Hunter Lawrence secures second-place finish at iconic Daytona Supercross

Australian retains championship lead after challenging for the win
Jo Shimoda narrowly misses 250SX East podium

Round 8 of AMA Supercross brought the series to the legendary Daytona International Speedway, where Honda HRC Progressive rider Hunter Lawrence delivered another standout performance to secure second place—his fifth runner-up result of the year—and maintain control of the 450SX championship standings. Lawrence’s teammate Jo Shimoda built on last weekend’s momentum with a strong ride that saw him battle for the 250SX East win before a fall dropped him to fourth, an impressive performance by the Japanese rider given his limited time back on the bike following injury. Both riders remain firmly in the hunts for their respective championships.

Lawrence’s day began in dominant fashion, as he topped both qualifying sessions and claimed victory in his heat race. Carrying that momentum into the main event, the Australian took his CRF450RWE to the holeshot before being passed early by Ken Roczen. An intense three-rider battle between Roczen, Lawrence and Eli Tomac followed, with all three separated by just a couple of seconds as they negotiated the rough Daytona circuit. At about the one-third mark, Tomac made a pass stick on Lawrence before the sand section and then quickly got around Roczen for the lead. With five laps remaining, Lawrence made a decisive move on Roczen to reclaim second, and he began closing the gap to the leader. Despite a relentless late charge, Lawrence crossed the line just 1.3 seconds shy of victory, collecting valuable championship points and reinforcing his title campaign. Quad Lock Honda’s Joey Savatgy matched his season-best result with a solid fifth-place finish, while his teammates Shane McElrath and Christian Craig crossed the line in eighth and 13^th, respectively.

The 250SX East main event saw Shimoda in second at the first corner. Fending off early pressure from Drew Adams, he settled into a good rhythm in second. Maintaining a close distance to the leading Seth Hammaker, Shimoda continued to push for the win before a small mistake in the sand section resulted in a late-race tip-over. The Japanese rider remounted quickly, limiting the damage to just two positions, and he ultimately finished fourth. Also delivering a noteworthy performance was Phoenix Racing Honda’s Cullin Park, who earned a respectable eight-place result.

NOTES

Hunter Lawrence and Jo Shimoda both took part in Friday’s media activities and riding sessions. Race Day Live commentator Justin Brayton also participated, following a couple of riders (including Hunter Lawrence) around the track on a Honda CRF450RWE and doing a track preview.
Weatherman Adam Klotz broadcast three Fox Weather Channel segments from Daytona International Speedway early Saturday morning, including live interviews with Honda HRC Progressive Team Manager Lars Lindstrom, American Honda Assistant Manager of Racing Jeff Weiner, and American Honda Experiential Marketing Manager Colin Miller. Lindstrom also gave Klotz a tour of the team’s tech truck, showcasing bike parts and more.
During Saturday’s broadcast, Hunter was featured in a lighthearted segment filmed at his home in Dade City, Florida, where he spent time with his two dogs and showed off their agility skills (or lack thereof), giving fans a fun glimpse of his life off the track.
Lawrence and Shimoda engaged with fans throughout the weekend and took part in an autograph session in the NASCAR garage.
Shimoda met with Make-A-Wish kid Kaleb and his family by the Honda HRC Progressive truck, spending time talking with them and providing signed team items.
In a marked improvement over the previous weekend, Shimoda placed fifth in 250SX East combined qualifying. Phoenix Racing Honda riders Cullin Park, Gavin Towers and Evan Ferry qualified seventh, 16^th and 22^nd, respectively. Jeremy Hand (Valley Motorsports) qualified in 20^th, John Short IV (Short Racing) was 23^rd and Ryder Floyd (TiLube Honda) was 28^th, while Storm Lake Honda riders Izaih Clark and Luke Neese were 19^th and 42^nd, respectively.
In 450SX combined qualifying, Lawrence posted the fastest time in both sessions, making him the top overall qualifier for the first time this season. Quad Lock Honda riders Joey Savatgy, Shane McElrath and Christian Craig qualified in third, 12^th and 15^th, respectively. Privateer Red Rider Zack Williams (McGinley Clinic) qualified 24^th.
In his heat race, Shimoda exited the first turn in third and used his whoop speed to overtake Seth Hammaker and finish second. Park, Clark, Short, Ferry and Towers all advanced directly to the main through their heat races, while Hand secured third in the 250SX LCQ, putting seven CRF-mounted riders in the main event.
Lawrence was second off the start of his 450SX heat. After battling back and forth with Malcom Stewart throughout the race, he ultimately secured P1 at the finish line, marking his third heat-race win of the season. Savatgy rode impressively, finishing second, and Craig (sixth) also transferred directly to the main event. A bit earlier, McElrath secure his best heat-race result of the season, as he finished fifth.
Following the previous week’s controversial situation with red-cross flags and lights, which affected both Honda HRC Progressive riders, the AMA updated the rules ahead of Daytona, changing the color of the warning light from red to yellow. Not included in the official communication of the change was any clarification of penalties for riders who jump on the flag or light. The AMA discussed the issue in the Daytona riders meeting, but some teams and racers were left feeling uncertain as to how to react to similar situations in the future. “I think the situation last weekend confused everyone,” Shimoda said at Daytona. “For my safety and the other riders’ safety, I think they should make it clearer. Obviously, it’s not cool to see them change the rule right after the race, and it makes me feel like it was a bit unfair for me.”
Thanks to his consistent podium finishes, Lawrence retains the 450SX championship lead, as he holds a one-point advantage over Tomac. Shimoda is third in 250SX East, three points behind second place.
Next up, Honda HRC Progressive heads to round 9 of AMA Supercross, this Saturday in Indianapolis.

