‘I just got caught by surprise with the crash’ – Lawrence

Title contender surrenders 450SX red plate in Detroit incident.

Image: Octopi Media.

450SX title contender Hunter Lawrence admitted he was ‘caught by surprise’ by his crash at round 11 of the Monster Energy Supercross Championship in Detroit, with the Honda HRC Progressive rider salvaging 18th while surrendering the red plate.

The 26-year-old made a strong start to the weekend inside Ford Field, setting the fastest qualifying time before winning his heat race – a continuation of his career form in recent weeks.

Positioned third in the main event, Lawrence crashed at the end of the whoops section while chasing eventual winner Ken Roczen (Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki) and Chase Sexton (Monster Energy Kawasaki) at the halfway point.

After a stop in the mechanics area for repairs, he returned to finish 18th and score an important two points, now trailing Eli Tomac (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) by four points in the standings with six rounds remaining.

“My day was a bit of a bittersweet one,” reflected Lawrence. “The [heat] race went really well and I was happy with everything – the bike, the team, myself, everything felt great. I was feeling really good in the main event and was honestly feeling so comfortable.

“I was really happy with where I was, and I made a push to the front and was catching Kenny [Roczen] and Chase [Sexton]. I just got caught by surprise with the crash at the end of the whoops – I was okay, but the bike took some unfortunate damage.

“It’s just racing, sometimes that happens, and I had to pull into the mechanics area. I crashed two more times just due to the front brake locking on, so that was difficult to bring home, but I think we managed two points. It was a difficult situation, but we’re still in it and can’t wait to bounce back next weekend.”

Lawrence entered Detroit with a nine-point advantage over Tomac, while Roczen was a further 22 in arrears. Victory saw Roczen reduce his deficit to 15 points, with the red plate returning to Tomac ahead of St. Louis this weekend.