Another Team Honda HRC Class-Win Sweep at Hangtown National
Prairie City SVRA
・Jett Lawrence continues unbeaten record in premier class
・Second-straight 250 overall win for Hunter Lawrence
・Chance Hymas 12th overall in 250 class, with career-best sixth place in moto 2
・Chase Sexton misses race following midweek testing crash
Just seven days after making history as the first brothers to take overall wins in both classes at an AMA Pro Motocross round, Team Honda HRC riders Jett and Hunter Lawrence repeated the feat—this time at Rancho Cordova, California’s Prairie City State Vehicle Recreation Area, where the Dirt Diggers MC hosted the Hangtown National. Just like the previous Saturday about 500 miles south in Pala, Jett tallied perfect 1-1 moto scores in the 450 class, while Hunter went 3-1 in the 250 division. Their teammate Chance Hymas notched his second-consecutive 12th-overall result, with 18-6 moto scores. Chase Sexton—who had been a strong second overall at the opener—was unfortunately forced to sit out Hangtown as he recovers from injuries and sickness.
Summarizing Jett Lawrence’s day is pretty simple: dominance. The 19-year-old Australian has led every lap of his young premier-class career so far. He nailed strong starts in both motos aboard his CRF450RWE, quickly established advantages, and then expertly managed those to the finish, winning by four and five seconds. He now enjoys a perfect 100-point tally, already 18 more than his nearest rival.
In the 250 class, Hunter Lawrence was still dealing with painful ribs from a pre-season crash, but he again rode intelligently on what was a surprisingly treacherous track. Moto 1 saw him complete lap 1 in seventh place, but he advanced to third by the seven-lap mark. At that point, the gap to second was too large, so he wisely settled for a safe podium position. A much better start made life easier for him in moto 2, as he completed lap 1 in second place and put his CRF250R in the lead a couple laps later, then rode to a comfortable three-second victory that was good for the overall win. His title-fight lead is now 10 points. Meanwhile, Hymas struggled in moto 1 but also started better in the second race and finished sixth, the best moto-finish of his young professional career.
NOTES
Team Honda HRC took part in a multi-team test at Fox Raceway on the Tuesday between rounds 1 and 2. Unfortunately, newly crowned AMA Supercross Champion Chase Sexton suffered a crash and was subsequently diagnosed with both a concussion and mono, so he and the team decided it was prudent to have him sit out the Hangtown race. The team looks forward to his returning to action as soon as possible.
As they did at several AMA Supercross rounds, Team Honda HRC hosted a local dealer for a pop-up engagement at Hangtown—Roseville, California’s Roseville Honda, who displayed powersports products and chatted with customers and race fans.
Jett Lawrence posted the fastest 450 qualifying time in morning practice, with a 2’06.287” lap that was over two seconds better than that of the next rider. Hunter Lawrence was third-quickest in 250 qualifying, with Chance Hymas 15th.
Jett posted the fastest lap times in both 450 motos, and Hunter did likewise in the two 250 motos.
Jett’s victory grew Honda’s premier-class Hangtown overall-win record to 19 (seven more than any other manufacturer), with past winners including Billy Grossi, Marty Smith, Bob Hannah, Alan King, Rick Johnson (three times), Jeff Stanton, Jeremy McGrath, Kevin Windham, Sebastian Tortelli, Ricky Carmichael (three times), Chad Reed, Eli Tomac and Ken Roczen.
This was Jett’s second moto-sweep at Hangtown, with the previous one having come last year in the 250 class. Hangtown is also where he wrapped up his first AMA Pro Motocross 250 Championship, in 2021.
Hunter’s victory added him to a list of Honda-mounted 250 (125 two-stroke) Hangtown overall winners, which includes Marty Smith, Ron Lechien, Steve Lamson (four times), Jeremy McGrath, Eli Tomac and Jett Lawrence.
In addition to tallying the third AMA Pro Motocross 250 overall win of his career, Hunter collected his ninth moto win and his 28th and 29th podium moto finishes.
Once again, JCR Honda off-road racer Ryan Surratt competed at Hangtown, notching a respectable 12th-overall result in the 450 class.
Both Lawrence brothers participated in the post-race press conference.
