Learning Opportunities for Team Honda HRC at Arlington Supercross

• After leading most of 450SX main, Jett Lawrence relegated to fourth by late crashes
• Hunter Lawrence equals career-best fifth place after battling near the front
• Chance Hymas improves on 250SX East opening result, finishing seventh

Words & Images: Team Honda HRC

While the podium eluded Team Honda HRC at the Arlington stop, round 7 of the AMA Supercross series included plenty of positives for Honda’s factory team. Jett Lawrence was the fastest 450SX rider and led most of the Main Event; although two late falls ultimately dropped him to fourth, he retained the points lead leaving Texas. Hunter Lawrence had what was arguably his best ride aboard a 450, running near the front of the main event before equalling his career-best premier-class result in fifth. Meanwhile, Chance Hymas turned in his best result of the young 250SX East season, with a seventh-place finish.

An impressive holeshot kicked off the 450SX main event for Jett Lawrence, with Hunter just behind, then slipping a spot before the second turn. While Jett went about establishing a gap at the front, Hunter did his best to defend third place, which he successfully did until Aaron Plessinger got by on lap 6. Through the middle section of the race, Hunter tried hard to retaliate, but he was overtaken by Eli Tomac with six laps remaining. Three laps later, Jett went off the track in a rhythm section and fell, losing the lead to Cooper Webb. Nearly two seconds down and with time expiring, Jett took off after the leader, getting to his rear fender on the last lap. He attempted a pass through the whoop section, but he made contact with a lapped rider and went down, resulting in a fourth-place finish. Also on the wild final lap, Hunter made a valiant pass attempt on Plessinger but slid into the stadium wall and had to settle for fifth.

Chance Hymas was just inside the top 10 as the 250SX East pack rounded turn 1 in the main event, and he completed lap 1 in eighth place. He moved by Guillem Farres on lap 4, then dispatched Tom Vialle for sixth a lap later. On lap 7, a pass on Nick Romano put him into the top five, but the second half of the race saw him lose a couple of positions to end up seventh—three better than his result at the opener.

NOTES

• After having been without the red plate for four rounds, Jett Lawrence once again ran it on his CRF450RWE at Arlington, indicating his leadership in the championship chase.
• To commemorate the military-appreciation theme of the Arlington Supercross, Team Honda HRC ran Navy logos on their CRF race machines, while Phoenix Racing Honda ran Marine Corps logos. Fire Power Honda featured two different camouflage liveries, recognizing the Navy on Dean Wilson’s CRF450R and the Army on the CRF250R of Max Anstie.
• DFW Honda (a dealership in Grapevine, Texas) set up a pop-up activation booth in the Team Honda HRC pits at Arlington, displaying powersports products and engaging with fans and customers.
• After two weekends off (one for the series pause and one during a 250SX West round), Team Honda HRC’s Chance Hymas was back in action at Arlington aboard his CRF250R. The break gave him a chance to recoup the torn ACL he suffered just prior to the 250SX East opener.
• Jett Lawrence was the fastest 450SX rider in combined qualifying times, half a second quicker than the next-best rider, with Hunter Lawrence a solid sixth-best and SmarTop/MotoConcepts Honda rider Mitchell Oldenburg impressive in ninth. In the 250SX East ranks, Chance Hymas was the fifth-best rider, one behind Fire Power Honda’s Max Anstie.
• In the first 450SX heat race, Hunter Lawrence started in third and, after slipping one position on the first lap and another spot near the end, finished in fifth—one ahead of Phoenix Racing Honda’s Dylan Ferrandis. SmarTop/MotoConcepts Honda’s Vince Friese also made it through from the same heat race.
• The wild second 450SX heat race saw Jett Lawrence take the holeshot before being passed by Cooper Webb and Jason Anderson on the first lap. Lawrence powered back by Webb moments later and pressured Anderson for the lead, only to be overtaken by Malcolm Stewart on lap 3. Lawrence then took a couple of laps to regroup before making two passes in one corner to take the lead. Although he then lost the lead to Stewart, he retook it on lap 8 and kept it to the finish.
• Chance Hymas was slotted in the second 250SX East heat race, and he completed lap 1 in seventh place. The Idaho native made good passes to end the race in fourth. Meanwhile, heat 1 had seen Max Anstie finish second, with TiLube Honda riders Henry Miller and Ryder Floyd also making it through. Lasting Impressions-backed privateer Red Rider Izaih Clark finished second in the last-chance qualifier.
  Honda had the most riders of any manufacturer in both main events (tied for most in the 250SX East class). Seven of the 22 riders in the 450SX main event were Honda-mounted, with eight brands represented. In the 250SX East main event, five of the 22 riders were Honda-mounted, with seven brands represented.
• Jett notched the fastest lap time in the 450SX main event.
• One round after Jett and Hunter Lawrence became the first brothers to ever finish in the top five in an AMA Supercross premier-class main event, the Australians repeated the feat in Arlington.
• While Jett’s late falls proved costly in the points standings, the AMA Supercross premier-class rookie still holds the title-chase lead, with a three-point edge over Cooper Webb. Hunter sits in ninth place.
• In the 250SX East ranks, Fire Power Honda rider Max Anstie is enjoying another strong showing thus far this season. The Brit currently sits atop the points standings, with Chance Hymas in eighth.
• Next weekend, the AMA Supercross series will kick off Daytona Bike Week in Florida.

