Lawrence Takes 250SX Overall Win at Glendale’s Triple Crown
State Farm StadiumThird overall in 450SX for Sexton, with win in final race. Roczen goes 4-6-7 and finishes fifth in 450SX class.
The first AMA Supercross Triple Crown event of the season saw Team Honda HRC rider Chase Sexton finish third overall in Glendale, Arizona, helped by a first-place result in the last of three 450SX races, while teammate Roczen finished fifth overall. In the 250SX West class, Hunter Lawrence took his first win of the season with consistent 2-1-2 finishes.
Roczen ran in second early in the first 450SX race, but he slipped two positions before the finish. Meanwhile, Sexton suffered a couple of tip-overs and turned in an 11th-place result. Sexton and Roczen had their CRF450R race machines in the top five for the majority of the 12-minute-plus-one-lap second race. Sexton made smart passes for a third-place finish, while Roczen was sixth at the finish. Sexton secured the holeshot in the final race and built a four-second lead before eventually reaching the checkered flag with a 2.5-second margin. Roczen suffered a poor start and climbed to seventh by the finish.
Lawrence was impressive all day in the 250SX West class, topping daytime qualifying aboard his CRF250R and charging hard in the night program. The young Australian battled over second in the first race, eventually securing the position. In the second race he avoided a dramatic incident involving Vince Friese and points-leader Christian Craig to take the win. The final race saw Lawrence complete lap one in third and then race to a runner-up finish, which was enough for the overall victory.
NOTES
This race marked the first Triple Crown event of the season and the second time in a row that Glendale used the unique three-race format, which combines results from three races to decide overall positions and award championship points.
The last event in Glendale was in 2020, when Ken Roczen won all three motos – the only sweep that either class has witnessed in a Triple Crown event.
This was Chase Sexton’s first 450SX Triple Crown event, and it marked the sixth premier-class indoor podium result of his career.
Hunter Lawrence’s 250SX win was the second of his career, and it kept his perfect string of 2022 podium finishes going. It was also his ninth career podium result in just 16 starts. In addition, his win was the third of the season for Team Honda HRC, with Roczen having topped the 450SX class at round 1 and Sexton having done likewise at round 3.
During Friday’s media day, Lawrence participated in a Beyond the Track interview via Zoom with host Daniel Blair.
Glendale marked the third 250SX Futures race, and Red Rider Luke Kalaitzian notched a respectable second-place finish aboard his CRF250R.
Free practice saw Roczen and Sexton finish third and sixth, respectively, in the 450SX class, while Hunter finished with the second-fastest lap time in the 250SX West class.
In 450SX qualifying, Roczen was the fourth-best rider with a 1’01.842”, while Sexton was fifth at 1’01.863”. SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MCR Honda riders Justin Brayton and Mitchell Oldenburg were ninth and 14th, and SGB Unlimited rider Cade Clason was 21st.
In the 250SX class, Lawrence finished on top in both daytime qualifying sessions, his best lap being a 1’03.118” in the second outing, while SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MCR Honda’s Vince Friese was seventh at 1’04.019”.
Lawrence wore the same Alpinestars gear that he had worn at the previous race in a collab with Daniel Ricciardo. Also in a nod to the Australian Formula 1 driver, Lawrence celebrated on the podium by chugging champagne from his boot. While Ricciardo is closely associated with this celebration (called a “shoey”), it has also been done by Australian MotoGP racer Jack Miller.
The top three finishers from each class, including Sexton and Lawrence, participated in the post-race press conference in the stadium’s press room.
Lawrence’s win put him just eight points behind Christian Craig in the 250SX West title chase, in second. In the 450SX class, Sexton is also second, 11 points behind Eli Tomac. Roczen is seventh in the same class.
Team Honda HRC will now head back to California for round 6 at Anaheim 3, after which the 250SX West class will take a five-week break, as the 250SX East Region kicks off in Minneapolis February 19.
The Glendale Triple Crown was another rough one on my end. My starts were mediocre at best, and with those types of races, it's tough to make something happen. I feel like I wasn't riding like myself, and in general I wasn’t feeling comfortable out on the track. I'm still working to try and get everything together, but Glendale was definitely not it. I got fifth overall, so it was actually nice to make it through the mains without going down. We definitely need some work. I'm trying to get consistent during the week and gain some confidence, but we’re still figuring out the bike a little bit. We went back to my setup from last year; it's good in some areas but also creates problems in others, and my starts with it weren’t that great. I'm still working on myself and with the team to bring it on the weekend. We haven't really had the greatest test days during the week, so then going into the weekend and trying to be super-confident and trusting in my abilities is really tough to do. We simply have to be better, and we’re working on it. We're going to go into another week of training, figure some stuff out and head on to Anaheim.
The Glendale Triple Crown was another rough one on my end. My starts were mediocre at best, and with those types of races, it's tough to make something happen. I feel like I wasn't riding like myself, and in general I wasn’t feeling comfortable out on the track. I'm still working to try and get everything together, but Glendale was definitely not it. I got fifth overall, so it was actually nice to make it through the mains without going down. We definitely need some work. I'm trying to get consistent during the week and gain some confidence, but we’re still figuring out the bike a little bit. We went back to my setup from last year; it's good in some areas but also creates problems in others, and my starts with it weren’t that great. I'm still working on myself and with the team to bring it on the weekend. We haven't really had the greatest test days during the week, so then going into the weekend and trying to be super-confident and trusting in my abilities is really tough to do. We simply have to be better, and we’re working on it. We're going to go into another week of training, figure some stuff out and head on to Anaheim.
