Hunter Lawrence Scores Career-First Podium Finish at Arlington 1 Supercross 15.03.2021: AMA Supercross 450SX 2021 Arlington 1 SX Round 10 In the third AMA Supercross 250SX West race of the 2021 season, and just the fifth of his career, Team Honda HRC rider Hunter Lawrence notched his first podium result,

AMA Supercross 450SX 2021   
Arlington 1 SX Round 10

In the third AMA Supercross 250SX West race of the 2021 season, and just the fifth of his career, Team Honda HRC rider Hunter Lawrence notched his first podium result, charging to a runner-up finish in Arlington, Texas.



Lawrence ran among the top riders for the entirety of the 250SX main event in what was an impressive performance by the Australian, who also took third in his heat race.


Meanwhile, in only his second race after recovering from a shoulder injury, Chase Sexton was strong throughout the 450SX program, riding to a solid fourth-place result in the main event. After a fifth-place start, Sexton made firm passes early on, quickly advancing to third before relinquishing one spot. His teammate Ken Roczen suffered a heat-race crash that resulted in the 13th gate selection for the main event.


Consequently, he was slowed by a poor rut on the start and found himself in 11th after the first lap. The German worked his way through the pack to finish sixth.




With seven races remaining on the schedule, Roczen is now second in the title chase, seven points behind Webb. Next up is the middle race of the Arlington triple-header, on Tuesday.
 




NOTES                                                                                               



•    The 2021 Arlington 1 race marked the 41st consecutive season of supercross racing in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, where Honda holds the most wins of any manufacturer, at 13. This is the first time that the area will host three rounds in one season.


•    The Arlington 1 event’s Media Day riding session took place on Friday, with Team Honda HRC riders Ken Roczen, Chase Sexton and Hunter Lawrence all participating. Roczen was also invited to participate in a virtual interview for Race Day Live.


•    After suffering a broken tooth and punctured lower lip at Daytona, Sexton underwent dental work and had stitches removed before traveling to Arlington.


•    FanFest resumed at Arlington, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the teams and riders as they worked in the pits. As was the case at the previous rounds, there were no autograph signings, however attendees were permitted to take photos, visit sponsor displays and take home pre-signed posters.


•    Free practice saw Roczen finish on top in the 450SX class, while Sexton had the sixth-fastest time. During qualifying, Roczen was sixth-best in the combined times, with Sexton two spots behind. Spots 15 through 18 went to SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda’s Benny Bloss, Muc-Off Honda’s Justin Brayton and MotoConcepts riders Vince Friese and Broc Tickle, respectively.


•    In the 250SX West class, Lawrence posted the seventh-fastest lap in free practice and improved by two positions in qualifying. Muc-Off Honda’s Mitchell Harrison was seventh, Phoenix Racing Honda’s Kyle Peters was 12th, and FXR Chaparral Honda riders Coty Shock and Carson Mumford were 15th and 20th, respectively.


•    Sexton and Roczen finished fifth and seventh, respectively, in the second 450SX heat race, the latter slowed by a fall. Brayton placed sixth and Tickle posted an 11th-place result. Heat 1 had seen Friese finish seventh and Bloss eighth. Lawrence was third in 250SX heat 2, whereas Shock and Harrison were 11th and 12th. In heat 1, Peters and Mumford were fifth and 18th, respectively.


•    As a podium finisher, Lawrence took part in the post-race virtual press conference, which took place Saturday evening after the race. Sexton was invited to participate in the 450SX roundtable on Sunday afternoon.


•    With the first race of the Arlington triple-header in the books, the riders and teams won’t have much time to prepare for round 11, which happens on Tuesday, with round 12 set to take place at the same venue on Saturday. The mixed red clay/sand soil track will be modified between rounds.
    
       
    
Chase Sexton  23


“The first round here in Arlington was a better night for me than Daytona. Practice didn’t go that great though; I felt good on the bike all day, but wasn't as fast as I wanted to be. In the heat race I didn't get a great start, but I made some good passes.




In the main event, I got a good start, despite being a little too far outside from not having a great gate pick. I managed to make some really good passes early on and felt good on the bike compared to last weekend, when I first returned from injury. It’s a good race to build from. It obviously wasn’t a win, but for me it’s something really good to go off of and get better from here.”         

    
       

    
Ken Roczen  94


“My Saturday started off pretty good. We felt good in qualifying practices and went into the night show with a good start. I was on the outside of [Dean] Wilson, and with the 90 degree angle, got pushed wide a bit to fourth. I made a pass into third and tried to get by Dean a couple of times, but made a mistake trying to triple in.


I didn't make it and ended up going down, dropping back to seventh, which unfortunately gave me a bad gate pick for the main event. The rut was really messed up, so that start wasn't good in the main at all. I wasn't moving forward at all in the main, struggled to make some passes and only ended up coming in sixth.