450SX Results

1. Cooper Webb (Yam)
2. Eli Tomac (Yam)
3. Aaron Plessinger (KTM)
4. Jett Lawrence (Hon)
5. Hunter Lawrence (Hon)
6. Chase Sexton (KTM)
7. Justin Cooper (Yam)
8. Ken Roczen (Suz)
9. Malcolm Stewart (Hus)
10. Jason Anderson (Kaw)
    —

11. Vince Friese (Hon)

12. Mitchell Oldenburg (Hon)

13. Dean Wilson (Hon)

19. Carson Mumford (Hon)

22. Dylan Ferrandis (Hon)

450SX Championship Points (after 7 of 17 rounds)

1. Jett Lawrence: 135
2. Cooper Webb: 132
3. Aaron Plessinger: 128
4. Chase Sexton: 127
5. Eli Tomac: 122
6. Jason Anderson: 118
7. Ken Roczen: 116
8. Dylan Ferrandis: 93
9. Hunter Lawrence: 86
10. Justin Cooper: 75
    —

15. Dean Wilson: 44

19. Vince Friese: 26

250SX East Region Results

1. Haiden Deegan (Yam)
2. Cameron McAdoo (Kaw)
3. Tom Vialle (KTM)
4. Seth Hammaker (Kaw)
5. Pierce Brown (Gas)
6. Max Anstie (Hon)
7. Chance Hymas (Hon)
8. Coty Schock (Yam)
9. Guillem Farres (Hus)
10. Daxton Bennick (Yam)
    —

11. Henry Miller (Hon)

16. Ryder Floyd (Hon)

17. Izaih Clark (Hon)

250SX East Region Championship Points (after 2 of 9 rounds)

1. Max Anstie: 38
2. Pierce Brown: 34
3. Daxton Bennick: 32
4. Coty Schock: 32
5. Haiden Deegan: 31
6. Cameron McAdoo: 29
7. Chance Hymas: 27
8. Guillem Farres: 27
9. Henry Miller: 26
10. Austin Forkner: 25

Jett Lawrence:
“There were ups and downs tonight in Arlington—lots to focus on. It was going good, then it went bad, then it could’ve been good, but then it went even worse! So, fourth place. I have to clean up a few things, but it’s always good to learn some things. I’m looking forward to Daytona this weekend. It’s been a while since I’ve raced there, so I’ll enjoy that Daytona sun.”

Hunter Lawrence:
“It was a good night, a lot of positives to take away. It’s a bummer—on the last lap, I was doing everything I could to pass AP [Aaron Plessinger] for fourth; live and learn. Two fifth places in a row, and ending up there after being in the wall, so that’s something I can be happy about. Thank you to the team; we’ll keep on plugging away.”

Chance Hymas:
“It’s a better result than Detroit, but there’s definitely some stuff to work on. My speed is there—I had the second-fastest lap of the main event, so I know I can be with those guys. I just need to continue to build and show my speed up front.”

Lars Lindstrom – Team Manager:
“Even though tonight’s race didn’t give us the result we wanted, and probably should’ve had, there were still a lot of positives to take away from it. Qualifying was exceptional, and I was really happy to have Hunter closer to the top of the board, along with Jett, putting in an awesome lap like he did. Starts are so important in the main event, and with us starting 1 and 2 in the main event, shows me that we’re on the right track with both the riders and the bike. The dirt tonight in Dallas was softer than I’ve ever seen, and it made the track very brutal in the main event, causing some of the carnage we saw. I’m excited for Daytona, and I think we’ll have very strong bikes and riders there.”