“I wish there was five more minutes” – Hunter maintains 450SX lead after narrowly falling short of victory
AMA Supercross Round 8 rolled into the legendary Daytona International Speedway and it was Hunter Lawrence who set the tone early for Honda HRC Progressive, topping both 450SX qualifying sessions to become the event’s top overall qualifier—his first time doing so this season.
Lawrence carried that speed straight into the night program. Launching well in his 450SX heat, he settled into a fight at the front before taking the win at the finish line for his third heat-race victory of the year. Behind him, Honda strength was on display too: Quad Lock Honda’s Joey Savatgy rode to a standout second in the same heat, Christian Craig transferred directly to the main with sixth, and Shane McElrath delivered his best heat-race result of the season in fifth.
When the gate dropped for the Daytona main event, Lawrence put his CRF450RWE at the pointy end immediately, grabbing the holeshot. He was shuffled back early, then locked into a tense, constantly evolving battle as the leaders negotiated Daytona’s rough, high-speed layout. Around the one-third mark he lost another position, but Lawrence stayed composed, kept his pace, and waited for the right moment to strike.
With five laps remaining, the Australian made a decisive pass to reclaim second place and then began reeling in the leader. Lawrence’s late-race charge brought him to within 1.3 seconds of the win at the chequered flag—another big points night that also delivered his fifth runner-up finish of the season.
Savatgy backed up his speed with a solid fifth in the main event to match his season-best result, while McElrath finished eighth and Craig crossed the line 13th. Privateer Honda rider Zack Williams also made the show after qualifying 24th.
Crucially, Lawrence’s consistency continues to pay off in the standings. Leaving Daytona, he remains on top of the 450SX championship with a razor-thin one-point advantage over Eli Tomac as the series heads to round 9 in Indianapolis this weekend.
Hunter Lawrence
“There are some things we’ve been trying to address, but it was a gnarly track, with good racing; I think it was a pretty fun night to watch for the crowd. I wish there was maybe five more minutes to the race. One thing I’ve taken for granted is the tower that you can look at over the finish line and see how much time you have left, and the order and stuff—I’m pretty grateful we have that in the stadiums. In the closing laps, I gave my max effort. The track was changing a lot, and it was already tough. I think this year, the track was maybe more square-edged, with hard bumps on exits of turns. I think the fact that it broke down made it unique, because it was quite a simple track layout.”
Round 8 450SX Results
- Eli Tomac (KTM)
- Hunter Lawrence (Hon)
- Ken Roczen (Suz)
- Cooper Webb (Yam)
- Joey Savatgy (Hon)
- Aaron Plessinger (KTM)
- Garrett Marchbanks (Kaw)
- Shane McElrath (Hon)
- Justin Hill (KTM)
- Malcolm Stewart (Hus)
450SX Championship Points (after 8 of 17 rounds)
- Hunter Lawrence: 171
- Eli Tomac: 170
- Ken Roczen: 151
- Cooper Webb: 151
- Chase Sexton: 122
- Justin Cooper: 122
- Joey Savatgy: 112
- Aaron Plessinger: 95
- Dylan Ferrandis: 87
- Jason Anderson: 84