Next up, Team Honda HRC heads to Colorado for the Thunder Valley National this Saturday.
It was interesting to learn the track on a 450, finding the spots I could be aggressive and where I had to take it easy. Both motos, I got great starts and could focus on keeping a comfortable pace and keeping a gap behind me. The first few laps, I could pin my ears back and really go for it. Once I had a five-second gap or so, I was able to search for some new lines for later in the day, without giving up a spot. Thankfully, I was able to ride my own race and focus on keeping my lap times stable. I’m really happy with where our level of preparation has been, and I think we’ll continue at this level at Thunder Valley.
It was interesting to learn the track on a 450, finding the spots I could be aggressive and where I had to take it easy. Both motos, I got great starts and could focus on keeping a comfortable pace and keeping a gap behind me. The first few laps, I could pin my ears back and really go for it. Once I had a five-second gap or so, I was able to search for some new lines for later in the day, without giving up a spot. Thankfully, I was able to ride my own race and focus on keeping my lap times stable. I’m really happy with where our level of preparation has been, and I think we’ll continue at this level at Thunder Valley.
Today was really tough. The track was really one-lined and made coming through the pack super-difficult. It was really wet outside of the main line, so you had to decide whether to follow someone or risk it where you didn’t know how it was. In the first moto, I passed up to where I could and focused on myself; I didn’t want to cost myself the day in the first race. I got the start in the second moto, and once I got into the lead, I just wanted to keep some good distance. I’m excited to head to Colorado and see what our bike does at altitude.
Today was really tough. The track was really one-lined and made coming through the pack super-difficult. It was really wet outside of the main line, so you had to decide whether to follow someone or risk it where you didn’t know how it was. In the first moto, I passed up to where I could and focused on myself; I didn’t want to cost myself the day in the first race. I got the start in the second moto, and once I got into the lead, I just wanted to keep some good distance. I’m excited to head to Colorado and see what our bike does at altitude.
My day was alright. I had a terrible first moto; I went backwards and finished 18th. It’s definitely nothing I’m proud of, but in the second moto, I got a really good start. I pretty much ran fourth for about 25-ish minutes. I got passed by [Haiden] Deegan and RJ [Hampshire] and just tried to grind it out to the end. I had another pack behind me, coming, but when I got the two-lap card, I knew if I hammered the last two laps, I’d be fine. I finished 12th overall again; I really need to get inside that top 10, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.
My day was alright. I had a terrible first moto; I went backwards and finished 18th. It’s definitely nothing I’m proud of, but in the second moto, I got a really good start. I pretty much ran fourth for about 25-ish minutes. I got passed by [Haiden] Deegan and RJ [Hampshire] and just tried to grind it out to the end. I had another pack behind me, coming, but when I got the two-lap card, I knew if I hammered the last two laps, I’d be fine. I finished 12th overall again; I really need to get inside that top 10, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.
Well, we’ve definitely started the outdoor season! Today was a toasty one, and the conditions were brutal. We’re riding such an incredible wave right now, I hope it doesn’t end anytime soon. This is like a double-overhead wave at Pipeline, with a massive barrel and spit coming out the other end! [laughs] The 250 class is super-stacked, so to do what Hunter is doing right now is really special, and Jett is just out of this world! The records they’re setting now, as brothers, I don’t think will ever be beaten. I was super-proud of Chance Hymas for coming back after the first moto and riding so good in the second moto; I’m excited to see him progress this summer. I’m really hoping to have Chase back next week; we really missed him this weekend, and it wasn’t the same without him.
Well, we’ve definitely started the outdoor season! Today was a toasty one, and the conditions were brutal. We’re riding such an incredible wave right now, I hope it doesn’t end anytime soon. This is like a double-overhead wave at Pipeline, with a massive barrel and spit coming out the other end! [laughs] The 250 class is super-stacked, so to do what Hunter is doing right now is really special, and Jett is just out of this world! The records they’re setting now, as brothers, I don’t think will ever be beaten. I was super-proud of Chance Hymas for coming back after the first moto and riding so good in the second moto; I’m excited to see him progress this summer. I’m really hoping to have Chase back next week; we really missed him this weekend, and it wasn’t the same without him.
