Dual Overall Wins Once Again for Team Honda HRC at Budds Creek
Budds Creek Motocross Park
・Newly crowned champion Jett Lawrence extends perfect record in 450 class
・Second-moto win lands Hunter Lawrence 250 overall victory
・Chase Sexton rebounds from tough first 450 moto to take fourth overall
For the seventh time this AMA Pro Motocross season, Team Honda HRC swept the overall wins in both classes, this time at Mechanicsville, Maryland’s Budds Creek Motocross Park, where Jett Lawrence continued his flawless campaign in the 450 class and Hunter Lawrence notched a 2-1 victory in the 250 ranks.
Jett’s season has been marked by strong starts, but after turn 1 in the first 450 moto, he sat in ninth place (one behind teammate Sexton). With his moto-win streak in jeopardy, and on a track where passing was difficult, the recently crowned champ was up to sixth at the end of lap 1, in the top three by lap 7 and in the lead by lap 8, with more than half the race still to be run. Jett held on to win comfortably aboard his CRF450RWE. Meanwhile, a few early miscues by Sexton put him outside the top 20, but he was able to mount a charge through the pack to secure a ninth-place result. An incredible holeshot kicked off moto 2 for Jett. Despite starting a few positions back, Sexton moved up to second but tipped over while he was challenging for the lead. He remounted and once again caught Jett near the end of the moto but came up less than a second short at the finish.
The first 250 moto ran nearly half its distance before being red-flagged, at which point Hunter Lawrence sat in fourth place. The Australian did well on the restart and ran in the top three before finishing second to title-rival Justin Cooper. Hunter started much better in moto 2 aboard his CRF250R, and he was in front by the completion of lap 1, never to trail again. His 2-1 performance earned him the overall win and kept him 22 points ahead in the title chase.
NOTES
Powersports of Crofton, a Honda dealership located south of Baltimore, had a pop-up activation booth set up in the Team Honda HRC pits, where they engaged with fans and customers and showed them new Honda powersports models.
Once again, Jett Lawrence and Chase Sexton were the fastest riders in the 450 class during timed practice. Hunter Lawrence was 10th-fastest in the 250 ranks.
Jett notched the fastest lap times in both 450 motos, while Hunter turned the fastest time in the first 250 moto.
With Jett’s 2023 success at Budds Creek, Honda takes sole possession of the record for overall wins at the venue in the 450 class (250 two-stroke), with eight, as well as the mark for most moto wins, with 18. Jett joins a list of past Honda-mounted 450 overall winners at Budds Creek, including Jeremy McGrath (twice), Kevin Windham, Ricky Carmichael (three times) and Chad Reed.
Hunter’s 2023 overall win puts him on the list of past Budds Creek Red Rider victors in the 250 class (125 two-stroke), including Mike Kiedrowski (twice), Steve Lamson (three times), Tallon Vohland, Mike Brown and RJ Hampshire.
Hunter’s AMA Pro Motocross 250 overall win was the eighth of his career.
Jett and Hunter Lawrence both participated in the post-race press conference at Budds Creek.
Next up for Team Honda HRC is the final AMA Pro Motocross round of the year next weekend–Crawfordsville, Indiana’s Ironman National, where Hunter Lawrence (carrying a 22-point lead) has a good opportunity to secure the 250 title. Jett Lawrence also has a chance to complete his perfect 450 rookie season, although Sexton—for whom the venue is something of a home track—will be trying hard to break that streak.
With the inaugural SuperMotocross Finals fast-approaching, Sexton holds the points lead in the 450 class, while Hunter Lawrence is in front of the 250 class. Despite having raced a 250 in AMA Supercross, Jett Lawrence sits fourth in the 450 ranks.
I’ve been super consistent with my starts this year, but I gave myself a pretty big disadvantage in the first moto. It was definitely something different, but I just had to be calculated on such a hard track to pass. The second moto started off a lot easier, but Chase really pushed me toward the end. I really started to make mistakes as we got toward the finish, but I gave myself just enough to push it over the line. I’m happy with my day overall, but time to go back to work and see if we can keep this thing going at Ironman.
I’ve been super consistent with my starts this year, but I gave myself a pretty big disadvantage in the first moto. It was definitely something different, but I just had to be calculated on such a hard track to pass. The second moto started off a lot easier, but Chase really pushed me toward the end. I really started to make mistakes as we got toward the finish, but I gave myself just enough to push it over the line. I’m happy with my day overall, but time to go back to work and see if we can keep this thing going at Ironman.
I’m leaving Budds Creek with a 9-2 for fourth overall and some mixed feelings. Even though I never crashed hard, I definitely fell a lot today. I feel like in the second moto, I found another gear, and if I can bring that into Ironman, it would be a huge positive. Super-tough day overall, but I’m happy to end it on a good note.
I’m leaving Budds Creek with a 9-2 for fourth overall and some mixed feelings. Even though I never crashed hard, I definitely fell a lot today. I feel like in the second moto, I found another gear, and if I can bring that into Ironman, it would be a huge positive. Super-tough day overall, but I’m happy to end it on a good note.
It was definitely a weird day, with the first moto having two starts. It really was like doing two short sprints back-to-back. I’m happy we were able to take advantage of it and finish on the podium, but I prefer long motos. Going into the last race of the season, we know where we stand, and we know we won’t be changing anything drastic. We have a gameplan, and we’ll focus on running that out to the end. I’m looking forward to finishing this series strong and focusing on SuperMotocross.
It was definitely a weird day, with the first moto having two starts. It really was like doing two short sprints back-to-back. I’m happy we were able to take advantage of it and finish on the podium, but I prefer long motos. Going into the last race of the season, we know where we stand, and we know we won’t be changing anything drastic. We have a gameplan, and we’ll focus on running that out to the end. I’m looking forward to finishing this series strong and focusing on SuperMotocross.
It was another fantastic weekend for us, taking both overall wins. It’s getting difficult to realize how special this is, and we really need to step back after this season and celebrate it, which we plan to do. We’ll keep our heads down though for the upcoming weekend, where the gameplan is basically business as usual, and try to help Hunter wrap up the championship.
It was another fantastic weekend for us, taking both overall wins. It’s getting difficult to realize how special this is, and we really need to step back after this season and celebrate it, which we plan to do. We’ll keep our heads down though for the upcoming weekend, where the gameplan is basically business as usual, and try to help Hunter wrap up the championship.
