Jett Lawrence reclaimed the 450SMX championship lead with an overall victory at the Southwick National after another dramatic day of racing with brother Hunter at Round 23 of the Monster Energy SuperMotocross World Championship.
The Honda HRC Progressive rider finished second in the opening moto before capitalising on a late mistake from Hunter to win Moto 2 and secure his third overall victory of the Pro Motocross season.
Hunter looked set to continue his recent winning run after taking victory in the opening race and leading much of Moto 2, only to crash in the closing stages after hitting neutral, handing both the moto win and overall victory to his younger brother.
Haiden Deegan continued his impressive rookie 450 campaign with a third-place overall finish after consistent 3-2 moto scores, while Jorge Prado enjoyed his strongest outing of the season with fourth overall aboard the Red Bull KTM. The Spaniard finished fourth in the opening moto before backing it up with third in Moto 2 to finish just off the podium.
Garrett Marchbanks completed the top five overall with a pair of fifth-place finishes, while Cooper Webb recovered from 10th in the opening moto to finish sixth overall. Dylan Ferrandis placed seventh for Ducati, ahead of RJ Hampshire, Triumph’s Mikkel Haarup and Jordon Smith, who rounded out the overall top ten.
Belgian MXGP Championship leader Lucas Coenen also showed impressive speed on his first visit to Southwick. After setting the fastest qualifying time, Coenen charged from a first-turn crash to fourth in the opening moto before another heavy fall brought his race to an early end. Red Bull KTM elected not to line him up for Moto 2 as a precaution.
The result sees Jett Lawrence move back to the top of the championship standings, holding a slender one-point advantage over Hunter heading into the next round, which is next Saturday, 18th July and is the FXR Spring Creek National.
1st Place – Jett Lawrence | #1 Team Honda HRC Progressive (2-1)
“I got lucky there with [Hunter Lawrence] going down, but we’ll take it. It’s a gnarly track and we knew it would be the toughest one for my foot, so I’m happy. I’m not going to get too excited about the red plate because I already lost it this season. We’ve still got a long way to go and a lot of work to do.”
2nd Place – Hunter Lawrence | #96 Team Honda HRC Progressive (1-4)
“I half winded myself [in the crash], enough for it to take a lap to get my breath back. That was tough, I hit neutral and stuffed it. It’s not the way I wanted it to end but we’ll get back to work and come out swinging next weekend.”
3rd Place – Haiden Deegan | #38 Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing (3-2)
“That was a dogfight [with Prado]. I never gave up. I’m trying so hard to be up front and I’m getting closer and closer. I’ll never give up and will keep fighting to be up there every weekend.”
Results
Overall_Results_1005044Quotes and Images courtesy of MX SPORTS PRO RACING, INC.
