It was a wild day of racing for AMA Pro Motocross at Ironman over the weekend. First moto winner, Chase Sexton went down in the second moto, damaging his bike in the process. Then before the second moto it was announced that Jett Lawrence was docked a lap for jumping the gate, so even though he went on to win the second moto, he was credited with 17-1 moto scores.
It was Honda HRC Progressive rider Hunter Lawrence who was the benefactor, though Hunter logged his first ever 450 motocross win with anything but luck. Hunter has set himself apart as the second-best guy this summer logging four straight second place finishes between High Point and Spring Creek and sitting second in points. In fact, Hunter’s 450 motocross stats are incredible, finishing inside the top five in every race so far. It was just a matter of time for Hunter, as he already had four moto wins, but the math has just never landed on his side until now.
Hunter finally got his first 450 overall win in the heat, on a rough Ironman track. He noted how tough it was in the post-race press conference: “Even just circulating was tough enough in itself! And Eli [Tomac] was like the dangling carrot in front of me and just naturally I wanted to try and get as close as I could. I mean we were both feeling it. We were both, if you watched, making sloppy mistakes that we don't normally make just due to the fatigue. He had the little mistake where he stalled it and I was just close enough to be there and then it's just like, four laps to go, feels like 25 minutes at that stage of the moto. I didn't want to just settle, I wanted to, at least push forward again. After my mistake where I went down before the finish line, I just tried to push through and never give up to at least feel like I still did work for the win rather than just having it kind of fall in my lap.”
With ten second place finishes to his name, Hunter was asked if he expected to finally win one. “No, I don't think anyone really expects it. It's what you work towards, so it's what you want, you know, nothing's guaranteed in this world. So, it's more something you're working and striving towards. And this class is so extremely tough. There are days where I feel like I've ridden better and been stronger throughout both motos than I was today, and ended up third or second, so it's a really unpredictable sport. But that's what's so cool about it. But yeah, when I come off the track, I didn't really care. I was so done and finished and hot, and priority is just cooling down. Like honestly, you push beyond your limits that it's like the pain we experience is pretty next level.”
The heat and fatigue played a major role for Hunter as he led much of the first moto before Chase Sexton eventually chased him down. In the second moto Hunter got around Tomac for the early lead but then settled into second behind Jett. Hunter then went down before the finish, and it looked like Chase Sexton would take the overall two races in a row until disaster struck one jump later and Chase went down. It all happened so fast, Hunter (and everyone watching) could barely keep up with all that was transpiring.
“Yeah, it's like he [Chase] was in front of me and I saw it and as I got up I was like, 'Oh, nice work, like, come on, get going again, get your rhythm.' Like when you crash or even a mistake where you stop, the heat gets to you so fast and then to get back into your rhythm on a track that's really tough to get rhythm on in the beginning. So that was my first priority and then that happened, and I was like dodging Chase on the ground. Yeah, hopefully he's okay. I didn't know what the extent of that was, but yeah, it was wild.”
Hunter also spoke on his brother Jett’s penalty after the first moto, and if it was running through his head before the start of the second moto.
“Not really. Honestly, I thought it was pretty almost comical, like he hit the gate and then went into the first turn last and that resulted in a penalty of one lap. They explained the rule and what they saw and why they called that and stuff, so yeah, it was interesting… obviously it benefited me, but at the time it happened, I mean I thought that was BS. It did end up benefiting me, it is what it is, kind of. When I'm down there on the line, I'm not really worried about anyone else. I know what I have to do and what I have to work on and where I need to be better. So, I'm just kind of just thinking about myself down there.”
Keeping the focus on himself when chaos is going on around him is key to winning races. The question is, now that Hunter has a taste of winning in the 450 class, will he be able to replicate it?
