- Chase Sexton helps Team USA to win with 2-3 moto scores
- Jett Lawrence wins Open class to help Team Australia secure a podium finish
Team Honda HRC riders Chase Sexton, Jett Lawrence and Hunter Lawrence all enjoyed solid showings during the Motocross of Nations at Michigan’s RedBud MX, helping their respective national teams to strong results. Just three weeks after finishing a close second in the AMA Pro Motocross 450 Championship, Chase Sexton turned in steady 2-3 finishes in challenging conditions during his debut entry in the international event. Those results by the CRF450R rider, combined with strong showings from fellow countrymen Eli Tomac and Justin Cooper, were enough to give Team USA its first MXoN victory in over a decade.
While they typically race as Sexton’s teammates in AMA competition, Hunter and Jett Lawrence were riding for Team Australia at the Motocross of Nations, and the brothers contributed to the all-Honda entry’s respectable third-place finish, just three points behind France. Making his debut appearance in the event and aboard a 450, Jett—recently recrowned as the AMA Pro Motocross 250 Champion—notched a victory in Race 2 and finished second in Race 3, while Hunter rode his CRF250R to 8-10 results (racing against both 250cc and 450cc machinery).
Race 1 saw MX2 and MXGP riders compete, and while Team USA’s Tomac rode to a convincing start-to-finish win, Team Australia’s Hunter Lawrence spent the entire race in eighth place—second among the 250 riders, behind Team USA’s Justin Cooper. Race 2 was for MX2 and Open riders, and Team Australia’s Jett Lawrence showed that he is ready for 450 machinery, advancing from third place to the front by the midway point and staying there to the end, while Team USA’s Chase Sexton had a steady ride to finish second. Hunter Lawrence was 10th, second-best MX2 rider behind Cooper and Team France’s Marvin Musquin. In the dramatic final race, for MXGP and Open riders, Jett Lawrence overcame vision troubles to finish second to Team France’s Maxime Renaux, one spot ahead of Sexton.
NOTES
- While results are based on nationality in the Motocross of Nations, technical and logistical support is largely supplied by a rider’s normal race team—or by a manufacturer’s operation within the host country. That being the case, Team Honda HRC helped not just Team USA’s Chase Sexton, but also Team Australia’s Hunter and Jett Lawrence, and to a lesser extent Red Riders racing for other countries.
- Honda racers rode well in Saturday qualifying, with Team USA’s Chase Sexton, Team Australia’s Jett Lawrence and Team Spain’s Ruben Fernandez finishing second, third and fourth, respectively, in the Open race; Team Australia’s Hunter Lawrence finishing second in the MX2 race; and Team Australia’s Mitch Evans finishing fourth in the MXGP race. Also of note were top-10 rides by Team Canada’s Dylan Wright (MXGP) and Team Great Britain’s Tommy Searle (Open).
- As has been the case for most recent editions of the Motocross of Nations, the event was marked by inclement weather, with race day hit by intermittent hard rain. The conditions introduced a bit of an unknown, although most of the expected top teams still performed well.
- On Friday at RedBud, Sexton celebrated his 23rd birthday, matching his AMA race number. The Illinois native’s birthplace is just three hours west of the RedBud track, and he enjoyed enthusiastic fan support all weekend.
- Twenty-three is also the new Motocross of Nations win total for Team USA, which is a record, although the previous victory had come back in 2011.
- Team Australia’s all-Honda third-place result was the country’s second podium ever at the Motocross of Nations, the last having come over a decade earlier.
- While Team Honda HRC members were the star Red Riders at the Motocross of Nations, a number of other CRF racers also performed well. Team Australia’s Mitch Evans posted a solid fifth place in Race 1, Team Spain’s Ruben Fernandez did likewise in Race 2 and Team Canada’s Dylan Wright was 10th in Race 3. Strong Red Rider performances in the B final included Team New Zealand’s Josiah Natzke, Team Venezuela’s Anthony Rodriguez and Team Japan’s Yuki Okura, finishing in seventh-through-ninth places, respectively.
