250MX CLASS ROOKIE CASEY COCHRAN TURNS HEADS BY QUALIFYING FASTEST OVERALL
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing has been able to draw from the positives following an encouraging Hangtown National that saw all three riders – Casey Cochran, Malcolm Stewart, and Christian Craig – finish inside the top 10. For 250MX rookie Cochran, he started the day in convincing fashion by qualifying quickest overall in class.
At 17 years of age and in his first full season of AMA Pro Motocross Championship competition, Cochran qualified in P1 this morning riding his Husqvarna Motorcycles FC 250 Rockstar Edition, and then went on to claim a consistent scorecard of 12-12 for a deserved 10th overall. With speed on his side and experience increasing, his early progression has been evident this weekend.
“It was definitely a good day,” reflected Cochran. “I surprised myself and I think a lot of people this morning by qualifying fastest, then ended up 10th overall for the weekend. To finish inside the top 10 at the second round, we can keep building and building off of that result, and I’m happy with the day overall.”
In the 450MX Class, Stewart made a welcome return to the Hangtown Motocross Classic for the first time in a decade, and he too delivered a consistent performance. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider qualified in P7 and then went 7-9 across the two premier class motos for eighth overall, improving upon his result at the opening round one week prior, and he remains ninth in the standings.
“Hangtown was fun for me!” Stewart said. “It’s been 10 years since I’ve been here and the track’s changed, but the people haven’t. I’ve always had some really solid fans here and there’s nothing better than the fans welcoming me back. Practice was good, then first moto I rode a solid race, before in the second moto I had a rough start, went down, and made a lot of passes right until the very end! I was enjoying the moment, so we’ll take what we learned here, regroup, and come back out swinging in Colorado.”
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing teammate Craig placed his Husqvarna Motorcycles FC 450 Rockstar Edition inside the top 10 as well, both in qualifying and the overall results. Craig was 10th in qualifying and went 12-11 in the races, which handed him P10 for the weekend and saw him climb to 12th position in the 450MX championship standings two rounds into his return to racing.
“Today was a better day and in qualifying my speed’s starting to come around,” commented Craig. “I’m still lacking strength, but that’s going to take time and will eventually come. We were better today, I had two mid-pack starts and stayed out of the chaos, so ended up going 11-12 for 10th overall – we’ll take that luck on our side with the overall. I’m getting more comfortable on the bike again with more seat time, so we’ll just keep building each week from here.”
Next Race: June 8 – Thunder Valley, Colorado
Results 450MX Class – Hangtown National
- Chase Sexton (USA), KTM
- Hunter Lawrence (AUS), Honda
- Aaron Plessinger (USA), KTM
- Justin Barcia (USA), GASGAS
- Malcolm Stewart (USA), Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
- Christian Craig (USA), Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
Standings 450MX Class 2024 after 2 of 11 rounds
- Chase Sexton, 90 points
- Hunter Lawrence, 82
- Aaron Plessinger, 69
- Justin Barcia, 61
- Malcolm Stewart, 57
- Christian Craig, 33
Results 250MX Class – Hangtown National
- Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha
- Tom Vialle (FRA), KTM
- Levi Kitchen (USA), Kawasaki
- Pierce Brown (USA), GASGAS
- Julien Beaumer (USA), KTM
- Casey Cochran (USA), Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
- Ryder DiFrancesco (USA), GASGAS
Standings 250MX Class 2024 after 2 of 11 rounds
- Haiden Deegan, 97 points
- Levi Kitchen, 84
- Tom Vialle, 81
- Pierce Brown, 55
- Julien Beaumer, 48
- Ryder DiFrancesco, 35
- Casey Cochran, 28
