Hunter Lawrence Takes Career-First AMA 250SX Win at Arlington 2 Supercross 17.03.2021: Arlington 2 SX AMA Supercross 450SX 2021 Round 11 In just the sixth supercross race of his career, Team Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence scored his first 250SX win in convincing fashion, at the Arlington 2 round. The young Australian started in fifth

Arlington 2 SX
AMA Supercross 450SX 2021   Round 11




In just the sixth supercross race of his career, Team Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence scored his first 250SX win in convincing fashion, at the Arlington 2 round. The young Australian started in fifth and quickly advanced a spot, then made a block pass for third.


On lap six, he capitalized when the leading duo lost momentum, passing them both to put his CRF250R in the lead. At that point, Lawrence set sail, setting the fastest time of the race on the next lap and pulling ahead to score an emotional victory by over five seconds.



With erstwhile title-chase leader Cameron McAdoo earning a penalty, Lawrence took over the red plate, by a one-point margin. Also impressive was Phoenix Racing Honda’s newly recrowned AMA Arenacross Champion Kyle Peters, who notched a solid third-place finish, his first supercross podium since 2018.


In 450SX racing, Ken Roczen put together a podium finish. He and teammate Chase Sexton put their CRF450R race machines in third and fourth off the start and rode relatively uneventful races, with Sexton relinquishing just one position in the latter stages of the race.
 



NOTES                                                                                                                                               



•    With just three days between the Arlington 1 and Arlington 2 rounds, Team Honda HRC spent most of the time at the stadium prepping the bikes for Tuesday’s race. The Showa technicians also serviced the suspension components.

•    Arlington experienced warm weather conditions on Tuesday, with temperatures around 81º F at the time the evening program began.

•    During qualifying for the 250SX West class, Lawrence was fourth-fastest in the combined times, with a best of 52.591”. Muc-Off Honda’s Mitchell Harrison was 15th, Phoenix Racing Honda’s Kyle Peters and Enzo Lopes were eighth and 30th, respectively, and FXR Chaparral Honda riders Carson Mumford and Coty Shock were 12th and 20th.

•    The 450SX class’s qualifying sessions saw Ken Roczen post the fourth-best time at 51.434”, with Sexton two spots back at 51.996”. Other Red Riders included SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts racers Vince Friese (11th) and Benny Bloss (12th), Muc-Off Honda’s Justin Brayton (14th) and MotoConcepts rider Broc Tickle (15th).

•    Sexton posted a solid runner-up result in the first 450SX heat race, threatening for the win and finishing just over a second behind the winner, while Roczen was fourth. In heat 2, Tickle and Friese were sixth and seventh, respectively. During 250SX West racing, Lawrence was second-best in the first heat, with Mumford, Peters and Lopes seventh through ninth. Heat 2 saw Harrison advance to the main via a sixth-place result. Schock made it in with a runner-up finish in the 250SX West LCQ after leading much of the race.

•    Brayton crashed in the first 450SX heat race and withdrew from the remainder of the event with injuries to his hands.

•    Lawrence’s breakthrough win came just under two months after his younger brother Jett took his first, in the Houston 2 250SX East main. It also came on the 25th anniversary of his parents, Darren and Emma.

•    As podium finishers, both Lawrence and Roczen took part in the post-race virtual press conference after the race.


    With 11 AMA Supercross races in the books, the riders and teams will remain in Arlington a few more days, as round 12 takes place Saturday for the final round at AT&T Stadium.
 

    
       


Ken Roczen  94

“Arlington 2 was a lot better than Arlington 1. We threw a little bit of something at the bike and made a change and left it in all the way through the heat race. And after the heat race, I decided to go back to base and what I knew, and that was definitely the right way to go.


In the main event, we started near the front, and I just stuck in third there. I got messed up by lappers a little bit, and unfortunately it just wasn't good enough for the win tonight. We settled on third and lost a little bit more points in the championship, but as long as we're keeping the dream alive, I'm looking forward to bouncing back next Saturday.


It felt good to be back on the podium after a couple rounds of not being there. I'm proud of my team and how we've been working together, and looking forward to a couple of days off and coming back on Saturday."         

    

       
Chase Sexton  23


“It was an okay day. Qualifying was pretty average--I got sixth, which was okay for me but I just didn’t get a really good lap in. In the heat race I got a good start, battled for the lead near the end and almost had the win. I had a good gate pick for the main event, which was good because the ruts were pretty messed up after the gate.


I got a good start in the main and put myself in a good position, but I couldn’t keep the pace after six or seven laps. I didn’t feel super comfortable and faded backwards a bit. I was a little flat but was still top-five--not a great result, but we’ll keep building. I’m looking forward to testing a little bit on Thursday and coming back for Saturday.”         

    
       
    
Hunter Lawrence  41


“Amazing day here in Arlington--couldn't have dreamt it any better! I got off to a good start, made some good passes in the first few laps and just rode my race. I’m extremely, extremely grateful and thankful to do what I'm able to do.