The first race was definitely not pretty. I actually did the exact same thing when I was a rookie in the 250 class, in my first Triple Crown -- got a good start and I think I crashed like three times. I was hoping not to replicate that, but I was having a hard time with the track and all day I was pretty much off. The second race I felt like I had a little bit more of a flow, and then the third race I pulled the holeshot and tried to sprint away. I was actually having fun again; it was nice being out front, able to control it. Obviously Eli didn't have to win, so I knew that going in, but I just wanted to go out there and put my best foot forward, and I feel like that's what I did. Any time you cross the finish line first, it gives you a bit of confidence. I felt like tonight I proved to myself that I can rebound and get back in it. It gave me a little boost of confidence, and now going into next week, it just makes everything easier.
The first race was definitely not pretty. I actually did the exact same thing when I was a rookie in the 250 class, in my first Triple Crown -- got a good start and I think I crashed like three times. I was hoping not to replicate that, but I was having a hard time with the track and all day I was pretty much off. The second race I felt like I had a little bit more of a flow, and then the third race I pulled the holeshot and tried to sprint away. I was actually having fun again; it was nice being out front, able to control it. Obviously Eli didn't have to win, so I knew that going in, but I just wanted to go out there and put my best foot forward, and I feel like that's what I did. Any time you cross the finish line first, it gives you a bit of confidence. I felt like tonight I proved to myself that I can rebound and get back in it. It gave me a little boost of confidence, and now going into next week, it just makes everything easier.
Great weekend here in Arizona! I had no idea what to expect going into it because it was my first Triple Crown. It was exciting with the three races, but at the same time I thought it was going to be tougher on the endurance side of things – it was really just three sprints. We worked on starting our day better, and we did so, going P1 in both qualifying sessions, and then winning the overall was awesome. It's weird when you go 2-1-2; right off I didn't feel like I actually won it because of the moto scores, but it was a crazy night. We ended up staying out of trouble for all three races, which rewarded us well! Massive thanks to the team! I'm looking forward to next weekend. Obviously I want to do it on a proper night as well – and I want to get a holeshot!
Great weekend here in Arizona! I had no idea what to expect going into it because it was my first Triple Crown. It was exciting with the three races, but at the same time I thought it was going to be tougher on the endurance side of things – it was really just three sprints. We worked on starting our day better, and we did so, going P1 in both qualifying sessions, and then winning the overall was awesome. It's weird when you go 2-1-2; right off I didn't feel like I actually won it because of the moto scores, but it was a crazy night. We ended up staying out of trouble for all three races, which rewarded us well! Massive thanks to the team! I'm looking forward to next weekend. Obviously I want to do it on a proper night as well – and I want to get a holeshot!
We came into this weekend with quite a few changes on all our guys' bikes. We don’t want to stop improving or get complacent with where we’re at, even though we’ve had some success already. Hunter got some upgrades to his engine package and put it to good use by qualifying first overall, which is a huge accomplishment in my opinion, with having to race against Christian Craig and Michael Mosiman right now, who are both super-quick. The 450 class is stacked with talent right now, so qualifying fourth and fifth for Chase and Kenny put them in a good position for this Triple Crown format. Hunter put himself in a good position in every single race tonight and capitalized on some carnage in front of him to take his first win of the season, which was awesome for him and the team. I was very impressed that Chase was able to regroup after that bad first race and take the win in race three, for third overall. I think Kenny will be getting stronger in the next couple races and get back to where he should be, on the podium. We’ll keep working to do whatever we can to help him get there. This next week will be important for the team to prepare for everything we’ll need for the East Coast swing, which begins after the next race.
We came into this weekend with quite a few changes on all our guys' bikes. We don’t want to stop improving or get complacent with where we’re at, even though we’ve had some success already. Hunter got some upgrades to his engine package and put it to good use by qualifying first overall, which is a huge accomplishment in my opinion, with having to race against Christian Craig and Michael Mosiman right now, who are both super-quick. The 450 class is stacked with talent right now, so qualifying fourth and fifth for Chase and Kenny put them in a good position for this Triple Crown format. Hunter put himself in a good position in every single race tonight and capitalized on some carnage in front of him to take his first win of the season, which was awesome for him and the team. I was very impressed that Chase was able to regroup after that bad first race and take the win in race three, for third overall. I think Kenny will be getting stronger in the next couple races and get back to where he should be, on the podium. We’ll keep working to do whatever we can to help him get there. This next week will be important for the team to prepare for everything we’ll need for the East Coast swing, which begins after the next race.
250SX West Standings
| Pos. | Rider | Num. | Team | Constr. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian Craig | 28 | Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha | Yamaha | 122 |
| 2 | Hunter Lawrence | 96 | Team Honda HRC | Honda | 114 |
| 3 | Michael Mosiman | 29 | Troy Lee Designs Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing | GasGas | 99 |
| 4 | Jo Shimoda | 30 | Monster Energy ProCircuit Kawasaki | Kawasaki | 87 |
| 5 | Nate Thrasher | 49 | Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha | Kawasaki | 79 |
| 6 | Vince Friese | 62 | Smartop Bullfrog Spas MotoConcepts Honda | Honda | 76 |
