Learning opportunities for HRC in Arlington
Photo by Align Media
While the podium alluded Team Honda HRC at the Arlington stop, round 7 of the AMA Supercross series included plenty of positives for Honda’s factory team. Jett Lawrence was the fastest 450SX rider and led most of the main event; although late falls ultimately dropped him to fourth, he retained the points lead leaving Texas. Hunter Lawrence had what was arguably his best ride aboard a 450, running near the front of the main event before equaling his career-best premier-class result in fifth. Meanwhile, Chance Hymas turned in his best result of the young 250SX East season, with a seventh-place finish.
An impressive holeshot kicked off the 450SX main event for Jett Lawrence, with Hunter just behind, then slipping a spot before the second turn. While Jett went about establishing a gap at the front, Hunter did his best to defend third place, which he successfully did until Aaron Plessinger got by on lap 6. Through the middle section of the race, Hunter tried hard to retaliate, but he was overtaken by Eli Tomac with six laps remaining. Three laps later, Jett went off the track in a rhythm section and fell, losing the lead to Cooper Webb. Nearly two seconds down and with time expiring, Jett took off after the leader, getting to his rear fender on the last lap. He attempted a pass through the whoop section, but he made contact with a lapped rider and went down, resulting in a fourth-place finish. Also on the wild final lap, Hunter made a valiant pass attempt on Plessinger but slid into the stadium wall and had to settle for fifth.
Photo by Align Media.
Jett Lawrence:“There were ups and downs tonight in Arlington—lots to focus on. It was going good, then it went bad, then it could’ve been good, but then it went even worse! So, fourth place. I have to clean up a few things, but it’s always good to learn some things. I’m looking forward to Daytona this weekend. It’s been a while since I’ve raced there, so I’ll enjoy that Daytona sun.”
Photo by Align Media
Hunter Lawrence: “It was a good night, a lot of positives to take away. It’s a bummer—on the last lap, I was doing everything I could to pass AP [Aaron Plessinger] for fourth; live and learn. Two fifth places in a row, and ending up there after being in the wall, so that’s something I can be happy about. Thank you to the team; we’ll keep on plugging away.”
Chance Hymas was just inside the top 10 as the 250SX East pack rounded turn 1 in the main event, and he completed lap 1 in eighth place. He moved by Guillem Farres on lap 4, then dispatched Tom Vialle for sixth a lap later. On lap 7, a pass on Nick Romano put him into the top five, but the second half of the race saw him lose a couple of positions to end up seventh—three better than his result at the opener.
Photo by Align Media.
Chance Hymas: “It’s a better result than Detroit, but there’s definitely some stuff to work on. My speed is there—I had the second-fastest lap of the main event, so I know I can be with those guys. I just need to continue to build and show my speed up front.”
Lars Lindstrom: “Even though tonight’s race didn’t give us the result we wanted, and probably should’ve had, there were still a lot of positives to take away from it. Qualifying was exceptional, and I was really happy to have Hunter closer to the top of the board, along with Jett, putting in an awesome lap like he did. Starts are so important in the main event, and with us starting 1 and 2 in the main event, shows me that we’re on the right track with both the riders and the bike. The dirt tonight in Dallas was softer than I’ve ever seen, and it made the track very brutal in the main event, causing some of the carnage we saw. I’m excited for Daytona, and I think we’ll have very strong bikes and riders there.”
Words by Honda Racing Corporation.