Hunter Lawrence takes over title-fight lead at Glendale Supercross

Fourth consecutive second-place result for the Australian
Lawrence earns career-first 450SX red plate to Seattle

In front of a record-breaking crowd in Glendale, Arizona, for round 5 of AMA Supercross, the premier-class main event delivered high drama in the championship fight. Hunter Lawrence powered to a strong second-place finish—his fourth runner-up result in a row—and, for the first time in his 450SX career, took possession of the red plate that goes to the championship leader.

The 450SX main event saw the Honda HRC Progressive rider launch from the gate in third, but he wasted no time charging forward, taking over the lead on the opening lap. Lawrence set the pace for several laps before being overtaken by Ken Roczen, at which point he settled into a consistent rhythm and maintained a comfortable gap over third place. A signature late-race surge wasn’t enough for the Australian to reach Roczen, and Lawrence crossed the checkered flag in second place.

With championship rival Eli Tomac involved in a first-lap incident and finishing 12^th, Lawrence now leads the 450SX championship standings by five points over Roczen, marking an important milestone in his career and strengthening his position in the championship fight.

NOTES

Scottsdale dealership Western Honda Powersports activated a pop-up booth in Honda HRC Progressive’s pits, featuring a CRF450RWE motocrosser and a CRF-E2 electric minibike. Dealership staff used the opportunity to connect directly with fans and customers.
Fans in Glendale enjoyed meeting Hunter Lawrence during a private autograph session while his teammates continue to recover from injuries.
Peacock’s broadcast coverage of the race included a profile on Honda HRC Progressive Team Manager Lars Lindstrom, who started with the team as a shop assistant and worked his way up. Lars’ father Gunnar also worked as the squad’s team manager in 1979 and ’80. Lars was also interviewed in the booth during Race Day Live.
Also interviewed for the broadcast was SLR Honda rider Mikayla Nielsen, in a feature on the Women’s Motocross Championship, which will be featured in a showcase race at the SMX World Championship Final in September.
Hunter Lawrence placed fourth in 450SX combined qualifying. Quad Lock Honda rider Joey Savatgy turned in the seventh-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 28^th (Short Racing), Zack Williams in 31^st (McGingley Clinic) and Luke Kalaitzian in 33^rd (Kalaitzian Brothers Racing).
In 250SX combined qualifying, participating Red Riders included SLR Honda racers Justin Rodbell and Matti Jorgensen in 17^th and 27^th, respectively; Next Level riders Hunter Schlosser and Colby Copp in 23^rd and 28^th; and Lasting Impressions’ Ronnie Orres in 37^th.
Rodbell qualified directly through the 250 heat race, finishing seventh, while Schlosser and Copp advanced to the evening program through the 250 LCQ, in which they finished second and fourth, respectively.
The first 450SX heat race saw Lawrence get a third-place start and hound Quad Lock Honda’s Christian Craig for several laps before finally making the pass and holding second through the final three laps. Craig went on to finish fifth, and his teammate Joey Savatgy finished an impressive second in the second heat race. Another Quad Lock Honda rider—Shane McElrath—won the LCQ.
Lawrence participated in the Feld-organized podium-finisher media scrum following the 450SX main event.
With Hunter Lawrence finishing second and Eli Tomac finishing outside the top 10, the Honda HRC Progressive rider is the new leader of the championship, five points ahead of Ken Roczen.
Next up for Honda HRC Progressive is AMA Supercross round 6 this Saturday in Seattle.

Media contact:

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

450SX Results

Ken Roczen (Suz)
Hunter Lawrence (Hon)
Cooper Webb (Yam)
Justin Cooper (Yam)
Jorge Prado (KTM)
Joey Savatgy (Hon)
Chase Sexton (Kaw)
Aaron Plessinger (KTM)
Dylan Ferrandis (Duc)
Justin Hill (KTM)

—
14. Christian Craig (Hon)
15. Shane McElrath (Hon)

450SX Championship Points (after 5 of 17 rounds)

Hunter Lawrence: 106
Ken Roczen: 101
Eli Tomac: 98
Cooper Webb: 91
Chase Sexton: 89
Justin Cooper: 75
Jorge Prado: 73
Jason Anderson: 73
Joey Savatgy: 66
Dylan Ferrandis: 62

—
12. Christian Craig: 45
18. Shane McElrath: 24
29. Ryan Breece: 1

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Hunter Lawrence ⁹⁶

“Second again—we just focus on the positive. I just felt a little flat; usually, around the 10-minute mark, I feel like, ‘Alright, we’re on,’ but I couldn’t quite get into that tonight. I tried to make a push at the end with Kenny [Roczen] and closed a little bit on him, but a little too late. The first thing I focus on is the start, and I saw Eli [Tomac] down when I came back on the start straight; that was obviously in my favor, but I just focused ahead. Kenny had the sand line really good. The majority of the day, the outside was a better run into that double-triple; I hadn’t gone inside yet in the race, and I didn’t realize how good it actually was. Sure enough, after I got passed [by Roczen], I went inside for the rest of the race, so that’s on me. Before the beginning of the season, I had supercross circled on my calendar for this year. I’m happy to have the red plate—it’s cool in the 450 Supercross Championship. I want to keep it, but I just want the red plate at the last round, plain and simple. From 2020, the amount of work to be here, it’s kind of tough to put into words how much goes into getting to this point, but it is pretty damn cool.”

Lars Lindstrom

Team Manager

“It’s crazy to think that we’re almost one-third of the way through the series already, and to be this far in and take the red plate with Hunter is a fantastic feeling—and I think the best is yet to come! I really like Hunter’s mentality, and I think we share it on the team as far as not getting too caught up and worrying about when we will win a race, and also to just focus on doing the best possible result every Saturday night, rather than worry about protecting the red plate. As long as we all do our job, and Hunter can do his, we should be in good shape. We’re definitely excited to get on the road, on to other tracks that Hunter enjoys.”