Hunter Lawrence is quickly establishing himself as a front runner in Monster Energy 450 Supercross the same way he already has in Pro Motocross and the SMX Playoffs, with back-to-back runner-up finishes putting him second in points early in the season. It's not just the consistency, though. Last weekend in San Diego he put in a charge to try to get Eli Tomac for the win, and he tried closing the gap on Chase Sexton at Anaheim 2, also. Hunter is not intimidated by those that have won races and titles in this series. He just wants to win.
He spoke to the media after the race.
Again, tonight, this was a great performance. It seemed like this one might have been, dare I say, maybe even more intense than last week? How would you describe it?
Hunter Lawrence: It was cool. I think definitely an intense one. The track, a lot of the corners didn't break down as fast as I thought they would or maybe what we all thought from watching it during the day, how it was really rutty and stuff. It was a good day. I'm happy. The battle with Eli was really cool. I felt like when we were going into the whoops, when we were on the inside and I was like, just Hail Mary, throw it and let’s see. Thread the needle and it worked out. But yeah, it was a cool race. I was just little bit by little bit, reeling Chase in towards the end and then lapped riders on the last few laps…I had my set line on the track where I knew I was fast and I mean, it was probably not the conventional line choice, but it was working for me. And yeah, some of the lappers just got in the way and I wasn't able to get around them on some one line sections.
You talked about that pass where you barely threaded the needle, but what I was really focused on was you taking Eli high in that next corner. One of the big things that just really clicked for me was almost like a timeout in basketball where you just changed the rhythm of the game. It seemed like Eli was going to move forward after that and maybe possibly go for the win, but it just seemed like you put an absolute stop to it and it changed everything. Was that a lot of your intent? Was that something I have to stop Tomac now or were you just trying to move forward?
Just trying to move forward, man. I was behind Chase and Jason, and I knew the first 10 minutes of these races is always such just a super intense, high pace. So, just trying to stay in the hunt. I know I have the legs to go the distance, so just trying to give myself the best shot to stay in it in the beginning and just move forward, honestly. It was pretty cool. I hear the crowd when me and Eli were going back and forth and it was cool! [Laughs] And then when he went on the inside and then in the whoops, I sucked my belly into trying to get up the left-hand side [laughs]. And then we both ended up going after the finish line into that outside together. It's been some really good racing, honestly. And I could only imagine from a fan point of view, it's been fun.
Side by side action, that was so cool to see you and Eli. One thing I wanted to point out was this triple onto the table here. Did you get a little whiplash one time? And then beyond that, battling side by side with Eli and then getting by him and beating him, how good does that feel after finishing second to him last weekend?
Yeah, it's been my best start to the season for supercross, which is cool. It's what I wanted to do. And gee, we still got so many races to go. But yeah, the one lap, I can't quite remember what happened, but I think the front wheel was washing on the right and it grabbed and hit me on the helmet on one of the laps. But I mean, there's so much stuff that happens in a main event that is well outside your comfort zone, but you just somehow got to do it. That's what I think the biggest difference is.
Grading the season so far, really good?
Yeah, I'm happy with it. Normally when we leave California, it's like get me back home so I can start building and progress again. And I think we're in a good spot this year.
Once you were able to make the move on Eli, looking at the gap to chase and how the next couple laps played out in your mind, did you think the opportunity was real or did you realize early into that that getting to the win was potentially not possible?
No, I believed I could get there. I knew I had some good lines and was feeling good and I was just trying to up the intensity towards the closing stages. I'd looked up and there was like six minutes left and I was like, "All right, let's empty the tank." And I was just inching close. I would've loved to have seen how the last two laps unfolded had I not had the traffic with the two lap riders. The first lapper through killed the chances a little bit. I think had I gotten just that smidge close that lap as I was each lap prior to that, I would've been interested to see how it unfolded.
You mentioned yesterday that you're still working to get the bike exactly how you want it. After tonight, how does it feel? Is there still room for improvement?
Yeah. My biggest goal is just being able to show up on race day and every session on the track, not have to change anything and just be comfortable on it and consistent. I'm not looking for the perfect motorcycle, but just a consistent one.
