Hunter Lawrence podiums at MXGP season opener

Hunter Lawrence goes 2-6 at season opener for third overall

Hunter Lawrence took third place at the opening round of the 2018 Motocross World Championship in Patagonia, Argentina, giving Team Honda 114 Motorsports a podium in their first ever GP.

On board the all-new 2018 Honda CRF250R, Lawrence got the holeshot in the first race and despite dropping to second halfway through, it still gave him a good platform for moto two.

Unfortunately he didn’t get quite as good start in the second moto and instead the rider had to fight his way into sixth place, giving him the third step on the podium overall.

Hunter Lawrence

“I’m pretty happy with the weekend, we have a lot of positives to take out of this weekend. It would have been nice to get the win but it’s not my favourite track so I can’t be too disappointed. I prefer more technical tracks than this one as it was high speed and a bit flat but we know what we need to change and sort out and make sure I’m 100% for the rest of the rounds.

“It was a good start to the year though; third overall on a bad day isn’t too bad. I’m looking forward to getting back to Europe and having a safe journey home.”

Jed Beaton fifth overall

20-year-old Tasmanian Jed Beaton also got his 2018 campaign off to a great start piloting the F&H Kawasaki to seventh and eighth place finished in the two bouts for an impressive fifth overall.

Jed Beaton

“It was a good GP and I’m pretty happy with the result; my starts were not very good and that’s something we need to work on before Valkenswaard. It was my first time at this track which looked like it had a lot of grip but in fact it was hard and slippery and it took me a while to get used to it. It was difficult to feel the track, but Valkenswaard will be different as I raced there last year in the EMX 250.”

The next round of the Motocross World Championship will take place at Valkenswaard in a fortnight’s time.

MX2 Race One Results

1. JONASS  Pauls 1 LAT 25 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 34:44.373
2. LAWRENCE Hunter 96 AUS 22 Honda 114 Motorsports +01.993
3. KJER OLSEN Thomas 19 DEN 20 Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +12.509
4. WATSON Ben 919 GBR 18 Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team +21.540
5. JACOBI Henry 29 GER 16 STC Racing +39.686
6. MEWSE Conrad 426 GBR 15 Hitachi Construction Machinery KTM UK +40.184
7. BEATON Jed 14 AUS 14 F&H Racing Team +41.891
8. CERVELLIN Michele 747 ITA 13 Team Martin Racing Honda +43.238
9. BRYLYAKOV Vsevolod 18 RUS 12 Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team +44.951
10. COVINGTON Thomas 64 USA 11 Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +52.725

MX2 Race Two Results

1. JONASS Pauls 1 LAT 25 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 34:00.087
2. KJER OLSEN Thomas 19 DEN 22 Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +5.260
3. SANAYEI Darian 57 USA 20 Bike It DRT Kawasaki +10.726
4. WATSON Ben 919 GBR 18 Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team +13.864
5. VLAANDEREN Calvin 10 RSA 16 Team HRC – MX2 +13.993
6. LAWRENCE Hunter 96 AUS 15 Honda 114 Motorsports +14.909
7. PRADO GARCIA Jorge 61 SPA 14 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +33.086
8. BEATON Jed 14 AUS 13 F&H Racing Team +34.461
9. BRYLYAKOV Vsevolod 18 RUS 12 Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team +40.040
10. GEERTS Jago 193 BEL 11 Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team +41.654

MX2 Championship Points Standings

1. JONASS Pauls 1 LAT 50 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
2. KJER OLSEN Thomas 19 DEN 42 Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
3. LAWRENCE Hunter 96 AUS 37 Honda 114 Motorsports
4. WATSON Ben 919 GBR 36 Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team
5. BEATON Jed 14 AUS 27 F&H Racing Team
6. BRYLYAKOV Vsevolod 18 RUS 24 Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team
7. JACOBI Henry 29 GER 21 STC Racing
8. SANAYEI Darian 57 USA 20 Bike It DRT Kawasaki
9. GEERTS Jago 193 BEL 20 Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team
10. VLAANDEREN Calvin 10 RSA 19 Team HRC – MX2