motoonlie Post: Kane Taylor
450MX racer details High Point podium and return to racing.
Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence has made a strong return to racing during the opening four rounds of Pro Motocross in 2025, with a second-place finish at High Point – just shy of his first 450MX overall – a demonstration of the progress made towards front-running contention. Check In with Lawrence as he details his season so far.
Image: Octopi Media.
Congratulations on a solid second overall today. You were in the mix with Jett [Lawrence], Eli [Tomac], and some other hard chargers today throughout the race. What was the biggest difference between moto one and moto two from a racing perspective for you?
Not that much of a difference between motos, honestly. Kind of, yeah, not really a difference, honestly. There isn’t anything crazy. I mean, I know my capabilities on a bike, and I just go back after the first moto and debrief. I know I could improve on my start. My start wasn’t…I didn’t execute it great in the first moto, so that’s the first key to the race is to get off the gate, and just a few things where I feel like I could have, you know, maybe been a little better earlier in the moto and stuff. But that all goes out the window when you’re on the start line and there are big old raindrops coming down, and it changes the whole dynamic. The first lap more or less wins the race at that point, given hindsight, how it turned out. So yeah, it was, it’s a completely different kind of approach, but nothing drastically changes between the motos.
Were there any last-minute changes that you had to make [with the weather coming in] or that your mechanics had to make before we dropped the gate?
Yeah, I was asking what the big black clouds were, [and] when are they going to hit us? Are we scheduled for that? They were massive, so it was not just a sprinkle, and we weren’t sure. It was like, ‘Yeah, it should be in 30 to 40 minutes.’ So it was kind of like, ‘Okay, maybe try and get up front early and maybe have the last 10, 15 minutes of wet conditions.’ But I think it was the second lap that it already started coming down pretty good. So it was definitely interesting.
You and Eli gapped the field in the second moto, and you kind of hung out in his shadow for a little bit. Obviously, they stopped the race early. Did you have a plan in mind of trying to push late to try to get to him and maybe battle for the win, that just didn’t come to fruition?
Yeah, I felt like I was doing a pretty good job of keeping him honest and had him right there. And then, I mean, [I’m] going to sound like, boy, that cried wolf. But I think everyone had the same issue out there. It’s not a matter of you forgetting how to ride the mud at a certain point in the moto. It’s just your vision goes, you know, you get down on tear-offs or roll-offs or whatever it is. And honestly, that probably is one of the biggest defining components of a mud race is your vision.
Image: Octopi Media.
Some of the math for the overall podiums hasn’t worked out this year. Do you feel you’re not quite where you were last year, or is it just the competition, the math, the overalls, or are there things these first three rounds until today you were searching for to get to this level?
Yeah, I feel like the first three rounds, I was definitely searching. I feel like I’m probably where I am or was last year if we want to use that as a comparison. So yeah, I was really happy with the bike today. One of the coolest things was from press day, we made a shock change, and it was exactly what we thought it was supposed to do, like what intentions we had on making the change, it did exactly that, and that was awesome because you hit the nail on the head. So that was cool. The team did a great job, and I’m looking forward to getting more time under my belt, consistent laps, familiarity, and just keep riding with a scoop tire. It feels like we’re going to be running it at Washougal this year. After the first moto, me and AP [Aaron Plessinger] were laughing about it, some of the sections, and we’re like, ‘We almost need to have just a gentleman’s agreement. See that everyone’s on it or no one’s on it.’ Second moto, he comes down, he goes, ‘Don’t worry about what rear tire I’ve got on.’ And he had a knobby tire on, and I was like, ‘Hmm, we’ll see.’ But actually, the paddle worked well in the mud, so it worked out again.
In the second moto it started raining, and it’s turning into a mud race, and everyone knows things change every second in the mud race. You’re kind of in a tricky situation with Jett coming behind you and not being far off Eli. When the red flag came out, were you like, ‘Okay, I’m going to take the second?’ Or are you pretty annoyed thinking, ‘Man, I could have fought for the overall today?’
No, I was frustrated because just the same as everyone, no one had any idea when the race was going to get called. If it was going to get called, you know, they gave us the halfway mark. I’m getting pretty close to the end of my tear-offs. There’s water getting under them. We’re getting deep into lapped riders. And I’m trying to think of how I’m going to, you know, catch Eli or make this pass, you know? Does he make a mistake or something like that? And then I can get in a pass and then throw my goggles and just try and cover him in mud. That’s honestly the thoughts that go through your head on a mud race. It’s like, how to ride defensively or make something happen. But honestly, that lap, I was planning to throw my goggles in the pit lane. And as I came over, they had the red flag. And I was like, ‘Okay, that makes me wish maybe I threw the goggles earlier.’ But again, you ride with no goggles and you get behind a 450. That’s not a really good game plan.
;)
Thursday, June 19, 2025 at 7:00PM 
