DOMINANT PERFORMANCES BY LAWRENCE BROTHERS

Australian Jett Lawrence has been nearly untouchable in his 450 AMA Pro Motocross career thus far, so a third-overall finish at last week’s 2026 opener had some wondering if his superiority had slipped.

However, at the weekend’s second round of the 2026 series, the Hangtown Motocross Classic, Honda star Lawrence shrugged off the pain of a still-healing ankle and dominated, topping qualifying and winning both motos.

Honda team-mate and elder brother Hunter Lawrence – who had turned in a similar performance one week earlier—was also impressive, finishing a strong second in both motos and retaining a lead in the championship fight.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Cole Davies (Yamaha) strengthened his position near the top of the 250cc class standings at the weekend.

A fourth overall for the weekend saw him also secure himself at fourth in the series standings, just one point adrift of KTM rider Julien Beaumer.

A moto one holeshot in the 450cc class and another strong start in moto two allowed Jett Lawrence to control the races from the front.

Looking increasingly comfortable aboard his Honda CRF450RWE, the defending AMA Pro Motocross champion was nearly flawless on his way to securing his first overall victory of the season.

Still, he was pushed most of the way by Hunter Lawrence, who displayed his signature consistency and speed throughout the day.

He spent most of moto one in third place but made a late pass on Haiden Deegan and then immediately pulled away to finish second.

Moto two saw the Australian grab the holeshot and lead lap one before a red flag reset the race.

After the restart, Hunter found himself in second place and spent the remainder of the moto applying pressure to his younger brother. His efforts secured second overall and completed another 1-2 finish for Honda HRC Progressive.

Jett posted the fastest lap times in both 450 motos, and his moto two best was particularly impressive – more than 1.3 seconds better than anyone else.

Hunter was second on the lap-time sheets in both motos.

With this weekend’s victory, Honda extends its premier-class overall-win record at Hangtown to 21 – nine more than the next-closest manufacturer.

Honda riders on the list include Billy Grossi, Marty Smith, Bob Hannah, Alan King and Rick Johnson (three times), Jeff Stanton, John Dowd, Jeremy McGrath, Kevin Windham, Sebastian Tortelli and Ricky Carmichael (three times), Chad Reed, Eli Tomac, Ken Roczen and Jett Lawrence (three times).

The riders head to Lakewood, in Colorado, for round three, the Thunder Valley National Motocross this coming Saturday.

“I worked on my starts a lot this week, but didn’t ride as much, to try and save my ankle,” said Jett Lawrence afterwards.

“I honestly think this track looked after my ankle a lot more than Pala; I had a lot of moments where I could rest my foot, and my ankle is definitely not as sore as last week.

“Obviously, Hunter’s my brother, so I know him very well—he’s always right there for the whole race. I spent the first 15 minutes getting a flow, using the least amount of energy, and then halfway through did one really fast lap to get a gap where I could pull away.

“It was a good day, and I’m happy I was able to go 1-1, like I used to; it gives me some confidence going into the rest of the season.”

Photo courtesy Honda

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