Lawrence reclaims Red Plate with St. Louis podium

• Australian finishes third and is tied for first in the 450SX standings
• Shimoda injured during heat race ahead of 250SX East/West Showdown

Round 12 of AMA Supercross in St. Louis brought a mix of positive results and setbacks for the Honda HRC Progressive team, as Hunter Lawrence secured a premier-class podium finish to reclaim a share of the championship lead, while Jo Shimoda was forced out of the 250SX East/West Showdown before the main event, due to injury incurred in his heat race.

The 450SX main event saw Lawrence grab his second holeshot of the night. He engaged in early battles with Jorge Prado and Ken Roczen before settling into third on lap 2. As the race developed and the track conditions became more challenging, the Australian spent laps 5 through 14 outside the podium positions, while managing wrist discomfort from a crash at the previous round. He mounted a signature late-race surge to retake third and secured that position at the finish. Quad Lock Honda riders Joey Savatgy, Christian Craig and Shane McElrath completed the night in seventh, 11th and 12th, respectively.

NOTES

• Honda HRC Progressive 250SX West Region rider Chance Hymas (currently out, recovering from a shoulder injury) recently returned to riding, as he trains in Florida at The Dog Pound in preparation for the approaching AMA Pro Motocross series.
  
  
• Ahead of the season’s second 250SX East/West Showdown, Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda participated in media-day interviews and riding sessions on Friday.
  
  
• Phoenix Racing Honda fielded a reduced lineup in St. Louis, with Cullin Park out for the remainder of the series to recover from a shoulder injury sustained in Birmingham.
  
  
• Shimoda placed third in 250SX combined qualifying, which included the East and West regions. Phoenix Racing Honda riders Evan Ferry and Gavin Towers qualified 10th and 16th, respectively. Ryder Floyd (Ti Lube Honda) was 20th, and Storm Lake Honda riders Izaih Clark and Luke Neese were 32nd and 33rd, respectively. Next Level-backed privateer Hunter Schlosser was 38th, SLR Honda’s Justin Rodbell qualified in 40th, and Lasting Impressions-supported privateer Ronnie Orres was 45th.
  
  
• Honda HRC Progressive rider Hunter Lawrence posted the ninth-best time in 450SX combined qualifying. Quad Lock Honda riders Joey Savatgy, Christian Craig and Shane McElrath qualified close behind in 10th, 13th and 14th, respectively. Other Red Riders included Jeremy Hand (Valley Motorsports), John Short IV (Short Racing), and Zack Williams (McGinley Clinic), who qualified 22nd, 26th and 30th, respectively.
  
  
• Shimoda’s night was cut short soon after he got a mid-pack start in the 250SX East Region heat race. Congestion forced him to roll a jump and maneuver around a downed rider, resulting in him being landed on by another racer. Shimoda immediately felt pain in his lower left leg, and the medical crew transported him to the Alpinestars medical unit. An initial assessment indicated no bone fractures, and Shimoda will undergo further evaluation this week.
  
  
• Lawrence grabbed the holeshot in the second 450SX heat race before being passed by Ken Roczen on the second lap. Lawrence remained in second until the checkered flag, giving him a decent gate pick for the main event, while Craig finished in seventh. In the other heat race, Savatgy and McElrath crossed the line in fourth and fifth, respectively.
  
  
• Lawrence’s eighth podium of the season put him in a tie with Eli Tomac for the points lead, five ahead of Roczen.
  
  
• Next up, Honda HRC Progressive heads to round 13 of AMA Supercross, this Saturday in Nashville.
  
  

Hunter Lawrence
“From what happened last week and how my wrist is feeling, I’m pretty happy. I think this track was arguably one of our gnarliest tracks, more so than Daytona or Indy. It was wild how the bumps were, how kicky the jumps were, and how deep the ruts were. I had to ride more governed. A lot of it was just due to the strength loss in my wrist; it would give out on some of the stuff where normally I could kind of muscle up and continue on and make the next rhythm. Nothing’s broken—it’s just really sore and swollen in the joint, but it was good enough to do what I could do today. I’ve got a great team behind me, and we’re in a great spot. How cool is it? Three of us, so close, and two tied for the red plate! I’m going to get healthier again and be back ready to fight next weekend in Nashville.”

Jo Shimoda
“Not much to say about my weekend—I wasn’t able to finish a lap in the heat race. I was trying to avoid a rider crashing in front of me and ended up getting landed on. Alpinestars medical told me that there were no broken bones, but possible ligament damage. We’ll know more when I get an MRI.”

Lars Lindstrom – Team Manager
“A bittersweet night, which is common in racing when you have two riders that are championship contenders. Jo never got a chance to show what he had, and we’re doing everything we can to help him get back to being on the bike. Initially, it looked really serious, but now I’m more hopeful that it’s only a minor setback. Hopefully, we’ll know more after an MRI, but weight on the foot seems to be okay. I’m happy with Hunter’s race; if you’re going to race banged up, especially with a sore wrist, this is not the track you want to be racing at. It was absolutely brutal; Hutch and I had to walk the track afterwards, and that’s when they should have the fans walking the track. It blows my mind that the top guys are able to continue to do the rhythms and jump things out of turns when the track is that soft, rutted and destroyed. We’re satisfied with the result, happy to make up points and be tied for the red plate, but we definitely want more and look forward to battling for this championship to the end!”

450SX Results

1. Ken Roczen (Suz)
2. Justin Cooper (Yam)
3. Hunter Lawrence (Hon)
4. Jorge Prado (KTM)
5. Cooper Webb (Yam)
6. Eli Tomac (KTM)
7. Joey Savagty (Hon)
8. Malcolm Stewart (Hus)
9. Garrett Marchbanks (Kaw)
10. Dylan Ferrandis (Duc)

—
11. Christian Craig (Hon)
12. Shane McElrath (Hon)
20. Jeremy Hand (Hon)

450SX Championship Points (after 12 of 17 rounds)

1. Eli Tomac: 245
2. Hunter Lawrence: 245
3. Ken Roczen: 240
4. Cooper Webb: 220
5. Justin Cooper: 198
6. Joey Savatgy: 153
7. Chase Sexton: 144
8. Malcom Stewart: 141
9. Jorge Prado: 131
10. Justin Hill: 117

—
12. Christian Craig: 107
14. Shane McElrath: 95
32. Jeremy Hand: 2
35. Ryan Breece: 1

250SX East/West Showdown Results

1. Haiden Deegan (Yam)
2. Cole Davies (Yam)
3. Seth Hammaker (Kaw)
4. Nate Trasher (Yam)
5. Ryder DiFrancesco (Hus)
6. Daxton Bennick (Hus)
7. Levi Kitchen (Kaw)
8. Devin Simonson (Yam)
9. Nicholas Romano (Kaw)
10. Maximus Vohland (Yam)

250SX East Championship Points (after 6 of 10 rounds)

1. Cole Davies: 136
2. Seth Hammaker: 125
3. Daxton Bennick: 103
4. Jo Shimoda: 100
5. Coty Schock: 88
6. Devin Simonson: 71
7. Nate Trasher: 69
8. Pierce Brown: 63
9. Henry Miller: 48
10. Derek Kelley: 48

—
12.Cullin Park: 40
16. Luke Neese: 25
19. Izaih Clark: 19
20. Jeremy Hand: 19
22. Gavin Towers: 13
23. Evan Ferry: 9
26. John Short IV: 7