I can't thank everyone that supports me enough--everyone in the team and away from the track. It's a team effort and believing in myself and man, it feels amazing. It’s awesome, and I’m stoked that we could get this one under our belts at round 4.”         

    
    
    
    
Erik Kehoe
Team Manager


“It was an amazing night for Hunter. Starting the beginning of the day, he had a few things to work on, and the team really worked hard behind them to get him comfortable and he came off with an amazing win. He's getting stronger each week, and I can't say enough--we're just so proud of that.


Chase rode strong all day and had good speed. He had a good start in the main event, and he continues to get stronger each week from his shoulder injury. He's riding really well, and he can keep building on these experiences. Ken had a good practice session but struggled a little bit to get comfortable.




The team did a good job with some changes later in the night, and he was comfortable for the main event. He pulled off another really good start and a solid podium spot. We’ll regroup and come back for Saturday.”         

    
       
    
    450SX Results


1    WEBB Cooper     2    USA    26    Red Bull KTM     KTM   
2    TOMAC Eli     3    USA    23    Monster Energy Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
3    ROCZEN Ken     94    GER    21    Team Honda HRC    Honda   
4    BARCIA Justin     51    USA    19    TLD/Red Bull GasGas    GasGas   
5    SEXTON Chase     23    USA    18    Team Honda HRC    Honda   
6    PLESSINGER Aaron     7    USA    17    Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
7    ANDERSON Jason     21    USA    16    Rockstar Energy Husqvarna    Husqvarna   
8    FERRANDIS  Dylan     14    USA    15    Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha    Yamaha   
9    DAVALOS Martin     36    USA    14    Team Tedder/Monster Energy/Lucas Oil/KTM Racing    KTM   
10    WILSON Dean     15    GBR    13    Rockstar Energy Husqvarna    Husqvarna   
11    SAVATGY Joey     17    USA    12    Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM WPS    KTM   
12    BOGLE Justin     19    USA    11    Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM WPS    KTM   
13    STEWART Malcolm     27    USA    10    Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha    Yamaha   
14    FRIESE Vince     40    USA    9    SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda    Honda   
15    CHISHOLM Kyle     11    USA    8    Chisholm Racing    KTM   
16    ANSTIE Max     34     GBR    7    Twisted Tea/HEP Motorsports Suzuki    Suzuki   
17    TICKLE Broc     20    USA    6    SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda    Honda   
18    CLASON Cade     280    USA    5    PR-MX Pelletier Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
19    BOWERS Tyler     44    USA    4    Bowers Racing    Kawasaki   
20    STARLING Justin     68    USA    3    AJE Motorsports    Husqvarna   
21    MORANZ Kevin     85    USA    2    TPJ/Fly Racing    KTM   
22    CROS Joan     848    USA    1    Madd Parts/Double Eagle MX/Namura Technologies Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
    
    
       
    
    250SX West Region Results


1    LAWRENCE Hunter     41    AUS    26    Team Honda HRC    Honda   
2    SWOLL Jalek     47    USA    23    Rockstar Energy Husqvarna    Husqvarna   
3    PETERS Kyle     56    USA    21    Phoenix Racing Honda    Honda   
4    MARCHBANKS Garrett     48    USA    19    Club MX    Yamaha   
5    COOPER Justin     32    USA    18    Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha    Yamaha   
6    HARRISON Mitchell     35    USA    17    Muc-Off Honda    Honda   
7    SMITH Jordon     80    USA    16    Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
8    BLOSE Chris     60    USA    15    AJE Motorsports/Motul    GasGas   
9    THRASHER Nate     91    USA    14    Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha    Yamaha   
10    MCADOO Cameron     31    USA    13    Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
11    HAMMAKER Seth     150    USA    12    Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki    Kawasaki   
12    SHOCK Coty     72    USA    11    FXR/Chaparral Honda Racing    Honda   
13    MASTERPOOL Ty         USA    10    AEO/GasGas    GasGas   
14    WAGEMAN Robbie     69    USA    9    Team Solitaire/Nuclear Blast Yamaha    Yamaha   
15    OWEN Jace     68    USA    8    Club MX    Yamaha   
16    LOPES Enzo     50    USA    7    Phoenix Racing Honda    Honda   
17    THURY Dominique     464    USA    6    Club MX    Yamaha   
18    SOUBEYRAS Cedric     201    FRA    5    None    Suzuki   
19    MUMFORD Carson     39    USA    4    FXR/Chaparral Honda Racing    Honda   
20    ALVES Ramyller     220    USA    3    None    KTM   
21    BAILEY Jordan     66    USA    2    None    Honda   
22    ROBERTSON Stilez     67    USA    1    Rockstar Energy Husqvarna    Husqvarna   
    



 Team Honda HRC - AMA SX/MX,  photos Honda