BUCHANAN, Mich. — The Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, celebrated America’s 250th Anniversary with the longstanding Independence Day tradition that is the 5.11 RedBud National.
One of the biggest crowds in event history was on hand for Round 22 of the Monster Energy SMX World Championship, as overnight rain gave way to sunny skies and a continually evolving racetrack.
With a heightened atmosphere for the milestone holiday the action on the track responded with compelling action across both classes. In the premier 450SMX Class, Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence made it two in-a-row and three for the season following an incredible second moto win in which he overcame a near 10-second deficit.
The opening moto started with the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine of Jorge Prado leading the Lawrence brothers to the holeshot, as the Spaniard then assumed control of the lead. Behind him, Jett and Hunter engaged in a spirited fight for second, while further back Deegan was involved in a first-turn incident and started at the tail end of the field.
The top three settled in through the opening five minutes as Jett Lawrence asserted his hold on second and started to chip away at the deficit to Prado while Hunter Lawrence lurked a couple seconds behind in third. A couple laps later Jett pulled the trigger on a quick, decisive pass to take control of the lead.
The top three remained unchanged through the middle of the moto, but Hunter Lawrence was able to close in on Prado just past the halfway point and made a quick pass to take over second. With about a dozen minutes left on the race clock the brothers were separated by 3.5 seconds.
The distance between Jett and Hunter remained about the same until the moto entered its final two minutes, when Hunter closed within striking distance of his younger brother. The elder Lawrence put in a charge and made the pass just before time ran out on the race clock then sprinted away to a lead of more than seven seconds.
On the final lap, Hunter tipped over as he navigated lapped riders, which allowed Jett to reclaim the lead and bring home his fifth moto win of the summer by 3.2 seconds. Prado finished more than 20 seconds back in third, followed by Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire [#24] in fourth and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Garrett Marchbanks [#36] in fifth.
Moto 2 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]
The final race of the day got underway with Prado out front for a sweep of the holeshots, followed closely by Deegan and Jett Lawrence. Hunter Lawrence started just outside the top five in sixth.
As the lead trio sprinted away from the field Hunter Lawrence fought his way around Hampshire and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb [#2] to move up to fourth.
While pursuing Deegan for second, Jett Lawrence lost traction with his rear tire and went down, eventually remounting just outside the top 10 in 11th place. That moved Hunter Lawrence up to third.
With the clear track, Prado was able to seize control of the moto and sprint out to a lead of 3.5 seconds over Deegan as Hunter Lawrence looked to close in from third. Behind them, Jett Lawrence experienced even more misfortune and went down for a second time while running eighth. He remounted once again in 11th place.
Prado continued to build on his advantage, which sat at nearly nine seconds at the halfway point of the moto. Deegan maintained a firm hold of second, but Hunter Lawrence inched in from third to initiate a battle for the position. Further back, Jett Lawrence continued to fight his way through the field and was on the cusp of the top five.
Hunter Lawrence easily got the upper hand in a brief battle with Deegan and took control of second place with 13 minutes left on the race clock. At that point, Lawrence faced a 9.2 second deficit to Prado.
Over the next few laps, Lawrence took big chunks out of Prado’s lead and soon enough the Honda rider moved within three seconds of his KTM foe. Lawrence’s push continued and moved him onto Prado’s rear fender.
Prado responded and was able to stabilize his advantage as the moto approached its final five minutes. Hunter then went on the attack and made an assertive pass for the lead with under three minutes remaining. Moments later, Jett Lawrence made a pass on Marchbanks for fifth.
Once out front, Hunter Lawrence surged out to lead of more than five seconds and went on to redeem his miscue from the first moto with his fifth moto win of the season. He took the checkered flag by a margin of 11.2 seconds over Prado, with Deegan a distant third. Jett Lawrence made a valiant charge to salvage fifth.
Overall
Hunter Lawrence’s 2-1 effort netted him a second straight win and class-leading third overall victory of the season.
Prado’s pair of holeshots carried him to 3-2 finishes and a second career podium result, which equaled his career best from the opening round.
Jett Lawrence captured his 38th premier class podium in third following a 1-5 performance and finished tied with Prado in event points but lost out on the second moto tiebreaker.
For the first time in 53 years, the overall podium at RedBud was composed entirely of international athletes.
With the win Hunter Lawrence reclaimed control of the championship points lead and holds a three-point lead over Jett. Deegan, who finished sixth overall (10-3), remains third, 51 points out of the lead and 12 points ahead of Prado in fourth.
In the 250SMX Class, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies became the first repeat winner in the class this summer with back-to-back victories.
