Podium for Lawrence on Difficult Evening for Team Honda at Arlington SX
- Fourth overall in 450SX for Sexton, with podium finish in Race 2
- Crashes limit Roczen to 13th in 450SX class
The second AMA Supercross Triple Crown event of the season saw Team Honda HRC rider Jett Lawrence finish third overall in Arlington, Texas, helped by a first-place result in the second of three 250SX East Region races. In the 450SX class, Chase Sexton finished fourth overall, with 4-3-5 finishes, while teammate Roczen finished 13th overall in the premier class.
Lawrence was impressive all day, topping daytime qualifying and charging hard in the night program. The young Australian grabbed the holeshot in the first 250SX East race before falling in the second corner, dropping him to the back of the field. He made an aggressive charge through the pack to finish fourth. In the second race, Lawrence was up front at the start and maintained the lead to take the checkered flag first. The final race saw Lawrence slide out in the first turn and again resume the race in last place. Determined for redemption, he made impressive passes and climbed as high as third before clipping a Tuffblox cushion on the face of the finish-line jump, sending him into the path of Austin Forkner, with both riders going down. Lawrence remounted to finish 10th for third overall.
In the first 450SX race, Sexton rode well after a bad start, overtaking much of the pack to finish fourth. Meanwhile, Roczen was held up by carnage in the field, then went down in the whoop section before the finish and turned in a 16th-place result. Sexton took the holeshot in Race 2, but he slipped two positions in the race’s second half to take third. Roczen was ninth at the finish. In the final race, Sexton crashed late but secured fifth at the finish for fourth overall, while Roczen was involved in a first-turn crash and finished 16th.
NOTES
- The 2022 Arlington race marked the 42nd consecutive season of supercross racing in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, where Honda has the most wins of any manufacturer, at 13.
- This race marked the second Triple Crown event of the season. The unique format combines results from three races to decide overall positions and award championship points.
- Arlington experienced chilly weather conditions over the weekend, with light rain in the afternoon and temperatures around 35º F at the time the evening program began.
- This was Jett Lawrence’s first Triple Crown event, and it marked the eighth indoor podium result of his career.
- Prior to the Arlington race, Hunter and Jett Lawrence were invited to participate in a Zoom interview for a supercross feature story in the AMA’s American Motorcyclist
- After suffering a hard crash in Minneapolis, Sexton underwent concussion protocol and impact testing prior to the Arlington race.
- With Arlington being a Futures round, Honda’s Chance Hymas debuted aboard his CRF250R, finishing second overall in the class’s main event.
- FanFest resumed at Arlington, giving spectators a behind-the-scenes look at the teams and riders as they worked in the pits. There were no scheduled autograph signings, however attendees were permitted to take photos, visit sponsor displays and take home pre-signed posters.
- With Lars Lindstrom missing Arlington due to sickness, the Team Honda HRC manager’s role was filled by 450 and 250 Crew Chiefs Shane Drew and Grant Hutcheson. Lindstrom is expected to be in Daytona for round 9.
- In morning qualifying, Ken Roczen turned the second-fastest 450SX time, a 48.187” lap in the final session. Chase Sexton was third-quickest, three ahead of SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda rider Justin Brayton. Brayton’s teammate Vince Friese was 10th-best, with SGB Unlimited Honda’s Cade Clason 19th.
- Jett Lawrence notched the fastest lap times in both 250SX East Region timed qualifying sessions, with a best of 48.513” in the final session–seven-tenths faster than the rest of the field. SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda’s Mitchell Oldenburg was seventh, Fire Power Honda’s Jordon Smith 10th, Phoenix Racing Honda’s Kyle Peters 16th, SGB Unlimited Honda’s Jeremy Hand 20th and Phoenix Racing Honda’s Josh Osby 26th.
- Lawrence turned the fastest lap times in all three 250SX East races, despite having to battle through traffic in two of them. He was the only rider to dip into the 48-second range, which he did in both the first and last race.
- The top three overall finishers from each class, including Lawrence, participated in the post-race press conference on Saturday evening.
- Lawrence and Cameron McAdoo are now tied for the points lead in the 250SX East class, while Lawrence’s teammates Sexton and Rozcen sit sixth and ninth in the 450SX class, respectively.
- Team Honda HRC will now travel to Daytona International Speedway for round 9 of the premier class racing and round 3 of the 250SX East Region class. The race will mark the first of two speedway venues for the season.
