Hunter Lawrence lit up the 2017 Motocross of Nations on his Suzuki RM-Z250, putting in two great moto scores to win the MX2 class and get awarded the Ricky Carmichael Award for best young rider.
In what were tough, muddy conditions, Lawrence showed great speed against the 450 machines, grabbing great starts and making passes on riders much more experienced than himself. He had this to say about his award-winning performance: “The day started off really well, with a good start on my RM-Z250. It was a good race with the 450s and I ended up fourth which was really cool, finishing ahead of some top-quality riders and I was the first MX2 rider across the line,” said Lawrence.
“It was a short break between the two motos and I didn’t get as good of a start in the second race and I had to work my way through the pack. There was so much mud on my helmet and I had to take the goggles off but I was riding well and making passes. I took a rock to the eye at one stage and that hurt a lot but others were making mistakes and I kept charging and eventually got up to third. Unfortunately, my helmet was falling down across my eyes and I couldn’t see so well and I crashed a couple of laps from the end. Obviously it was a massive let down for myself as I ended up finishing eighth after that mistake. I still won the MX2 class and won the Ricky Carmichael award for best young rider so I’m really happy with that and with helping Australia to a sixth overall.”
2017 MXoN Results
Nations Overall Result:
1. France, 20;
2. The Netherlands, 31;
3. Great Britain, 32;
4. Belgium, 53;
5. Switzerland, 56;
6. Australia, 58;
7. Italy, 63;
8. Estonia, 84;
9. USA, 85;
10. Sweden, 87.