Monster Energy-Backed Jason Lawrence “Impressive” With 5-5 Performance
May 22, 2007, 6:00am
Penalized (again) by the AMA for rowdy behavior, Lawrence wins fans over by turning two dead-last gate picks into 5th place finishes in the 40-man field
CARLSBAD, Calif., (May 21, 2007) – Monster Energy-backed Jason Lawrence (Yamaha of Troy) overcame some incredible odds to score back-to-back 5th place Lites class finishes (6th overall) in the opening round of the 2007 AMA Toyota Motocross Championships at Prairie City (Calif.) SVRA, aka “Hangtown,” on Sunday.
A Friday practice session dust up with rival Ryan Villopoto, coincidently also a Monster-backed athlete, led to severe penalties from the AMA, part of which relegated Lawrence to the dead last gate pick in both motos at Hangtown – a virtual death blow to a racer’s confidence.
“I apologized for what happened and when the AMA sees the footage of what led up to the fight I’m confident my name will be cleared,” said Lawrence. “Bottom line: All it did was fire me up even more. I can’t wait for High Point this weekend.”
Lawrence won over more than a few fans at the packed Hangtown venue. Starting as far on the outside as possible, he was led up out of the first turn and up the big hill in both motos by most of the world’s fastest motocross racers. The New Jersey kid then put on a riding clinic, working through the pack in the hot and dusty conditions all the way up to 5th place – 5/5 for 6th overall.
Next up for Lawrence is the running of this weekend’s Monster Energy/Kawasaki High Point National in Mt. Morris, Pa., Round Two of the 2007 AMA Toyota Motocross Championship.
CARLSBAD, Calif., (May 21, 2007) – Monster Energy-backed Jason Lawrence (Yamaha of Troy) overcame some incredible odds to score back-to-back 5th place Lites class finishes (6th overall) in the opening round of the 2007 AMA Toyota Motocross Championships at Prairie City (Calif.) SVRA, aka “Hangtown,” on Sunday.
A Friday practice session dust up with rival Ryan Villopoto, coincidently also a Monster-backed athlete, led to severe penalties from the AMA, part of which relegated Lawrence to the dead last gate pick in both motos at Hangtown – a virtual death blow to a racer’s confidence.
“I apologized for what happened and when the AMA sees the footage of what led up to the fight I’m confident my name will be cleared,” said Lawrence. “Bottom line: All it did was fire me up even more. I can’t wait for High Point this weekend.”
Lawrence won over more than a few fans at the packed Hangtown venue. Starting as far on the outside as possible, he was led up out of the first turn and up the big hill in both motos by most of the world’s fastest motocross racers. The New Jersey kid then put on a riding clinic, working through the pack in the hot and dusty conditions all the way up to 5th place – 5/5 for 6th overall.
Next up for Lawrence is the running of this weekend’s Monster Energy/Kawasaki High Point National in Mt. Morris, Pa., Round Two of the 2007 AMA Toyota Motocross Championship.
