself, you must listen to his podcast episode on Motos & Friends HERE
——————–
The guest segment of Motos and Friends is brought to you by the faster and most technologically advanced, 2023 Suzuki Hayabusa—one of the most iconic sportbikes ever. Check it out in person at your local Suzuki dealer now, or visit suzukicycles.com to learn more.
——————–
In our second segment, Associate Editor Teejay Adams chats with Thom Beers, the former Chairman & CEO of Fremantle Media North America, responsible for American Idol and America’s Got Talent. Thom’s astonishing resume as a Producer, Director, and actor, includes narrating many, many of the shows he’s created.
His fertile imagination led to most of the really big reality TV shows, and of course for us in the motorcycle world, you’ll be interested to hear the genesis and story behind his Jesse James show, ‘Monster Garage’, as well as the ‘Biker Build Off’ and ‘Zombie Choppers’ TV shows. Teejay’s chat with Thom gives us some amazing insight into other areas of Thom’s career, including ‘Deadliest Catch’ and others.
You’d imagine that most of Thom’s time is spent sitting behind a desk and on his phone. Not so. His intense stories of capturing much of the content for these shows make for some hair-raising listening. I for one, was fascinated; I hope you are too.