Media contact:

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

450SX Results

Eli Tomac (KTM)
Hunter Lawrence (Hon)
Ken Roczen (Suz)
Cooper Webb (Yam)
Joey Savatgy (Hon)
Aaron Plessinger (KTM)
Garrett Marchbanks (Kaw)
Shane McElrath (Hon)
Justin Hill (KTM)
Malcolm Stewart (Hus)

—
13. Christian Craig (Hon)

450SX Championship Points (after 8 of 17 rounds)

Hunter Lawrence: 171
Eli Tomac: 170
Ken Roczen: 151
Cooper Webb: 151
Chase Sexton: 122
Justin Cooper: 122
Joey Savatgy: 112
Aaron Plessinger: 95
Dylan Ferrandis: 87
Jason Anderson: 84

—
14. Christian Craig: 67
16. Shane McElrath: 55
33. Ryan Breece: 1

250SX Results

Seth Hammaker (Kaw)
Cole Davies (Yam)
Pierce Brown (Yam)
Jo Shimoda (Hon)
Daxton Bennick (Yam)
Coty Shock (Yam)
Nate Trasher (Yam)
Cullin Park (Hon)
Devin Simonson (Yam)
Jalek Swoll (Tri)

—
12. Izaih Clark (Hon)
18. Jeremy Hand (Hon)
19. John Short IV (Hon)
20. Gavin Towers (Hon)
21. Evan Ferry (Hon)

250SX East Championship Points (after 2 of 10 rounds)

Pierce Brown: 45
Seth Hammaker: 43
Jo Shimoda: 40
Cole Davies: 39
Daxton Bennick: 37
Coty Shock: 31
Cullin Park: 27
Devin Simonson: 27
Nate Trasher: 26
Caden Dudney: 20

—
16. Jeremy Hand: 12
17. Izaih Clark: 10
20. John Short IV: 7
23. Luke Neese: 5
26. Gavin Towers: 2
27. Evan Ferry: 1

Additional assets are available as downloadable files. Please sign in or register here.

Hunter Lawrence ⁹⁶

“There are some things we’ve been trying to address, but it was a gnarly track, with good racing; I think it was a pretty fun night to watch for the crowd. I wish there was maybe five more minutes to the race. One thing I’ve taken for granted is the tower that you can look at over the finish line and see how much time you have left, and the order and stuff—I’m pretty grateful we have that in the stadiums. In the closing laps, I gave my max effort. The track was changing a lot, and it was already tough. I think this year, the track was maybe more square-edged, with hard bumps on exits of turns. I think the fact that it broke down made it unique, because it was quite a simple track layout.”

Jo Shimoda ³⁰

“Progress-wise, I’m happy, and I think we’re making the right choices; we’re making a lot of changes on suspension, mostly. The guys are working really hard and we improved more than last weekend, so I think next week should be even better. Qualifying was a little bit better today, and I’ve been killing the starts lately. In the main event, the fall was a personal mistake, but we’ll move on and try to get better. I’m working with my trainer, and we have a really good program—fitness wasn’t an issue today.”

Lars Lindstrom

Team Manager

“This track is such an anomaly compared to the other supercross tracks that we race, but that opens up opportunities. Qualifying this weekend was awesome for us—a big improvement for Jo, and a dominant one for Hunter, which was so cool to see. I’m super happy with our starts in both classes, and that gave us a great chance to get on the podium and gain valuable points. Jo had a great race going, and even though he fell in the sand, a fourth at this venue is something that we’re good with. The 450 main event was super exciting—battling the legendary Eli Tomac on the track where he’s the winningest rider, and coming just 1.3 seconds shy of beating him is something that Hunter can hold his head high about. We missed the mark a little bit on setup for the main event, so we’ll try and learn from that and come back next week ready to battle again.”