2023 Hangtown Motocross Classic Fantasy Tips [7 Fast Facts]

2023 Hangtown Motocross Classic Fantasy Tips

It hasn’t taken long for the 2023 AMA Pro Motocross National Championship Series to settle down, at least if you play RMFantasyMX.com fantasy motocross. With a severely depleted field, it’s now about picking the order of the top five, rather than figuring out who the top five will be. Let’s dig into our 2023 Hangtown Motocross Classic fantasy tips.

  1. Chase Sexton is out until further notice with a concussion and mononucleosis. Going into the opening round, there were six potential top-five riders. Now there are five.
2023 Hangtown Motocross Classic Fantasy Tips: Jett Lawrence
Jett Lawrence.
  1. With Sexton gone, rookie phenom Jett Lawrence is going to run riot. Lawrence beat Dylan Ferrandis by over 17 seconds in the first moto and nearly 45 seconds in moto 2. It’s not even close. It’s hard to imagine anyone not picking Lawrence to win. If Lawrence is not the fastest qualifier, doesn’t score two holeshots, and doesn’t dominate both motos, it will be a shocker.
2023 Hangtown Motocross Classic Fantasy Tips: Dylan Ferrandis
Dylan Ferrandis.
  1. Dylan Ferrandis, Aaron Plessinger, and Cooper Webb were all reasonably close at Fox Raceway. Ferrandis beat Webb by over four seconds and Plessinger by 12 seconds in moto 1. In moto 2, Ferrandis finished about four seconds ahead of Plessinger and a stunning one-minute-plus ahead of Webb. Considering it was Ferrandis’ first race in months, he will likely only get better, so I see him as a P2 lock.
2023 Hangtown Motocross Classic Fantasy Tips: Scott Plessinger
Scott Plessinger.
  1. Plessinger and Webb swapped P4/P5 finishes last week, and they could very well swap again. With Sexton gone, their battle is promoted to one over the final podium spot. Webb looked good in moto 1, but was not in the mix in moto 2. Given that moto 2 is the overall tiebreaker, and the overall finish position is what RMFantasyMX is all about, Plessinger is the go-to guy for P3, and give Webb P4.
KTM's Cooper Webb
Cooper Webb.
  1. Adam Cianciarulo isn’t likely to challenge Plessinger or Webb, or be challenged from behind. In the first Fox Raceway National moto, Cianciarulo was a distant 35+ seconds behind Plessinger, and 23 seconds ahead of Lorenzo Locurcio. Cianciarulo crashed early in moto 2, putting him at the back of the pack. He still worked his way up to P7, though over 35 seconds behind Grant Harlan. Still, that was good enough to nail down P5 overall by two points. Without the fall, Cianciarulo cruises to P6 in moto 2 at Fox Raceway. Without Sexton, Cianciarulo would have been top-five last week. There’s no Sexton this week, so Cianciarulo is a solid P5 pick.
Adam Cianciarulo
Adam Cianciarulo.
  1. Wild Card is P8, so there are a few choices. I picked Locurcio for the P10 Wild Card last week, and he exceeded my expectations by one position. Last week’s P9 is a P8 without Sexton, so I’m going with Locurcio again. The other riders to consider are Grant Harlan (9-6 last week), José Butron (10-8), Jerry Robin (8-14), and Fredrik Norén (13-9). Wild Cards are always tough, especially early in the season.
  1. You don’t want to miss a gate drop, so check out our 2023 Pro Motocross Television Schedule. We can tell you that racing starts a 1 p.m. locally in Northern California on Saturday.

2023 Hangtown Motocross Classic Fantasy Picks

  1. Jett Lawrence
  2. Dylan Ferrandis
  3. Aaron Plessinger
  4. Cooper Webb
  5. Adam Cianciarulo
    P10 Wild Card: Lorenzo Locurcio

Photography by Will Embree / SMX Pictures

2023 AMA Pro Motocross National Championship Series Standings (after 1 of 11 rounds)

  1. Jett Lawrence, Honda, 50 points (2 moto wins, 2 moto podiums, 2 moto top 5s)
  2. Chase Sexton, Honda, 44 (2P, 2 T5s)
  3. Dylan Ferrandis, Yamaha, 40 (2P, 2 T5s)
  4. Aaron Plessinger, KTM, 34 (2 T5s)
  5. Cooper Webb, KTM, 34 (2 T5s)
  6. Adam Cianciarulo, Kawasaki, 29
  7. Grant Harlan, Yamaha 27
  8. Lorenzo Locurcio, GasGas, 24
  9. José Butron, GasGas, 24
  10. Jerry Robin, Yamaha, 20
  11. Fredrik Norén, Suzuki, 20
  12. Kyle Chisholm, Suzuki, 17
  13. Dante Oliveira, KTM, 15
  14. Ryan Surratt, Honda, 14
  15. Derek Drake, Suzuki, 11
  16. Kaeden Amerine, Kawasaki, 8
  17. Marshal Weltin, Suzuki, 6
  18. Luca Marsalisi, Yamaha, 6
  19. Romaine Pape, GasGas, 5
  20. RJ Wageman, Yamaha, 5
  21. Jace Kessler, Honda, 4
  22. Christopher Prebula, KTM, 2
  23. Brandon Ray, Honda, 2
  24. Richard Taylor, Yamaha, 1