It was a commanding win for the boys from Downunder at the weekend as they dominated both the 450SX and 250SX classes at round 13 of the AMA supercross championships.
It was the fourth win of the series for Australian Hunter Lawrence, and he extended his championship advantage to 10 points, while New Zealand’s Cole Davies won the 250SX main event at Nashville and extended his lead in the series to 19 points as the two Australasian stars celebrated their respective class wins at Nashville.
With a crash and subsequent sore wrist having affected his performances at the previous two rounds, Lawrence instead arrived at the Nashville round feeling relatively fit.
The outcome was a return to the form he had shown earlier in the season, with a composed and dominating ride, his fourth premier-class victory of the season and sole possession of the red plate.
The 450SX main event saw Lawrence nearly claim the holeshot before he slid and was relegated to fifth by the end of the first lap.
Remaining calm and calculated, he quickly worked his way through the field, moving into second in the opening minutes and setting his sights on the leading German Suzuki star Ken Roczen.
Lawrence studied the evolving track conditions, waiting to make his move until after the race’s halfway point.
Immediately after executing a decisive pass, he established control of the race, showcasing superior pace and consistency as he steadily built a gap, ultimately crossing the line with an advantage of more than seven seconds over runner-up Cooper Webb.
“We’ve still got four more races. That’s a lot of racing, so I’m just trying to get as many points, trying to make up for the past two weekends,” said Lawrence afterwards.
“Looking back to Detroit, maybe I should’ve settled for third? Maybe I wouldn’t have crashed, and I’d still have a pretty healthy double-digit points lead.
“But it just puts an emphasis on how important it is to be the healthiest version of yourself at every round; I have a whole newfound respect for the boys that have been doing this year in and year out. We just left the bike as it was all day.
“It was good, and I feel like that kind of track was more about just getting in tune with the feeling and the traction. When you have so much horsepower and you have to be so smooth, it’s tricky.”
The 250SX main event delivered another dramatic chapter in the East Coast title fight, with Davies continuing his standout season in commanding fashion.
The 15-minute plus one lap final began with Daxton Bennick grabbing the holeshot ahead of Nate Thrasher and Drew Adams, while championship contenders Davies and Seth Hammaker started just behind the early leaders.
The 15-minute plus one lap final began with Daxton Bennick grabbing the holeshot ahead of Thrasher and Adams, while championship contenders Davies and Hammaker started just behind the early leaders.
Thrasher wasted no time asserting himself, powering past Bennick to take control of the race in the opening laps.
Behind him, Davies and Hammaker quickly locked onto each other and began carving their way forward through the pack.
Davies, in particular, made full use of his strength through the whoops, picking off riders with precision.
Less than five minutes into the race, the New Zealander had surged into the lead, while Hammaker followed shortly after into second as the front-runners broke clear.
Davies immediately began to edge away, building a gap of more than five seconds by the halfway point and continuing to stretch that advantage as the race wore on. Reflecting on the conditions, Davies admitted the track played a major role in the outcome, explaining “the whoops were sketchy today”.
“They were super steep and since [the track crew] left them all day the cups were really gnarly. I’m stoked, that was a good race. I didn’t get off to a good start, but I made it happen and I’m stoked with that.”
While Davies checked out up front, Hammaker’s charge hit trouble. As he pushed to close the gap, he clipped a tuff block, sending his Kawasaki sideways and down to the dirt. He remounted in fourth, several seconds adrift, and faced an uphill battle to recover.
To his credit, Hammaker dug deep and clawed his way back into contention. He passed Thrasher for third and, in the closing stages, closed rapidly on Bennick for second. However, as the two battled intensely near the mechanic’s area, Bennick lost rear traction while defending, triggering a collision that sent both riders to the ground.
The incident handed second place back to Thrasher, who capitalised on the chaos to secure his first podium of the season.
Despite not feeling at his best, Thrasher was satisfied to make the most of the opportunity.
“I did not ride good at all. I just didn’t have a flow,” said Thrasher. “I was really great in practice and solid in the Heat Race. The track just kept getting harder packed and I started struggling a little bit. I got a little pumped up and did the best I could. I’m pumped to be on the podium, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Hammaker managed to remount again and cross the line in third after a race filled with adversity, but his night took another hit post-race when officials handed him a two-position penalty for cutting the track while rejoining after his earlier crash. That demoted him to fifth, costing valuable championship points.
The penalty elevated Devin Simonson to a career-first podium in third, after the ClubMX Yamaha rider charged through late-race chaos and made a decisive final-lap pass.
Out front, however, it was all Davies. Unchallenged in the second half of the race, he cruised to his fourth win of the season by a margin of 17.2 seconds, further underlining his authority in the Eastern Division.
With the victory, Davies extended his championship lead to 29 points with three rounds remaining, while Bennick sits third in the standings, 40 points adrift.
Next, the riders head to round 14 of AMA Supercross in Cleveland.
RESULTS & STANDINGS:
450SX Results
- Hunter Lawrence (Hon)
- Cooper Webb (Yam)
- Ken Roczen (Suz)
- Chase Sexton (Kaw)
- Justin Hill (KTM)
- Dylan Ferrandis (Duc)
- Justin Cooper (Yam)
- Garrett Marchbanks (Kaw)
- Colt Nichols (Suz)
- Shane McElrath (Hon)
450SX Championship Standings (after 13 of 17 rounds)
- Hunter Lawrence: 270
- Ken Roczen: 260
- Eli Tomac: 255
- Cooper Webb: 242
- Justin Cooper: 213
- Chase Sexton: 162
- Joey Savatgy: 159
- Malcom Stewart: 145
- Jorge Prado: 140
- Justin Hill: 134
250 East Championship Standings (after round 7)
- Cole Davies: 161
- Seth Hammaker: 142
- Daxton Bennick: 121
- Coty Schock: 103
- Jo Shimoda: 100
- Nate Thrasher: 91
- Devin Simonson: 91
- Henry Miller: 64
- Pierce Brown: 63
- Nicholas Romano: 46
Photo courtesy Honda
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