At the Lakewood, Colorado, Thunder Valley National (round 3 of the AMA Pro Motocross series), all four Team Honda HRC racers enjoyed positive showings that were important steps toward achieving their aspirations for the season.
Following the worst outdoor performance of his career last week (and still affected by a hard crash), Jett Lawrence took the 450 overall win and significantly reduced his deficit in the title chase. Hunter Lawrence earned the first 450 moto-win of his career and left the Centennial State with his first premier-class red plate. The 250 class saw Chance Hymas also notch his first moto-win and take his first overall-podium finish. Jo Shimoda tallied his first moto-podium finish and continued a steady progression in overall results (from sixth at round 1, to fifth at round 2, to fourth in Colorado).
Jett Lawrence: “The second moto was much harder than the first for me; my legs were shot late in the moto. When I was in third, I had to make a decision whether I was going to push past the top two or just settle. I knew we had to make up some points, so I put my head down and kept charging. I’m happy to get out of here with a win and a chunk of points. Let’s head east!”
Hunter Lawrence: “It was definitely a great day, but I almost wish I left here with the overall instead of the red plate, as weird as that sounds. We made some big changes on the bike this week, and today it showed. It’s always a good feeling when you do some testing that pays off. The 450s are beasts to hold on to compared to 250s, especially off the start, so setup plays a huge key in being competitive.”
Chance Hymas: “It feels great to do this for the team. They’ve seen me at my lowest, and they’ve seen the work I’ve been putting in. We figured some stuff out with the bike and with my diet lately, and that’s been a huge key. I feel like I’m back to where I was last year, before I got hurt.”
Jo Shimoda: “This weekend was another improvement. This felt like the first time I was riding my style. We did a lot of bike work over the past month, and it’s starting to come together. Today was a big confidence boost, to know I can run the pace. We just have to figure out our starts. And congrats Chance!”
Lars Lindstrom: “This was a successful weekend for the entire team, and it seems like Colorado and Honda are quite fond of one another, seeing as we’ve had a lot of success here. After last weekend, we had a lot of decisions to make to get our 450 boys more comfortable, and I want to thank our awesome team sponsor, Showa, for the hard work and commitment to do whatever it takes to win. Along with the extra effort from everyone on the team, we were able to respond quickly, and the brothers proved how happy they were with the bike by dominating qualifying and also the race. It was truly special to watch them battle it out, and I’m super-happy to see Hunter get his 450 first moto win. I’m also ecstatic to see Chance and Jo’s progression, with Chance getting the holeshot and winning the second moto, which included pulling away from “The Deegs” [Haiden Deegan], while Jo just kept getting faster and faster to almost nab second. Once we figure out his starts and first-lap intensity, I think he’ll be challenging for wins again.”
