HUNTER LAWRENCE - GRIT 248 450SX

GRIT-248 | 450 SX

May 20, 2024 9:45 am

Managing to consistently heighten his prowess in the 450cc division, Honda's Hunter Lawrence was eager to compete in Nashville on Saturday. Throughout practice, the number ninety-six was stellar and again, proved that he was a force to be dealt with amongst foreseeable podium contenders...which translated to his heat race where he resided fifth in the beginning of the moto. He was behind Dean Wilson, but made the move on the number fifteen while then seeking to overtake Yamaha's Justin Cooper. Cooper was beginning to fade ever so slightly, after initially contending for the lead with Suzuki's Ken Roczen. Lawrence capitalized on the absence of speed on behalf of the New York native while infiltrating third, and identified Adam Cianciarulo as the second place contender where Ken led the field around. A stalling of the motor would force Roczen out of the lead - which put the winning narrative into the hands of the Kawasaki rider. But Lawrence was persistent in chipping away at the gap that had been established, and saw an opportunity to claim the lead with just over one lap remaining. He leapt to the inside of the sand via doubling out of the makeshift rollers, and as his line nearly collided with "AC" when departing from the corner, the two would nearly come together! However he (Lawrence) stayed on the throttle, taking the lead, and eventual win! This preceded the main event, where Hunter rounded the first lap in fifth, alongside Kawasaki's Jason Anderson. However on the second lap, the Australian had descended across a number of positions...and it was found that he and Jason had come together after the whoop section - resulting in a huge loss of time and halting of momentum on behalf the number ninety-six, which re-located him in seventeenth! He then would have no other choice but to claw through the pack, fighting for every bit of racetrack after moving ahead of athletes like Vince Friese, Malcolm Stewart, and Adam Cianciarulo. With around eight laps to go, an advancement would be made where he overtook Benny Bloss (for seventh). Once there, the gap to the next rider (i.e. Justin Cooper) was too far too overcome...leaving the Australian in seventh, as he took the white flag. Eliminating mistakes and managing to stay upright on this tricky track while speeding to the checkered, Hunter was a recipient of seventh as all was said and done - putting forth yet another, phenomenal effort within the 450cc SX division.

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