Hunter Lawrence claims career-first 450 Triple Crown race win, finishes second overall

Regroups in the last two races after a crash in race 1
Australian reduces championship gap by half, to just four points

The first Triple Crown race of the 2026 season, held at the domed NRG stadium in Houston, was a positive one for Honda HRC Progressive, as Hunter Lawrence earned his third consecutive runner-up overall result, finishing just one point shy of victory in a format that has not been friendly to him in the past. This is by far the best beginning to an AMA Supercross series of the Australian’s young 450SX career, and the Texas performance reduced his gap to championship-leader Eli Tomac by half, from eight points to just four. Lawrence continues to close in on his first premier-class win, with confidence building each weekend.

The first 450SX race saw Lawrence start inside the top five and make his way to third before a small mistake relegated him to an eventual seventh-place finish. After regrouping during the short turnaround, he executed another strong start, getting around Jason Anderson in the first turn to take over second position. As he had done in the previous rounds, Lawrence gained strength lap by lap; he made a decisive pass on Jorge Prado to take the lead and never looked back until the checkered flag, earning his first win in an individual 450SX Triple Crown race. The final race of the evening got underway with Lawrence in second position. For the first half of the race, he faced challenges from Tomac and Anderson and briefly dropped to third before regaining second position. With Lawrence provisionally tied on race points with Cooper Webb in the late going, the overall victory was ultimately decided behind him, as Webb made a late pass to secure the overall victory. Lawrence’s 7-1-2 tally earned him second overall.

NOTES

Everyone on the Honda HRC Progressive team extends their sincere condolences to the friends and family of Team Faith president and founder Brian O’Rourke, who passed away over the race weekend due to an apparent heart attack.
Honda of Houston activated a pop-up booth in Honda HRC Progressive’s pits, featuring a CRF450R and CRF110F. Dealership staff used the opportunity to connect directly with fans and customers.
Fans in Houston enjoyed meeting Hunter Lawrence during a private autograph session while his teammates continue to recover from injuries.
Hunter Lawrence placed third in 450SX combined qualifying, marking his best qualifying result of the season so far. Quad Lock Honda’s Joey Savatgy turned in the 11^th-fastest time overall, followed by teammates Christian Craig in 14^th and Shane McElrath in 17^th. Other Red Riders included John Short IV in 30^th (Short Racing), Zack Williams in 33^rd (McGingley Clinic) and Kyle Bitterman in 34^th (Underdog Racing).
In 250SX West combined qualifying, participating Red Riders included SLR Honda racers Justin Rodbell and Matti Jorgensen in 14^th and 25^th, respectively; Next Level riders Hunter Schlosser and Colby Copp in 21^st and 30^th; and Lasting Impressions’ Ronnie Orres in 40^th.
Schlosser and Jorgensen advanced to the evening program through the 250 LCQ, in which they finished second and third, respectively.
Lawrence participated in the Feld-organized podium-finisher media scrum following the 450 main event.
Thanks to consistent podium finishes, Lawrence now sits just four points behind the championship leader, Eli Tomac.
Next up for Honda HRC Progressive is AMA Supercross round 5 this Saturday in Glendale, Arizona.

Media contact:

Zoe Vargas // Jonnum Media // zoe@jonnummedia.com // 619-971-6440

450SX Overall Results

Cooper Webb (Yam)
Hunter Lawrence (Hon)
Ken Roczen (Suz)
Eli Tomac (KTM)
Chase Sexton (Kaw)
Jason Anderson (Suz)
Jorge Prado (KTM)
Malcom Stewart (Hus)
Justin Cooper (Yam)
Dylan Ferrandis (Duc)

—
12. Christian Craig (Hon)
14. Joey Savatgy (Hon)
18. Shane McElrath (Hon)

450SX Championship Points (after 4 of 17 rounds)

Eli Tomac: 88
Hunter Lawrence: 84
Ken Roczen: 76
Chase Sexton: 74
Cooper Webb: 71
Jason Anderson: 62
Justin Cooper: 57
Jorge Prado: 56
Joey Savatgy: 50
Dylan Ferrandis: 49

—
12. Christian Craig: 37
17. Shane McElrath: 17
27. Ryan Breece: 1

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Hunter Lawrence ⁹⁶

“It was a bit of a bummer in the first race—it was just a silly little mistake; it wasn’t really a crash, but then as soon as I went off the track where it meets the concrete, it’s just so slippery and it’s hard to save that. I just reset after that one, and I think we did pretty good. I’m happy with how the night went, honestly. This format is one of the tougher ones for me; those short-duration sprints don’t come easy. I find the short turnaround from the first to the second race easier than the last one, where you’re kind of waiting around a little bit longer. I feel like the longer you wait, the tougher it is because it’s like you’re starting fresh again. The start is everything—even in a normal main event, it just makes your night so much easier. You see the chaos that goes on and I’ve been on the other side of that, so I just try to give myself the best shot into that first turn. In the last moto, I didn’t get that one middle lane, and that gave Eli the inside; that was where that race was decided, I think. I still tried to push and get in a rhythm. I knew the night win was there, and I needed to get him, but I think that if I keep putting myself in the top five around the first turn every weekend and click off good laps, good things are going to start happening. I like my chances over the next couple races. From what it could’ve been, we did pretty good damage control, and we pulled four points back on the lead. We live to fight another day, and I’m looking forward to Glendale.”

Lars Lindstrom

Team Manager

“It was another great weekend for us as a team, although we’re definitely missing Chance Hymas and Jett—it was quiet under the tent! We’re looking forward to having our teammates back (hopefully Jo soon). In the meantime, Hunter is going above and beyond to represent the team solo, and I think we’re doing well as a team to focus on the big picture: the championship. This race was his to win, but unfortunately the first-race bobble didn’t allow that. To me, it doesn’t matter; we made up important points, and if he would’ve won the overall, then people probably would’ve said that it’s ‘only’ a Triple Crown, and that he still hasn’t won a 20-minute race yet. As long as we’re scoring more points than the rivals, I’m happy.”