It was a breakout weekend for Team Honda HRC at Thunder Valley, just outside Denver, in Colorado, for round three of the United States Motocross Championships.
Australian Jett Lawrence (Honda) rebounded to take a 2-1 overall win in the 450 class, while his elder brother and Honda team-mate Hunter Lawrence recorded a 1-2 score-line and settled for second overall on countback, making it a Honda and Australian 1-2 in the premier grade.
In the 250 class, Honda’s Chance Hymas earned a career-first moto win and career-best second overall, behind Yamaha’s Haiden Deegan, while Japan’s Jo Shimoda (Honda) recorded a solid fourth-overall finish with 5-3 race results.
Following the worst outdoor performance of his career last week (and still affected by a hard crash), Jett Lawrence took the 450 overall win and significantly reduced his deficit in the title chase.
Hunter Lawrence earned the first 450 moto-win of his career and left the Centennial State with his first premier-class red plate.
The first 450 moto saw Hunter and Jett start fifth and sixth, respectively, and they both moved up one position on the first lap. The brothers steadily advanced, overtaking Jason Anderson, Justin Barcia and Justin Cooper, to put them first and second at the three-quarters mark.
Later, Hunter was second out of turn 1 in moto 2, with Jett just behind.
Chase Sexton passed them both on lap 1 but went down a couple laps later. Jett passed his brother with six laps remaining, and with four laps left, they both got around erstwhile leader Cooper.
Hunter put on a charge against his brother, with Jett responding, and they both did the fastest laps of the race on the last lap, finishing just over a second apart.
With the Lawrences’ finish positions flipped from moto 1, they tied on points, with Jett getting the nod in the overall tally thanks to his better moto 2 result.
Hunter Lawrence’s steady results so far this year put him in the title-chase lead for the first time in his career, six points ahead of Sexton, which means his bike will wear the red leader’s number plate at the next round.
After losing ground last week due to a crash, Jett Lawrence sits third, having slashed his deficit from 24 to 16.
Racing continues with round four this coming weekend, at the High Point National MX in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania.
Photo courtesy Honda
Find BikesportNZ.com on FACEBOOK here
RESULTS AND STANDINGS AFTER ROUND THREE:
450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish // Points)
1 Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (2-1 // 47)
2 Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (1-2 // 47)
3 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (3-3 // 40)
4 Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GASGAS (4-6 // 34)
5 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., KTM (6-5 // 33)
6 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM (5-8 // 31)
7 Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki (10-4 // 30)
8 Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Husqvarna (7-7 // 30)
9 Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Honda (8-9 // 27)
10 Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Husqvarna (9-10 // 25)
450 Class Championship Standings (Round 3 of 11)
1 Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 129 Points
2 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., KTM – 123 Points
3 Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 113 Points
4 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 109 Points
5 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM – 100 Points
6 Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki – 97 Points
7 Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GASGAS – 95 Points
8 Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Honda – 89 Points
9 Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Husqvarna – 87 Points
10 Freddie Noren, Lidkoping, Sweden, Kawasaki – 68 Points
250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points)
1 Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (1-2 // 47)
2 Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda (4-1 // 43)
3 Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM (2-4 // 40)
4 Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Honda (5-3 // 37)
5 Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki (3-7 // 35)
6 Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Triumph (7-5 // 32)
7 Ty Masterpool, Paradise, Texas., Kawasaki (8-6 // 30)
8 Pierce Brown, Sandy, Utah, GASGAS (6-9 // 29)
9 Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM (9-10 // 25)
10 Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Yamaha (11-11 // 22)
250 Class Championship Standings (Round 3 of 11)
1 Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 144 Points
2 Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda – 121 Points
3 Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM – 121 Points
4 Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki – 119 Points
5 Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Kawasaki – 99 Points
6 Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Triumph – 93 Points
7 Pierce Brown, Sandy, Utah, GASGAS – 84 Points
8 Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM – 73 Points
9 Ty Masterpool, Paradise, Texas, Kawasaki – 69 Points
10 Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Triumph – 60 Points