Hunter Lawrence Retains Championship Lead Following Challenging Cleveland Triple Crown Supercross

• Australian salvages sixth place overall with 1-5-14 results
• Lawrence has a one-point advantage with three rounds remaining

After three decades away from Cleveland, AMA Supercross made a long-awaited return to the shores of Lake Erie, which hosted the final Triple Crown event of 2026. Although Honda HRC Progressive rider Hunter Lawrence kicked off the round with a holeshot and race 1 win, the day unraveled as rain showers came in. Despite the adversity and uncharacteristic poor starts in the final two races, the Australian managed to secure a sixth-overall result, keeping the 450SX championship lead by one point.

The first of three premier-class races saw Lawrence get a signature holeshot aboard his CRF450RWE and lead from start to finish, with no challenges to speak of. As track conditions deteriorated with increasing rainfall, the remaining races proved more challenging. Despite a difficult race 2 start, Lawrence demonstrated strong race craft, advancing from ninth to fifth in the opening laps. Although the frontrunners had already established a gap, he maintained consistency to finish fifth and stay in contention for the overall podium.

In the last race of the evening, the number 96 got pinched off at the start and found himself mid-pack. As he started to make his way forward, an early-race incident in the whoops saw him drop to 14th. After remounting, Lawrence noticed his fuel-tank vent hose had been dislodged in the fall, but he remained composed and pushed forward, climbing back to 11th. His progress was halted by a second incident (this one with another rider), and he ultimately crossed the line in 14th, securing sixth on the night.

Quad Lock Honda rider Joey Savatgy finished an impressive fifth overall, just ahead of Lawrence. His teammates—Shane McElrath, Dean Wilson and Christian Craig—completed the event in 10th, 12th and 13th overall, respectively.

NOTES

• Middlefield, Ohio, dealership Just for Fun Honda enhanced the fan experience within the Honda HRC Progressive pit area through an interactive pop-up stand, showcasing a CRF250R, a CRF110F and additional products, while engaging directly with fans and customers.
  
  
• Several Red Riders were absent from the Cleveland round while recovering from injury, including Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda (ankle), as well as Phoenix Honda racers Cullin Park (shoulder surgery) and Evan Ferry (right ACL). Shimoda and Park aim to be back for AMA Pro Motocross, while Ferry will miss an undetermined portion of the outdoor series.
  
  
• In 250SX East qualifying, Short Racing’s John Short IV was seventh, his best showing of the season. Jeremy Hand (Valley Motorsports) qualified in 16th, Phoenix Racing Honda rider Gavin Towers was 18th and Storm Lake Honda riders Luke Neese and Izaih Clark were 17th and 20th, respectively. Clark went on to win the 250SX LCQ, securing a coveted spot in the Triple Crown program and ended the night in 10th position overall thanks to 10-10-15 finishes in the three races. Towers finished 14th overall, while Short, Neese and Hand finished 16th, 17th and 19th overall, respectively.
  
  
• Lawrence clocked the fastest time in 450SX qualifying. Quad Lock Honda riders Joey Savatgy, Christian Craig, Shane McElrath and Dean Wilson qualified in eighth, ninth, 11th and 14th, respectively. Privateer Red Rider Zack Williams (McGinley Clinic) qualified 25th.
  
  
• Despite setbacks in races 2 and 3, Lawrence maintains the championship lead over Ken Roczen, by one point. Cooper Webb is another 21 points back, while Eli Tomac exited the main program following a qualifying crash and slipped to fourth in the standings.
  
  
• Honda HRC Progressive heads to Philadelphia for round 15 of AMA Supercross on Saturday, April 25.
  
  

Hunter Lawrence
“For this Triple Crown, we had a lot of weather coming in. The day started out really good, as I was P1 in qualifying. In the first race, I had a good start and checked out. In races 2 and 3, I just didn’t get the best starts, just couldn’t get the traction I needed, and made it tough on myself. When you don’t get a good start, you get put in not the best situations, and the last race kind of all came undone. I had a crash in the rutted whoop section, and then another rider hit my front wheel. We salvaged only losing nine points, which feels better than what I thought it was going to be, for how bad the last one was. On to Philadelphia now.”

Lars Lindstrom – Team Manager
“A very up-and-down day for us, with qualifying and the first race going absolutely perfectly. We had been watching the weather all week, knowing that rain seemed imminent; the radar during the afternoon showed that we could possibly miss it completely, but the tail end of the rain cell was heavier than expected. Although the rain and conditions could’ve been much worse, the track was still very slippery and tricky. We didn’t execute the starts that we needed in the final two races, and that put us in positions that are tough to make it back from, and also where you have to push harder than you want to in order to catch up. We’ll make sure that we do our due diligence to improve our starts in wet weather, especially since it’s possible that the last three rounds could be mud races.”

Media contact:
Zoe Vargas // Jonnum Media // zoe@jonnummedia.com // 619-971-6440
450SX Overall Results

1. Ken Roczen (Suz)
2. Cooper Webb (Yam)
3. Justin Cooper (Yam)
4. Chase Sexton (Kaw)
5. Joey Savatgy (Hon)
6. Hunter Lawrence (Hon)
7. Malcolm Stewart (Hus)
8. Justin Hill (KTM)
9. Dylan Ferrandis (Duc)
10. Shane McElrath (Hon)

—

1. Dean Wilson (Hon)
2. Christian Craig (Hon)

450SX Championship Points (after 14 of 17 rounds)

1. Hunter Lawrence: 286
2. Ken Roczen: 285
3. Cooper Webb: 264
4. Eli Tomac: 255
5. Justin Cooper: 233
6. Chase Sexton: 180
7. Joey Savatgy: 176
8. Malcom Stewart: 160
9. Justin Hill: 148
10. Jorge Prado: 147

—

1. Christian Craig: 124
2. Shane McElrath: 119
3. Dean Wilson: 21
4. Zack Williams: 2
5. Jeremy Hand: 2
6. Ryan Breece: 1

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