GEICO Honda rider Jett Lawrence claimed his best result so far this season with fourth overall at the Spring Creek National, Round 6 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.
The 17-year-old placed third in Moto 1 but an average start in Moto 2 forced the Queenslander ride through the pack after round the first turn in 19th. He worked his way up to sixth by the chequered flag and with a 3-6 scored card, Lawrence narrowly missed the Spring Creek National overall podium by one point.
Hunter Lawrence showed improvement at the Spring Creek National after a string of results outside the top-10 following his shoulder injury at Round 2. Hunter finished seventh in Moto 1 and fifth in Moto 2, which placed him seventh overall.
Spring Creek 250MX Race Recap
The first 250 Class moto saw Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire grab the holeshot, just edging out Yamaha Racing’s Justin Cooper and JGR/Yoshimura/Suzuki Racing’s Alex Martin. Just after the completion of the opening lap, Dylan Ferrandis made the pass on Alex Martin to take over third, while championship point leader Jeremy Martin started eighth on his GEICO Honda.
As Hampshire quickly set the pace at the front of the 40-rider field, Ferrandis put his head down in an attempt to track him down and make a bid for the race lead. Behind the lead duo, Cooper and Alex Martin battled bar-to-bar for third, and at the halfway point of the moto, Alex Martin would make the pass stick in front of his home crowd.
With Hampshire riding strong out front, Ferrandis’ patience began to wear thin as he searched for a way around. Ferrandis was able to take advantage of a mistake by Hampshire on one of the uphill step up jumps to take control of the lead with just over 10-minutes remaining. As the moto began to wind down, the battle heated up for third between Alex Martin and GEICO Honda’s Jett Lawrence and Jeremy Martin. Lawrence was able to muscle his way by Alex Martin to steal third with two minutes remaining.
Ferrandis would hold on to take his third moto win of the season by 4.1 seconds over Hampshire who earned his seventh moto podium of the season. Lawrence fended off the hard charging Martin brothers to complete the podium in third. Alex and Jeremy Martin crossed the finish in fourth and fifth, respectively.
As the field rounded the first turn to start Moto 2 it was Yamaha Racing’s Shane McElrath who emerged with the holeshot ahead of his teammate Cooper and Alex Martin. Before the end of the opening lap, Ferrandis overtook Alex Martin for third, while his championship rival Jeremy Martin started just outside of the top five.
With a clear track ahead, McElrath opened a small lead over his fellow competitors who continued to duke it out for the second and third positions. Jeremy Martin soon joined the battle for the podium as he pushed his way past his brother for fourth. McElrath would surrender the lead by tucking the front end and going down, allowing Cooper to become the new race leader.
While Cooper held the number one spot, Ferrandis started to show a wheel to his teammate in an attempt to break away from Jeremy Martin. As the race closed in on the halfway point of the 30-minute-plus-two-lap moto, Ferrandis stuffed his way by Cooper to take the lead, followed by Jeremy Martin who also struck on Cooper to take second just moments later.
Ferrandis and Jeremy Martin pulled away from the field as they paced one another out front in the hunt for valuable championship points. When the checkered flag waved it was Ferrandis who barely held on to take his fourth moto win of the season by 0.4 seconds over Jeremy Martin. A distant third would go to Cooper, followed by Alex Martin in fourth.
Ferrandis would go 1-1 for the first time since the season opener to take his second overall victory of the season. Jeremy Martin finished runner-up (5-2) on the day, edging out his brother Alex Martin (4-4).
“That was a difficult race in the second moto and the pressure was on,” Ferrandis. “It was really good for me to have that battle and come out on top in the second moto. The championship is really close and I think that we were able to put on a good show for everyone today. Jeremy [Martin] and I have a good relationship I think and we congratulated each other and talked about the battle after the race.”
The win moved Ferrandis back into the championship lead, which stands at three points over Jeremy Martin. Hampshire maintains third, 55-points adrift of Ferrandis.
“That was the funnest race I’ve had all year,” said Martin. “I know I didn’t get the win today, which is always the goal. I don’t like to lose, but it felt good to see the number 14 up there and give him a run. We’ve got two rounds to go and hopefully we can battle each other like we did today.”
Spring Creek National 250MX Results
1 Dylan Ferrandis 1 – 1
2 Jeremy Martin 5 – 2
3 Alex Martin 4 – 4
4 Jett Lawrence 3 – 6
5 Justin Cooper 9 – 3
6 R.J. Hampshire 2 – 11
7 Hunter Lawrence 7 – 5
8 Jo Shimoda 12 – 8
9 Mitchell Harrison 11 – 9
10 Derek Drake 8 – 12
250MX Championship Standings
1 Dylan Ferrandis 257
2 Jeremy Martin 254
3 R.J. Hampshire 202
4 Alex Martin 194
5 Shane McElrath 186
6 Justin Cooper 164
7 Jett Lawrence 162
8 Cameron McAdoo 140
9 Mitchell Harrison 123
10 Brandon Hartranft 114