Having waited impatiently for his first race of the 2023 AMA Supercross season, Team Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence rode masterfully when given the chance at the 250SX East Region opener in Houston, handily topping his heat race and the main event. Meanwhile, Chase Sexton posted a second-place finish in the 450SX main event, taking sole possession of second place in the title chase.

Lawrence took his CRF250R to the main-event holeshot but was quickly passed by Tom Vialle. Lawrence sat in second, and when he and Vialle nearly touched in the air, the Australian went off-track and lost a spot to his rookie teammate, Chance Hymas. Lawrence quickly regrouped and moved to the front by lap 3, then stayed there to the finish, winning by 7.4 seconds over Max Anstie, who put in an impressive ride for the Fire Power Honda team. Hymas had a respectable showing in his debut indoor race, running in the top five for three laps and eventually finishing eighth.

After dominating qualifying and his heat race, Sexton suffered a poor main-event start and ran in seventh before completing lap 1 in fourth. A red flag several minutes in, and a subsequent single-file restart didn’t significantly affect the top positions, but Sexton dispatched Aaron Plessinger on lap 4 and Jason Anderson on lap 6, putting him in second behind Eli Tomac. Sexton made a run at Tomac but ultimately settled for second. His teammate Colt Nichols had been hampered by a poor start and completed lap 1 in 11^th, then began working his way forward until he went down in the sand section. The Oklahoma native was 13^th at the finish.

NOTES

On Friday, Hunter Lawrence and Chance Hymas both took part in media day, giving them time to familiarize themselves with the Houston track.

For the third time in four races, Chase Sexton topped daytime qualifying in the 450SX class, as the Illinois native’s best time was a whopping 1.1 seconds faster than the next-best rider. Nichols ended qualifying in 15th place. In qualifying for the 250SX East program, Fire Power Honda’s Max Anstie raised eyebrows by posting the best time, with Lawrence fourth and Hymas eighth.

Sexton was absolutely dominant in the second 450SX heat race, completing lap 1 in second place and then passing Eli Tomac and pulling ahead to win by nearly eight seconds. Nichols ran strong in third for much of the race before slipping to fifth at the end. Also advancing from the heat was Fire Power Honda’s Dean Wilson, in seventh.

Lawrence won the first 250SX East heat race of the season after leading every lap. Hymas finished an impressive third, with TiLube/Storm Lake Honda’s Henry Miller sixth and Phoenix Racing Honda’s Jace Owen ninth. Heat 2 saw Fire Power Honda’s Max Anstie finish second, with Phoenix Racing Honda’s Cullin Park sixth, TiLube/Storm Lake Honda’s Michael Hicks eighth and Honda of Lynchburg’s Luke Neese ninth. Three of the four riders to advance through the last-chance qualifier—Dean Hushon Insulation’s Jeremy Hand, Moto Academy’s AJ Catanzaro and Phoenix Racing Honda’s Coty Schock—were Honda-mounted.

No fewer than half of the riders—11 of 22—in the 250SX East main event were CRF250R-mounted.

Team Honda HRC riders turned the fastest lap times in both main events—Sexton in 450SX and Lawrence in 250SX East.

Lawrence’s 250SX success put him on the list of Honda riders to take Houston’s support-class win. Others include Willie Surratt, Andrew Short, Davi Millsaps, Justin Barcia and Jett Lawrence.

Sexton and Lawrence both took part in the post-race press conference.

Lawrence’s Houston victory was the sixth 250SX win of his career, and Sexton earned his 14th premier-class Supercross podium.

Lawrence’s win gives him a three-point lead on fellow Red Rider Max Anstie in the 250SX East title fight, while Sexton’s second-place result gives him sole possession of second place in the premier-class points battle—seven behind Eli Tomac and five ahead of Cooper Webb.

The AMA Supercross tour continues east for the Tampa, Florida, round, which takes place on February 11.