Lawrence dominates and puts the title race on edge

MWith one race remaining in the AMA Supercross season, Hunter Lawrence has made a powerful statement. In a race full of duels and mistakes, he remained cool and composed, while behind him the field gave each other no quarter.

The start was sharp, with Lawrence coming out of the gate excellently, but it was Jorge Prado who was the first to take the lead. That didn't last long: within the first lap, Lawrence launched an attack and dived sharply on the inside to take over the top position.

Eli Tomac followed closely behind them, but a slight hiccup in the sand cost him time and positions. This created space for Ken Roczen and Cooper Webb, who joined the battle around Prado. Roczen then asserted himself with an aggressive but perfectly executed overtaking maneuver on Webb in the sand and immediately set his sights on Prado. After searching for a few laps, he found the opening and pushed through to second place. By that time, however, Lawrence had already built up a lead of about five seconds.

The battle for the podium, however, remained intense and fierce. Prado and Webb swapped positions multiple times, while Tomac worked his way back to the front. Midway through the race, the American on his KTM first overtook Webb and then managed to definitively beat Prado for third place.

Meanwhile, at the front, Lawrence rode flawlessly. His lead grew to more than eight seconds, while Roczen held a firm second place, with Tomac close behind.

In the closing stages, attention shifted to the duels and battles around and behind Prado for fifth place and beyond. Webb took a heavy beating under pressure from teammate Justin Cooper, who launched attack after attack. Webb bent at times but never cracked. The duel escalated when Dylan Ferrandis also joined the fight. A collision in the sand between Justin Cooper and Dylan Ferrandis took both out of the battle for fourth and fifth place, giving Webb a brief moment to breathe.

Breathing space that he seemed to utilize in his pursuit of Prado. A mistake and contact between the two men in a tight corner also resulted in a crash for Webb, causing him to drop back to eleventh place. Jorge Prado also lost some time and two positions, falling back to sixth. Malcolm Stewart and Chase Sexton made good use of all these crashes to move up to fourth and fifth place.

At the front, Lawrence's victory was never in danger. He drove to a controlled win, with Roczen in second place and Tomac completing the podium. With just one race remaining in Salt Lake City, the championship is truly on edge! Ken Roczen leads the championship by just one point ahead of Lawrence. Everything will be decided in the final.

Photo: Garth Milan – Red Bull Content Pool

Ronde 16 in Denver: Supercross 450 – Main Event

1. Hunter Lawrence (Honda) – 25 Laps completed
2. Ken Roczen (Suzuki) – 12.314 sec.
3. Eli Tomac (KTM) – 19.466 sec.
4. Malcolm Stewart (Husqvarna) – 23.442 sec.
5. Chase Sexton (Kawasaki) – 26.148 sec.
6. Jorge Prado (KTM) – 28.406 sec.
7. Garrett Marchbanks (Kawasaki) – 30.897 sec.
8. Justin Barcia (Ducati) – 33.887 sec.
9. Dean Wilson (Honda) – 36.810 sec.
10. Dylan Ferrandis (Ducati) – 42.632 sec.
11. Cooper Webb (Yamaha) – 45.357 sec.
12. Christian Craig (Honda) – 45.996 sec.
13. Justin Cooper (Yamaha) – 57.801 sec.
14. Jordon Smith (Triumph) – +1 ronde
15. Justin Hill (KTM) – +1 ronde
16. Shane McElrath (Honda) – +1 lap
17. Colt Nichols (Suzuki) – +1 ronde
18. Mitchell Harrison (Kawasaki) – +1 ronde
19. Kevin Moranz (KTM) – +2 rounds
20. Grant Harlan (KTM) – +2 lap
21. Cade Clason (Kawasaki) – +2 rounds
22. Tristan Lane (Yamaha) – +2 laps

Supercross Championship (Top 20)

1. Ken Roczen (Suzuki) – 332 Points
2. Hunter Lawrence (Honda) – 331 Ptn (-1)
3. Cooper Webb (Yamaha) – 297 Ptn (-35)
4. Eli Tomac (KTM) – 275 Points (-57)
5. Justin Cooper (Yamaha) – 251 Ptn (-81)
6. Chase Sexton (Kawasaki) – 212 Ptn (-120)
7. Joey Savatgy (Honda) – 194 points (-138)
8. Malcolm Stewart (Husqvarna) – 190 Ptn (-142)
9. Justin Hill (KTM) – 172 Ptn (-160)
10. Jorge Prado (KTM) – 169 points (-163)
11. Dylan Ferrandis (Ducati) – 165 points (-167)
12. Shane McElrath (Honda) – 141 Ptn (-191)
13. Christian Craig (Honda) – 141 Ptn (-191)
14. Garrett Marchbanks (Kawasaki) – 132 Ptn (-200)
15. Colt Nichols (Suzuki) – 108 Ptn (-224)
16. Aaron Plessinger (KTM) – 99 Ptn (-233)
17. Jason Anderson (Suzuki) – 84 Ptn (-248)
18. Jordon Smith (Triumph) – 68 Ptn (-264)
19. Mitchell Harrison (Kawasaki) – 67 Ptn (-265)
20. Vince Friese (Kawasaki) – 62 Ptn (-270)