Monster Energy’s Jason Lawrence Moves Into 4th Place Overall In AMA Lites
July 2, 2007, 12:07pm
Spectacular 2nd moto crash is only thing that kept Lawrence #338 off the overall podium and even closer to 3rd place in the overall standings
CORONA, Calif., (July 2, 2007) – Monster Energy’s Jason Lawrence (Yamaha of Troy) had another AMA Lites class podium finish in the bag this past Sunday at the Monster Energy Kawasaki RedBud National, only to suffer a spectacular crash – then battle back through the pack to salvage 6th place in the moto - which coupled with his first moto podium finish gave him 4th place overall on the day.
“I saw a line on the parade lap that I thought might just work,” said Lawrence. “So I went for it in the second moto and ended up cross-rutting and got thrown down pretty violently. Good thing was I was OK, my YZ250F fired right away and I was able to get back through the pack to 6th. The crowd was sick. Biggest one I’ve ever seen at a National.”
Though he didn’t wind up on the podium, he was definitely the third fastest rider out there behind the 1-2 Monster Energy-backed finishers (Ryan Villopoto and Ben Townley). Lawrence came into Sunday’s event having put up the second fastest time in Saturday’s timed practice, merely a 100/th of a second behind Villopoto. Lawrence then carried that confidence over into Sunday’s race, and with two solid starts found himself with the front runners again this week.
“Yamaha’s got my bike dialed big time – you can see from my starts,” said Lawrence.
In the first moto Lawrence got out in 4th and dispatched eventual 3rd place finisher (due to Lawrence’s second moto crash), Josh Grant, early in the race to make the podium in 3rd. In the first moto Lawrence’s top lap time was two seconds faster than Grant’s, 2:33.233 to 2:35.229. In the second moto Lawrence also topped Grant’s best time by a half a second, though Grant would inherit 3rd place in the moto and 3rd place overall when Lawrence crashed.
“Who cares,” said Lawrence of his concern with 4th instead of 3rd. “I’m pinning it at Unadilla.”
As stated earlier, Lawrence now has a solid hold on 4th place overall in the AMA Motocross Lites class standings with 176 points – only eight points behind Josh Grant in 3rd place overall.
Next up for the Monster Energy’s Lawrence, a New Jersey native, is a homecoming of sort at the July 15th Monster Energy Nice N Easy Unadilla Pro Nationals at Unadilla Valley Sports Center (N.Y.).
CORONA, Calif., (July 2, 2007) – Monster Energy’s Jason Lawrence (Yamaha of Troy) had another AMA Lites class podium finish in the bag this past Sunday at the Monster Energy Kawasaki RedBud National, only to suffer a spectacular crash – then battle back through the pack to salvage 6th place in the moto - which coupled with his first moto podium finish gave him 4th place overall on the day.
“I saw a line on the parade lap that I thought might just work,” said Lawrence. “So I went for it in the second moto and ended up cross-rutting and got thrown down pretty violently. Good thing was I was OK, my YZ250F fired right away and I was able to get back through the pack to 6th. The crowd was sick. Biggest one I’ve ever seen at a National.”
Though he didn’t wind up on the podium, he was definitely the third fastest rider out there behind the 1-2 Monster Energy-backed finishers (Ryan Villopoto and Ben Townley). Lawrence came into Sunday’s event having put up the second fastest time in Saturday’s timed practice, merely a 100/th of a second behind Villopoto. Lawrence then carried that confidence over into Sunday’s race, and with two solid starts found himself with the front runners again this week.
“Yamaha’s got my bike dialed big time – you can see from my starts,” said Lawrence.
In the first moto Lawrence got out in 4th and dispatched eventual 3rd place finisher (due to Lawrence’s second moto crash), Josh Grant, early in the race to make the podium in 3rd. In the first moto Lawrence’s top lap time was two seconds faster than Grant’s, 2:33.233 to 2:35.229. In the second moto Lawrence also topped Grant’s best time by a half a second, though Grant would inherit 3rd place in the moto and 3rd place overall when Lawrence crashed.
“Who cares,” said Lawrence of his concern with 4th instead of 3rd. “I’m pinning it at Unadilla.”
As stated earlier, Lawrence now has a solid hold on 4th place overall in the AMA Motocross Lites class standings with 176 points – only eight points behind Josh Grant in 3rd place overall.
Next up for the Monster Energy’s Lawrence, a New Jersey native, is a homecoming of sort at the July 15th Monster Energy Nice N Easy Unadilla Pro Nationals at Unadilla Valley Sports Center (N.Y.).
