Aussie points leader makes it three wins in four races as Roczen storms from the back and Tomac fights through the LCQ to podium
After the lone weekend off, Monster Energy AMA Supercross roared back into action at Protective Stadium for Round 10 of the Monster Energy SMX World Championship, and Birmingham delivered a defining night for Australia’s Hunter Lawrence. The Honda HRC Progressive rider produced what the series described as arguably the best performance of his career, controlling the 450SMX Main Event to claim back to back wins and make it three victories in the last four races.
In front of a huge Birmingham crowd, the 20 Minute + 1 Lap 450SMX Main Event began with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado grabbing the holeshot, with Lawrence immediately in tow. Lawrence didn’t wait long to apply pressure, pouncing early to take control and quickly opening clean air between himself and the rest of the field.
Behind him, the story was turbulence and recovery. Prado initially settled into second ahead of teammate Eli Tomac, while Cooper Webb and Ken Roczen began the chase. Tomac and Prado then became locked in an extended fight for second, and that duel opened the door for Roczen to enter the picture in dramatic fashion after launching from a rough start that left him buried well outside the top 10.
As Tomac finally forced his way past Prado for second, Roczen followed through into third. Then the Suzuki rider turned up the intensity again, making short work of Tomac to take over second and set his sights on Lawrence. From there, the order at the front stabilised: Lawrence in command, Roczen trying to reel him in, Tomac slipping back as the laps clicked down.
Lawrence maintained a cushion of around four seconds over Roczen through much of the race, and while Roczen found moments of momentum, heavy lapped traffic repeatedly interrupted any sustained charge. When the chequered flag flew, Lawrence had done enough to secure his third career 450SMX win, taking the victory by 2.3 seconds.
Tomac crossed the line more than 30 seconds behind in third, but the result came with context. His night had already taken a major hit earlier, with an incident in the Heat Race forcing him into his first LCQ since 2019, turning the evening into a pressure test before the gates even dropped for the Main.
In the championship picture, Lawrence’s win extended his 450SMX points lead over Tomac to nine points. Roczen’s runner up result marked his sixth podium of the season and moved him into third overall, 31 points back from the red plate.
Birmingham may have been Round 10 on paper, but the tone felt like a turning point: Lawrence is in form and in control, Roczen is proving he can fight from anywhere even if the starts keep him honest, and Tomac showed he can still extract a podium on a night that could have easily gone sideways.
Hunter Lawrence – 1st Place
“It feels good [to win for the third time in four races]. I’m just taking it one race at a time. It’s easy to think about the end result, which is the title, but I’m just trying to stay focused in the moment. Anything can happen, as we’ve seen tonight, so I’m just happy to be up here.”
Ken Roczen – 2nd Place
“I’m ecstatic, honestly. I think I rode really well, but you can’t start 15th and expect to win a race. Inconsistency on the start [is something] I’m not happy with. I rode so good tonight. Coulda, woulda, shoulda, but with racing like that I’m totally fine with it.”
Eli Tomac – 3rd Place
“I just wasn’t as good tonight as the front two. That’s it. Of course, the LCQ was very stressful and a high-pressure moment, but I got myself out there to a good start [in the Main Event] on the outside gate and just got beat tonight. Just a little bit off. It’s tough, one of those nights, but we’ll try to regroup next week and see if we can get back up front.”
BIRMINGHAM SUPERCROSS RESULTS
- Hunter Lawrence (Hon)
- Ken Roczen (Suz)
- Eli Tomac (KTM)
- Justin Cooper (Yam)
- Malcolm Stewart (Hus)
- Cooper Webb (Yam)
- Jorge Prado (KTM)
- Colt Nichols (Suz)
- Jordon Smith (Tri)
- Garrett Marchbanks (Kaw)
- Justin Hill (KTM)
- Shane McElrath (Hon)
- Vince Friese (Kaw)
- Grant Harlan (KTM)
- Mitchell Harrison (Kaw)
- Freddie Noren (Yam)
- Christian Craig (Hon)
- Justin Bogle (Suz)
- Cole Thompson (Yam)
- Kevin Moranz (KTM)
- Aaron Plessinger (KTM)
- Cade Clason (Kaw)
AMA SUPERCROSS 450SX STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 10
- Hunter Lawrence (Hon) 221
- Eli Tomac (KTM) 212
- Ken Roczen (Suz) 190
- Cooper Webb (Yam) 187
- Justin Cooper (Yam) 158
- Joey Savatgy (Tri) 125
- Chase Sexton (KTM) 122
- Malcolm Stewart (Hus) 107
- Jorge Prado (KTM) 104
- Aaron Plessinger (KTM) 99
