Rebound victory for Lawrence at Thunder Valley
Motoonline Competition Post: Kellen Brauer
The Lawrence brothers split moto wins in Colorado.
Image: Octopi Media.
One week on from a tough crash that left a gash in his leg, Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence found his way to the top step of the podium at Thunder Valley putting together 2-1 moto scores on the day. It was an all-Lawrence day in the 450 class as Hunter Lawrence went 1-2 for second behind his brother and took over the championship lead in the process.
Both motos ended up seeing a similar script in that Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper led much of both motos from the start before a Lawrence brother caught and passed him. In the first moto, it was Hunter with Jett quickly following into second, and in the second moto, it was reversed.
Hunter Lawrence’s triumph in the first moto was the first win of his 450 class career and he provisionally took over the championship lead with it. Though his brother bested him in the second moto, the result was still enough to give Hunter sole possession of the red plate after three rounds of racing.
Justin Cooper would settle in for a 3-3 day for third overall as he just tailed off at the end of both motos. Behind him, it was Troy Lee Designs Red Bull GasGas’ Justin Barcia who went 4-6 for fourth just edging out Red Bull KTM’s Chase Sexton for fifth.
Sexton entered Thunder Valley as the championship leader and had a frustrating day at the office. The first moto saw him take a while to get into fourth, but then he fell late in the moto and slipped back to sixth. Then in the second moto, he was on Justin Cooper for the lead when he crashed and eventually finished fifth. He now sits six points down in the championship.
Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM) was sixth ahead of Jason Anderson (Monster Energy Kawasaki) in seventh, Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) in eighth, Dylan Ferrandis (Phoenix Racing Honda) in ninth, and Christian Craig (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) rounding out the top 10.
Next up is High Point in one weeks time where it will be Hunter Lawrence’s turn to defend the red plate for the first time this season.