It wasn’t the result that we wanted, but we come back on Tuesday; we’ll let go of this race and come back and try again. The good thing is that this wasn't the final round, by any means. We have a lot of racing left and plenty of time to redeem ourselves. For Tuesday, we want a bit of revenge and to try to start up front so I can ride with the front runners and see what position we can put ourselves in.”         

    
       
    
Hunter Lawrence  41


“It was an awesome weekend here in Dallas, to kick off the first three of three races. We ended up on the box in second, and we're very happy with that. We got an average start, made a few passes on that first lane, put ourselves in third and then picked off the next guy.



To see the progress and how far I've come in the past few months is awesome, a huge confidence-booster and reassurance knowing where I belong. I’m stoked on the night and thank the team and everyone that's been supportive.”         

    
       
    
Erik Kehoe
Team Manager


“Hunter continues to get stronger each race and showed his determination with an amazing second-place finish! Chase continues to build confidence as well, with his hard earned fourth-place finish in the main event. Ken’s heat-race crash put him in a tough spot for a gate pick in the main event.



He started mid-pack but put his head down and worked hard to finally end up sixth. We’ll regroup and get ready for round 11 on Tuesday.”         

    
       
    
    450SX Results


1    WEBB Cooper     2    USA    26    Red Bull KTM     KTM   
2    BARCIA Justin     51    USA    23    TLD/Red Bull GasGas    GasGas   
3    ANDERSON Jason     21    USA    21    Rockstar Energy Husqvarna    Husqvarna   
4    SEXTON Chase     23    USA    19    Team Honda HRC    Honda   
5    PLESSINGER Aaron     7    USA    18    Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
6    ROCZEN Ken     94    GER    17    Team Honda HRC    Honda   
7    SAVATGY Joey     17    USA    16    Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM WPS    KTM   
8    TOMAC Eli     3    USA    15    Monster Energy Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
9    WILSON Dean     15    GBR    14    Rockstar Energy Husqvarna    Husqvarna   
10    DAVALOS Martin     36    USA    13    Team Tedder/Monster Energy/Lucas Oil/KTM Racing    KTM   
11    FRIESE Vince     40    USA    12    SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda    Honda   
12    BOGLE Justin     19    USA    11    Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM WPS    KTM   
13    BRAYTON Justin     10    USA    10    Muc-Off Honda    Honda   
14    STEWART Malcolm     27    USA    9    Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha    Yamaha   
15    CHISHOLM Kyle     11    USA    8    Chisholm Racing    KTM   
16    ANSTIE Max     34     GBR    7    Twisted Tea/HEP Motorsports Suzuki    Suzuki   
17    RAY Alex     83    USA    6    SGB Racing/Maxxis/Babbitt's Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
18    MORANZ Kevin     85    USA    5    TPJ/Fly Racing    KTM   
19    CLASON Cade     280    USA    4    PR-MX Pelletier Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
20    BLOSS Benny     37    USA    3    SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda    Honda   
21    CHAMPION Scott     76    USA    2    Pasha Racing Yamaha    Yamaha   
22    FERRANDIS  Dylan     14    USA    1    Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha    Yamaha   
    
    
       
    
    250SX West Region Results


1    HAMMAKER Seth     150    USA    26    Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
2    LAWRENCE Hunter     41    AUS    23    Team Honda HRC    Honda   
3    MCADOO Cameron     31    USA    21    Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
4    COOPER Justin     32    USA    19    Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha    Yamaha   
5    MARCHBANKS Garrett     48    USA    18    Club MX    Yamaha   
6    SWOLL Jalek     47    USA    17    Rockstar Energy Husqvarna    Husqvarna   
7    ROBERTSON Stilez     67    USA    16    Rockstar Energy Husqvarna    Husqvarna   
8    HARRISON Mitchell     35    USA    15    Muc-Off Honda    Honda   
9    BLOSE Chris     60    USA    14    AJE Motorsports/Motul    GasGas   
10    THRASHER Nate     91    USA    13    Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha    Yamaha   
11    SHOCK Coty     72    USA    12    FXR/Chaparral Honda Racing    Honda   
12    PETERS Kyle     56    USA    11    Phoenix Racing Honda    Honda   
13    ALVES Ramyller     220    USA    10    None    KTM   
14    MARTIN Alex     26    USA    9    Manluk/Rock River Yamaha/Merge Racing    Yamaha   
15    BAILEY Jordan     66    USA    8    None    Honda   
16    WAGEMAN Robbie     69    USA    7    Team Solitaire/Nuclear Blast Yamaha    Yamaha   
17    SOUBEYRAS Cedric     201    FRA    6    None    Suzuki   
18    MASTERPOOL Ty         USA    5    AEO/GasGas    GasGas   
19    OWEN Jace     68    USA    4    Club MX    Yamaha   
20    SURRATT Ryan     951    USA    3    PR-MX Pelletier Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
21    FRYE Jarrett     59    USA    2    Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha    Yamaha   
22    SMITH Jordon     80    USA    1    Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
    
    

    

Team Honda HRC - AMA SX/MX, also photos