Lars Lindstrom has a long history with American Honda’s motocross racing project, and an even longer involvement with the sport. His father is Swedish-born American motocross/off-road pioneer and AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Gunnar Lindstrom, who actually managed Honda’s motocross-racing program for the 1979 and 1980 seasons.
A talented racer himself, Lars joined Honda as a shop assistant in 2000 and worked his way up, serving in just about every capacity, including mechanic, parts room, engine tech, suspension tech, special projects and, most recently, 450 crew chief.
Over the years, he has worked with a long list of legendary riders, including Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael, Chad Reed, Ken Roczen, Kevin Windham and of course the current lineup of the two Lawrence brothers, Jett and Hunter.
Lindstrom has had great times in recent weeks and also some tough times. Jett Lawrence has won, been bashed by Justin Barcia and had to fight through bad starts, but in the end, the Aussie is now 12 points ahead of second placed man Cooper Webb and for that, Lindstrom is happy.
Last weekend Lindstrom got what he expected, a victory for Jett and a good result for Hunter.
“What a great weekend, all around. Hunter’s qualifying was so cool to see; the progress has been awesome, and he’s doing exactly what I hoped and thought he would do, which is build consistently through the season. All I can say about Jett is that he is a legend. That main-event performance just drove another nail into the fact that he is the best rider in world, which I feel confident in saying—especially when someone like Jeffrey Herlings admits it! For these next two races, it’s business as usual, and we all know it’s not over until it’s over.”
A week earlier in Nashville it was celebrations after a very tough couple of rounds.
“Nashville seems to really shake things up, and the racing tonight was pretty wild. We were lucky to come out unscathed, while having some great results. Hunter is really starting to hit his stride, winning his heat and then setting himself up to have a podium opportunity in the main until he was taken down by ‘the Picasso of racing incidents.’ What can you say about Jett that hasn’t already been said? From qualifying, to the heat, to dominating the main, it’s just awesome to see a special rider do special things.”
Foxborough wasn’t as much fun as Cooper Webb started making life difficult for his number one rider, Jett Lawrence.
“It was definitely an up-and-down night for us as a team. Hunter is gaining experience and momentum every weekend, and I’m really looking forward to the summer, because I think he’ll be really good. Jett was great in his heat race, and I’m super confident that he can get the job done through these next four races.”
St Louis was T-bone night for the HRC team as Justin Barcia tried to clean Jett Lawrences clock.
“When we were coming to St. Louis, I was expecting to have some famous St. Louis ribs; I wasn’t aware that there are incredible T-bones also! I wasn’t a big fan of them though—I could’ve done without. It was a crazy night, but all in all, coming away without serious injuries and a career-first podium for Hunter was something to be happy about. We’ll take this next weekend off to recover and come back ready to finish the season off even stronger.”
Seattle was a comeback race for Jett Lawrence, while brother Hunter won a heat race and continued his improvement.
“We’ve had a lot of bittersweet races this year, but tonight I’m not sure I can say that. Jett rode incredible and watching him catch the leaders so quickly was awesome—his speed was unreal! It was so cool to see Hunter win his first heat race, and he was really fast at the end of the main, passing great riders to get into seventh on the last lap.