Media contact:
Kayla Mead // Jonnum Media // kayla@jonnummedia.com // +1 (760) 822-4786
450SX Overall Results
- Eli Tomac (Yam)
- Jason Anderson (Kaw)
- Cooper Webb (KTM)
- Chase Sexton (Hon)
- Malcolm Stewart (Hus)
- Justin Barcia (Gas)
- Dylan Ferrandis (Yam)
- Justin Brayton (Hon)
- Shane McElrath (KTM)
- Dean Wilson (Hus)
- Vince Friese (Hon)
- Brandon Hartranft (Suz)
- Ken Roczen (Hon)
- Marvin Musquin (KTM)
- Kyle Chisolm (Yam)
- Alex Martin (Yam)
- Kevin Moranz (KTM)
- Justin Starling (Gas)
- Justin Bogle (Suz)
- Cade Clason (Hon)
- Logan Karnow (Kaw)
- Joan Cros (Kaw)
450SX Championship Points (after 8 of 17 rounds)
- Eli Tomac: 177
- Jason Anderson: 171
- Malcolm Stewart: 149
- Cooper Webb: 147
- Justin Barcia: 145
- Chase Sexton: 142
- Marvin Musquin: 128
- Dylan Ferrandis: 118
- Ken Roczen: 117
- Aaron Plessinger: 97
- Dean Wilson: 97
- Shane McElrath: 76
- Justin Brayton: 74
- Brandon Hartranft: 69
- Max Anstie: 55
- Kyle Chisolm: 47
- Mitchell Oldenburg: 37
- Alex Martin: 36
- Justin Bogle: 33
- Joey Savatgy: 27
250SX East Region Overall Results
- Cameron McAdoo (Kaw)
- Jeremy Martin (Yam)
- Jett Lawrence (Hon)
- Mitchell Oldenburg (Hon)
- Jordon Smith (Hon)
- Enzo Lopes (Yam)
- Austin Forkner (Kaw)
- Kyle Peters (Hon)
- Phillip Nicoletti (Yam)
- Stilez Robertson (Hus)
- Jace Owen (Yam)
- Pierce Brown (Gas)
- Derek Drake (Suz)
- John Short (Hon)
- Joshua Varize (Hus)
- RJ Hampshire (Hus)
- Henry Miller (KTM)
- Marshal Weltin (Yam)
- Jarrett Frye (Hon)
- Joshua Cartwright (Kaw)
- Coty Schock (Hon)
- Levi Kitchen (Yam)
250SX East Region Championship Points (after 2 of 9 rounds)
- Cameron McAdoo: 47
- Jett Lawrence: 47
- Jeremy Martin: 42
- Austin Forkner: 39
- Enzo Lopes: 32
- Stilez Robertson: 29
- Jordon Smith: 28
- Pierce Brown: 28
- Phillip Nicoletti: 27
- RJ Hampshire: 25
- Derek Drake: 21
- Jace Owen: 20
- Mitchell Oldenburg: 19
- Kyle Peters: 19
- Levi Kitchen: 15
- Henry Miller: 15
- Joshua Varize: 11
- Marshal Weltin: 10
- John Short: 9
- Cullin Park: 8
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Ken Roczen 94
“The race here in Dallas was a better start to the day. I felt a lot better about myself and was able to put in some good qualifying laps. I haven't been that far up on the board in a long time, so overall this was probably the first race where I was actually having fun. Come the night show though, that all turned around because of how slick the track was – they watered pretty heavily. I was really struggling with the bike and with traction, resulting in a lot of crashes which is very unlike me. It was another very frustrating weekend. I'm looking forward to Daytona, as it usually changes things up and makes for a fun track.”
Chase Sexton 23
"Round 8 in Arlington I guess was okay. I finished fourth overall with 4-3-5 moto scores. It wasn't ideal but I'm happy to be back racing after last weekend. I felt fine on the bike all day, but I didn't really execute that well with my starts, which didn't put me in a great position. In the second race, I didn't ride that well. I'm excited for Daytona since it's near home for me in Florida. It's going to be nice being back in the warm weather, and it's just time to get after it."
Jett Lawrence 1
"I was feeling really good all day today for my second round. I really gelled with the track, and the bike was feeling awesome. I made a few stupid mistakes, and I'm really disappointed in myself; I'm not happy one bit. The only takeaway is that the bike has been great. I’m just very disappointed and looking forward to the next round. Thankfully I'm okay but very, very sorry. My riding was good and the track was awesome. I made too many mistakes, and if I didn't make them, there wouldn't have been carnage. Obviously the main topic from tonight was the [Austin] Forkner crash. I’m truly sick to my stomach that it happened. I've never intentionally wanted to take anyone out like that or hurt someone. I'm sorry to Austin, his girlfriend Rylee and the Forkner family. I’m truly, truly sorry. I have nothing much else to say besides that. The rest of the night was great. The bike is handling awesome, and the team was awesome. I just need to tidy up my mistakes if I want a chance at the title."
Shane Drew
“Round 8 in Arlington was definitely a frustrating event. On a positive note, all the riders showed their speed in qualifying. Chance Hymas set the tone early with pole in the Futures race, then Jett added to it by going P1 in the 250 SX class. Ken just missed the 450 top spot by 0.03 seconds, with Chase right behind in third. As we know, the Triple Crown format can be unpredictable. Jett put himself in a tough spot by falling at the beginning of races 1 and 3, but he definitely added some excitement with his charges though the pack to get back on the overall podium. We were all happy to have Chase at the race after his hard crash at the previous event. Even with a couple of midpack starts, he was able to race up to the front with the lead group and ended fourth overall. After Ken’s great qualifying pace, it was a frustrating result for him. All the riders are healthy and ready for some warm Florida weather in Daytona next week.”
Location Information
AT&T Stadium, AT&T Way, Arlington, TX, United States - View in Google Maps