With the AMA Supercross series winding down, Australian rider Jett Lawrence continues to perform under pressure and he’s now poised to wrap up the title in the United States.
Only two rounds now remain in AMA Supercross, with Denver this coming weekend and then Salt Lake City next week.
At the Philadelphia stop at the weekend just gone, which was round 15 of 17, the 20-year-old Team Honda HRC rider led the 450SX main event from start to finish, notching his second-consecutive victory and stretching his title-fight advantage to 12 points.
Lawrence’s main threat for the US title this season, Yamaha’s Cooper Webb, finished an uncharacteristic fourth at Philadelphia, citing continuing “problems with arm pump”.
Meanwhile, Lawrence’s elder brother Hunter Lawrence finished seventh in the same class.
Starting the 450SX main event just outside the starter’s box, Jett Lawrence pulled a high-pressure holeshot and simply never looked back, ultimately winning by over five seconds.
Main title-rival Webb sat second for most of the race but was passed late by KTM’s Chase Sexton and Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson.
Meanwhile, Hunter Lawrence rode almost the entire race in seventh place. He put a pass on Justin Barcia for sixth with just over a lap remaining, but Barcia got back by shortly after.
The tricky first turn was unkind to Honda star Chance Hymas on the 250SX East main-event start, with the Idaho native sitting back in 17th at the end of lap 1.
From there, however, Hymas turned in a strong performance, advancing to the top 10 before the midway point and hitting seventh with two laps remaining.
He passed two more riders on the final lap to notch his first-ever top-five result. Meanwhile, Fire Power Honda rider Max Anstie, from England, put in an impressive ride to tally the second 250SX win of his career.
Jett Lawrence carries a 12-point 450SX title-chase lead over Webb into the penultimate round, while Hunter Lawrence sits in 10th place, four points behind Barcia.
450SX Results
- Jett Lawrence (Hon)
- Chase Sexton (KTM)
- Jason Anderson (Kaw)
- Cooper Webb (Yam)
- Eli Tomac (Yam)
- Justin Barcia (Gas)
- Hunter Lawrence (Hon)
- Malcolm Stewart (Hus)
- Dylan Ferrandis (Hon)
- Justin Cooper (Yam)
450SX Championship Points (after 15 of 17 rounds)
- Jett Lawrence: 311
- Cooper Webb: 299
- Eli Tomac: 270
- Chase Sexton: 268
- Jason Anderson: 244
- Ken Roczen: 223
- Aaron Plessinger: 198
- Justin Cooper: 189
- Justin Barcia: 182
- Hunter Lawrence: 178
250SX East Region Results
- Max Anstie (Hon)
- Tom Vialle (KTM)
- Haiden Deegan (Yam)
- Daxton Bennick (Yam)
- Chance Hymas (Hon)
- Coty Schock (Yam)
- Seth Hammaker (Kaw)
- Jalek Swoll (Tri)
- Preston Boespflug (Suz)
- Nick Romano (Yam)
250SX East Region Championship Points (after 8 of 9 rounds)
- Tom Vialle: 158
- Haiden Deegan: 143
- Pierce Brown: 124
- Coty Schock: 121
- Cameron McAdoo: 120
- Max Anstie: 119
- Daxton Bennick: 106
- Jalek Swoll: 103
- Chance Hymas: 101
- Seth Hammaker: 87
Photo courtesy AMA Supercross
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