Hunter Lawrence's chances of a podium overall result at Round 2 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship were scrapped after a freak mechanical issue in Moto 1.
Lawrence was forced to retire from Moto 1 after a rock knocked the oil filter cap from his Honda CRF250R, draining the engine of oil.
The GEICO rider pressed on unaware his engine was a ticking timebomb until it ceased on a downhill section, causing him to come together with Jordon Smith, sending both riders to the ground.
Lawrence lined up for Moto 2 with a fresh engine and with the 37th gate pick, pulled a strong start. The Honda rider made his way through the pack and eventually passed Adam Cianciarulo for the lead. Unfortunately, a small front-end washout two laps later saw AC retake the lead and Lawrence would finish second.
His DNF in Moto 1 dragged down his overall and with a 37-2, placed ninth overall.
“Cool weekend, Q1: P3, Q2: P4 first moto got off to a pretty good start and was sitting third and then unfortunately on the lap before the crash with another rider I could feel my bike losing compression and the motor was dying,” said Lawrence on Instagram.
“A rock in the ground I had hit somehow broke the oil filter cap, leaving a hole that all the engine oil leaked out of. Finally stopping just on the downhill where the incident happened. Second moto, I got a good start with 37th gate pick and was able to come through from being outside the top 10 to first for two laps before washing the front end, which dropped me back to second. A massive thank you to my wicked team!”