- With the 2022 season now in the books, Team Honda HRC turns its attention to next year, with testing for AMA Supercross being the top priority. The 2023 schedule has yet to be announced, but the season is expected to start in Anaheim in early January.
Chase Sexton
“Unbelievable! This whole weekend has really been a dream come true, with it being my birthday, and it all worked out. First one, first win—you can’t take that for granted, because they don’t come very often. I’m just so happy. That last race, it was key to get out there off the start. It was a nerve-wracking race, and I just wanted to get to the finish. I’m stoked on the day, stoked on the crowd. I’m at a loss for words right now.”
Jett Lawrence
“It was really good. That second one I felt not too bad—not the greatest start, and had a little trouble with my goggles near the end, which was a bit of a bummer as my pace would’ve been faster. I’m happy to be on the box for my first year and happy I got the overall win in Open. I can’t wait for next year; I feel like we [Team Australia] have a really good team, and you’ll be seeing a lot of us in the next few years. Hopefully we do better and better each year.”
Hunter Lawrence
“It’s awesome—everyone rode awesome! We left it all out on the track, and no one gave up regardless of what happened. We’ve got some good years to come, and this is a great year to kick off the first time we’re on the team together. I’m looking forward to it; it’s going to be a good few years ahead of us.”
Lars Lindstrom – Team Manager
“What a fantastic weekend for Honda, and for me personally because this race is super-special to me and everyone on the team. The amount of teamwork that everybody has to put in, getting to work not only with Chase, but the Star Yamaha guys, Eli Tomac and Justin Cooper, as well as the AMA and Renthal’s Paul Perebijnos, who helped the AMA with strategy, planning and fundraising. I was really happy with everyone working as a team. These races are a lot: the rules and everything are different, so it’s stressful for everybody. We also had Team Australia, who I was also cheering for and wanting to help as much as I can. I wanted to give them the freedom to do what they want, but at the same time, Hunter and Jett are my guys, so I’m pumped for them too. Obviously, my main goal was Team USA, and trying to make sure we had everything we needed and do everything the proper way. Luckily the riders pulled through, with Chase going 2-3, Eli winning that first race and Cooper doing well. I’m super-stoked for the whole weekend.”
Media contact:
Danny Gonzalez // Jonnum Media // danny@jonnummedia.com // +1 (805) 915-7889
Race 1 Results (MXGP & MX2)
- Eli Tomac – USA (Yam)
- Jago Geerts – Belgium (Yam)
- Maxime Renaux – France (Yam)
- Jeremy Seewer – Switzerland (Yam)
- Mitchell Evans – Australia (Hon)
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8. Hunter Lawrence – Australia (Hon)
24. Emil Weckman – Finland (Hon)
30. Rider McNabb – Canada (Hon)
31. Dylan Wright – Canada (Hon)
37. Max Anstie – Great Britain (Hon)
39. Anthony Rodriguez – Venezuela (Hon)
Race 2 Results (MX2 & Open)
- Jett Lawrence – Australia (Hon)
- Chase Sexton – USA (Hon)
- Mattia Guadagnini – Italy (Gas)
- Justin Cooper – USA (Yam)
- Ruben Fernandez – Spain (Hon)
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10. Hunter Lawrence – Australia (Hon)
17. Tommy Searle – Great Britain (Hon)
21. Emil Weckman – Finland (Hon)
30. Max Anstie – Great Britain (Hon)
Race 3 Results (MXGP & Open)
- Maxime Renaux – France (Yam)
- Jett Lawrence – Australia (Hon)
- Chase Sexton – USA (Hon)
- Dylan Ferrandis – France (Yam)
- Jeremy Seewer – Switzerland (Yam)
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8. Ruben Fernandez – Spain (Hon)
10. Dylan Wright – Canada (Hon)
15. Tommy Searle – Great Britain (Hon)
26. Miro Sihvonen – Finland (Hon)
28. Mitchell Evans – Australia (Hon)
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