Two anticipated pro supercross debuts are on hold this weekend, as GEICO Honda’s Hunter Lawrence and Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM’s Pierce Brown are both on the mend from shoulder injuries, and that will keep them out of the opening round of the 250SX East Regional Championship in Tampa, Florida. 

Lawrence tore his labrum and rotator cuff about a month and a half ago and had been working hard in physical therapy to try to return, but he’s still not back on a motorcycle. Check out our Between the Motos interview with Hunter for more on his status. He still hopes to potentially be back for a few supercross races late this season, but that’s not certain. If the injury delays his supercross debut until the final few weeks of the season, he will probably just switch to motocross mode and focus his efforts on the Hangtown Motocross Classic opener for the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship in May.

As for Brown, the recent amateur grad suffered a broken scaphoid (wrist) in October, and had about two months off to recover. He was back on a bike and riding when he suffered another crash, injuring a nerve underneath his shoulder blade. He’s now back riding, but the team wants the rookie to get another week or two on a supercross track to make sure he’s 100 percent. The most likely scenario for Brown, as of now, is to debut at round three in Atlanta.

Stay tuned for updates on these two as the weeks go by.