HUNTER LAWRENCE SETS UP FINAL ROUND THRILLER

It was a start-to-finish win for Australian racer Hunter Lawrence at the Denver Supercross at the weekend, the penultimate round of the series.

After this fabulous result in the Mile High City, it is now a winner-take-all scenario heading to last round in Salt Lake City.

Coming into the penultimate race of the 2026 AMA Supercross season, Honda star Lawrence found himself four points behind the championship leader, Germany’s Ken Roczen (Suzuki) in a situation where performing was a must to keep his title hopes alive.

The Australian delivered when it mattered, racing to a convincing victory and closing to within a single point, with just one round remaining.

Racing at altitude places added importance on starts, and the 450SX main event saw Lawrence get an epic launch down the start straight, although Spain’s Jorge Prado (KTM) was able to claim the actual holeshot by sneaking around the outside.

Lawrence took over the lead by lap two and never looked back. As battles unfolded behind him, he leveraged his pace to steadily extend his lead, ultimately crossing the finish line with a 12.3-second advantage over second-place finisher and title-rival Roczen.

In addition to closing the championship gap to just one point, Lawrence’s fifth victory of the season matches Roczen’s win total on the year, so the Australian now holds the advantage for a potential tiebreaker as the series heads into the final round in Salt Lake City.

“The bike was working good, giving me what I needed,” said Lawrence.

“It was a really tough track, not much traction out there; I had to kind of pick and choose where I made my arcs in the corners and bank off stuff whenever I was turning.

“My starts weren’t amazing all day today; we were kind of fiddling, massaging some things, and we got them sorted for the main. I love having to work for it a little bit during the day. I feel like that’s when I have my best days, and I love working with the team; I feel like we work so great together, and it brings the best out in me.

“Everyone knows what I needed to do—win the last two rounds—and we checked the first box. Now we need to go to Salt Lake City and try to do the same thing. I’d rather be in the position I’m in now than seven points down if Kenny had won.

“This is my title to lose, and I feel like under pressure, I’ve been the best guy this year. So, we’ll go to Salt Lake City and enjoy it.”