It’s time for the penultimate round of the 2023 AMA Pro Motocross National Championship Series. You’ve got two more shots at beating your friends in RMFantasyMX.com leagues, and we have our 2023 Budds Creek National Motocross fantasy tips for you.
- Jett Lawrence has clinched the title with an 18-0 moto run in the 450MX class. Unless you’re throwing a Hail Mary because you’re so far behind, Lawrence is the pick to win.
- Chase Sexton is as entrenched in P2 as Lawrence is at the top. Sexton has finished P2 overall in every round he has ridden in 2023. Sexton has 10 P2 moto finishes and a pair of P3s. He’s your runner-up.
- It’s hard to keep Dylan Ferrandis off the podium. He has six podium finishes in nine rounds and has finished in P3 in more than half the motos this year. Mark Ferrandis down for P3.
- Aaron Plessinger is the master of P4. Plessinger has been either P4 or P5 overall in seven of nine rounds. With eight P4 finishes in 18 motos, Plessinger is the strong P4 choice.
- Adam Cianciarulo’s consistency makes him the best choice. Cianciarulo has taken P4 or P5 overall in four of nine rounds. While that’s not the lock that Plessinger is, Cianciarulo is the next-best top-five choice.
- Jason Anderson and Justin Barcia are legitimate top-five possibilities. Anderson has been in the top five twice in the five rounds he has contested. Although Barcia was a disappointing 40-14 at Unadilla, we all know what he’s capable of doing. With one race now under his belt, we might get a good idea of where Barcia is at after the Budds Creek National. Go with one or both of these riders for P4 and P5 (in any order) if you’re willing to gamble to close up a points gap in your league.
- The Wild Card is P13, and that means it’s a wild guess. Here are your choices of riders with P12 to P14 finishes over the last two rounds: Frederik Norén (9-11-13-9), Grant Harlan (14-15-15-11), Derek Drake (38-36-12-34), Kyle Chisholm (17-12-18-15), Romain Pape (16-18-33-13), Anderson (4-4-14-4) and Barcia. I’m going with Grant Harlan. I was a half-second away from Pape getting me the RMFantasyMX Wild Card points last week at Unadilla—the Wild Card is a cruel mistress.
- I’ve moved up into the top 22-percent of RMFantasyMX players. Not too bad, though far from great. Ultimate Motorcycling Associate Editor Kelly Callan continues to fly high. With 841 points, she is #62 of 34,959 players, putting her in the top 0.2-percent of players. Yep, that’s amazing!
- Don’t miss a single gate drop of the 2023 Budds Creek National. Check out our 2023 Pro Motocross Television Schedule.
Photography by Tyler Maillet /AJAK Photos
2023 AMA Pro Motocross National Championship Series Standings (after 9 of 11 rounds)
- Jett Lawrence, Honda, 450 points (9 overall wins; 9 overall podiums; 9 overall top 5s)
- Dylan Ferrandis, Yamaha, 347 (6P, 9 T5)
- Aaron Plessinger, KTM, 312 (1P, 8 T5)
- Adam Cianciarulo, Kawasaki, 269 (1P, 5 T5)
- Chase Sexton, Honda, 260 (6P, 6 T5)
- Ty Masterpool, Kawasaki, 215
- Garrett Marchbanks, Yamaha, 200 (1 T5)
- Fredrik Norén, Suzuki, 189
- Cooper Webb, KTM, 147 (2 P, 4 T5)
- Grant Harlan, Yamaha, 145
- José Butron, GasGas, 138
- Jason Anderson, Kawasaki, 133 (1P, 2 T5)
- Lorenzo Locurcio, GasGas, 110
- Phil Nicoletti, Yamaha, 99
- Derek Drake, Suzuki, 94
- Kyle Chisholm, Suzuki, 91
- Romaine Pape, GasGas, 81
- Jerry Robin, Yamaha, 69
- Jeremy Hand, Honda, 55
- Luca Marsalisi, Yamaha, 43
- Ken Roczen, Suzuki, 36 (1P, 1 T5)
- Ryan Surratt, Honda, 33
- Marshal Weltin, Suzuki, 32
- Harri Kullas, Yamaha, 28
- Bryce Shelly, Yamaha, 28
- Chris Canning, GasGas, 27
- Jace Kessler, Honda, 24
- Shane McElrath, Yamaha, 23
- Brandon Ray, Honda, 23
- Colt Nichols, Kawasaki, 22
- Max Miller, KTM, 22
- Lars van Berkel, Honda, 21
- Gert Krestinov, Honda, 18
- Kaeden Amerine, Kawasaki, 18
- Anton Gole, Husqvarna, 17
- Dante Oliveira, KTM, 15
- Chandler Baker, Kawasaki, 15
- Christopher Prebula, KTM, 12
- Tyler Stepek, Honda, 11
- Jay Wilson, Yamaha, 9
- Henry Miller, Honda, 9
- Jed Beaton, Honda, 8
- Justin Barcia, GasGas, 7
- Brandon Scharer, KTM, 7
- RJ Wageman, Yamaha, 5
- Kevin Moranz, KTM, 5
- Stephen Rubini, Kawasaki, 5
- Trevor Schmidt, KTM, 4
- Josh Hill, Yamaha, 4
- Jacob Runkles, GasGas, 4
- Luke Renzland, Husqvarna, 4
- John Adamson, Husqvarna, 4
- Carson Brown, Yamaha, 3
- Bryce Hammond, Honda, 3
- Dominique Thury, Yamaha, 3
- Tanel Leok, Husqvarna, 3
- Karel Kutsar, KTM, 3
- Cody Groves, GasGas, 3
- Scott Meshey, Husqvarna, 3
- Izaih Clark, Honda, 3
- Ryder Floyd, Honda, 2
- Anthony Rodriguez, KTM, 1
- Sebastian Balbuena, Yamaha, 1
- Jeffrey Walker, KTM, 1
- Bryton Carroll, Yamaha, 1
- Richard Taylor, Yamaha, 1
