Sexton takes maiden Kawasaki win as Lawrence claims another 450SX podium
Hunter Lawrence continued his impressive early-season form with a second consecutive runner-up finish in the 450SX main event at Anaheim, reinforcing his status as a genuine championship contender despite Chase Sexton claiming a breakthrough maiden victory for Kawasaki.
The Anaheim final opened with Jason Anderson launching to the holeshot aboard his Suzuki, with Sexton immediately alongside. Lawrence slotted into the lead group early, shadowing the front runners as the pace settled, while points leader Eli Tomac remained firmly in contention just behind.
Sexton was the first to make progress, edging past Lawrence to move into second before applying sustained pressure on Anderson. After several laps of close racing, Sexton forced his way into the lead and began to build a small but decisive advantage at the front.
Behind him, the battle for the podium intensified. Tomac briefly moved ahead of Lawrence, pushing the Honda rider back to fourth, but the Australian responded with a trademark second-half charge. Lawrence reeled Tomac back in and then capitalised as Anderson began to fade, moving decisively into second place.
With clear track ahead, Lawrence set about closing the gap to Sexton in the final laps, showing his strongest pace of the race. Lapped riders interrupted his momentum, however, allowing Sexton to maintain enough of a margin to secure the win. Lawrence crossed the line just over a second behind, with Tomac completing the podium after another consistent ride.
The result marked Sexton’s first victory with Kawasaki and his first podium of the season, while Tomac remained the only rider to finish on the podium at all three rounds so far. For Lawrence, the night carried major championship significance: the Australian now sits second in the 450SX standings, just eight points off the lead, having already doubled his career tally of premier-class podium finishes in only three rounds.
As the series heads away from California, Lawrence’s combination of consistency and late-race speed suggests his first 450SX victory is drawing ever closer.
Chase Sexton – 1st Place
“It’s been a long few months, going back to the [crash at the] Vegas SMX finale. That was not good for me. It’s hard to get back here [atop the podium], honestly. It’s been a journey. Even after the Heat Race tonight I was wondering what I was doing wrong and knew I needed to just go out there and do my laps. I strapped up for the Main Event and just rode solid and more within myself. I can’t say enough about the team and everything they’ve done to get us to this point. It’s good to put Kawi back on top.”
Hunter Lawrence – 2nd Place
“It was a good day—the battle with Eli [Tomac] was cool! I was behind Chase [Sexton] and Jason [Anderson], and I know that the first 10 minutes of these races are always such a super-intense, high pace, so I was just trying to stay in the hunt. I know I have the legs to go the distance, so I was just trying to give myself the best shot, stay in it in the beginning and move forward. I believed that I could get there, I knew I had some good lines and was feeling good. I was trying to up the intensity towards the closing stage, and I looked up and there was like six minutes left; I was like, ‘Alright, let’s empty the tank.’ I would’ve liked to see how the last two laps unfolded had there not been traffic with the two lapped riders. It’s been my best start of the season for Supercross, which is what I wanted to do. We’ve still got so many races to go. It’s been some really good racing.”
Eli Tomac – 3rd Place
“The big picture [championship] is great. That race was a whole lot of everything. A lot of offense, a lot of defense. I tried some moves and got passed, and vice versa. I’m happy to defend that podium spot, it was important for me, but that was a very intense race. Overall, I’m happy with the finish and looking forward to next weekend.”
Anaheim 2 450SX Results
- Chase Sexton (Kaw)
- Hunter Lawrence (Hon)
- Eli Tomac (KTM)
- Jason Anderson (Suz)
- Cooper Webb (Yam)
- Joey Savatgy (Hon)
- Jorge Prado (KTM)
- Ken Roczen (Suz)
- R.J. Hampshire (Hus)
- Justin Cooper (Yam)
AMA 450SX Championship Points (after 3 of 17 rounds)
- Eli Tomac: 70
- Hunter Lawrence: 62
- Chase Sexton: 57
- Ken Roczen: 56
- Jason Anderson: 46
- Cooper Webb: 46
- Justin Cooper: 44
- Joey Savatgy: 42
- Jorge Prado: 41
- Dylan Ferrandis: 37
