Suzuki World MX2 rider, Hunter Lawrence, battled illness and tough conditions at the MXGP of Leon, Mexico to finish 13th overall.
Lawrence recorded an 11th in Race 1 but his 14th in Race 2 saw the MX2 rookie drop down the overall standings by the end of the weekend.
“First moto I didn’t have too bad a start, and with this illness I was just trying to last the full moto. It wasn’t too bad, I picked up a couple of positions, made some passes and finished 11th. No crashes, so I was happy with that,” said Lawrence.
“I then came back in, tried to reboot, recover as much as possible and go out for moto two. I got a similar start as moto one, mid-pack and tried to ride as best as I could, giving everything I had; the same sort of mentality as the first race. At the fifteen minute mark though, I was pretty already done, I had no energy or strength left so I ended up 14th. Not a bad weekend overall, today was good all things considered. Two motos in the top 15 with no crashes is not great but it gives me something to build on for when we get back to Europe.”
Team mate, Jeremy Seewer, extended his points at the top of the MX2 World Championship with an equal first overall. Seewer got out of the gate well in the first race, controlling it from start to finish for his second race win of his career. The second race didn’t quite go as well with him battling back from a top-10 place to finish fourth.
Jeremy Seewer
Seewer had this to say about the racing: “I did everything that I said I wanted to do yesterday. I just let it happen and the results came out well. I had a really good start in the first moto, we knew that I could do that after yesterday so I was pleased with that. Then I just put in some fast laps and felt good on my bike, I made a gap, and then took the win comfortably. It was nice to take a win in normal conditions, after my first victory which was in the mud in Indonesia.
The second moto, I had the same start in mind but it didn’t quite work out as well. I was pretty confident to get it done but sometimes it just doesn’t work out right. Still, I was in a decent spot, it was just hard to see the track and finding lines to pass those guys. Finally, I got to behind Julien Lieber and Jonass in fourth and then I passed Lieber which would have given me the overall, but I wanted to pass Jonass too. I got really close behind him, but that’s when I made a mistake. I went a little bit off my lines, came off the bike but avoided the crash. It wasn’t too bad, I lost a position though before I got back on and that dropped me back to fourth, which is where I finished.
It was nice to extend the points lead but a little disappointed that I didn’t win the GP. That would have been nice to come away with but keeping the red plate is the important thing, especially as we now head to Europe like this. I’m happy with it; I didn’t feel the pressure of it at all as it just looks so good on my bike and I just want to keep it there.”
General Manager Stefan Everts was certainly happy with both riders, especially Seewer who managed to not just keep the red-plate but extend the lead in the process. “Jeremy really showed everyone what he can do in that first race. He tried really hard to do the same in second moto but made a mistake which cost him the overall which was a bit of a shame. Still, we go back home with the red-plate which is nice and the job that we all came here to do.
“Hunter had a tough weekend, with him suffering with the sickness but I was really happy to see him riding much better in the first moto. He was out there almost on his own, just riding his own race with no one around him. I think that’ll help him get back to a positive frame of mind, able to concentrate on his own performance.”
Now there is another weekend off before the series regroups on April 16th for the MXGP of Trentino at the stunningly beautiful track at Pietramurata, where Jeremy Seewer will once again be running the red plate on board his RM-Z250.
MX2 Moto 1:
1. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki World MX2), 35:36.310;
2. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:07.922;
3. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), +0:13.091;
4. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:18.551;
5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:19.913;
6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +0:22.157;
7. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:23.285;
8. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +0:27.453;
9. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Honda), +0:33.194;
10. Adam Sterry (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:39.775;
11. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Suzuki World MX2), +0:44.447;
MX2 Moto 2:
1. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), 34:03.198;
2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:03.814;
3. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), +0:05.294;
4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki World MX2), +0:07.037;
5. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +0:18.147;
6. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Kawasaki), +0:28.602;
7. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:32.223;
8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:34.034;
9. Adam Sterry (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:43.675;
10. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:46.280;
11. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Honda), +0:54.459;
12. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +0:55.688;
13. Iker Larranaga Olano (ESP, Husqvarna), +0:57.158;
14. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Suzuki World MX2), +0:57.895;
MX2 Overall:
1. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 43 points;
2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki World MX2), 43 p.;
3. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), 40 p.;
4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 38 p.;
5. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 35 p.;
6. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 29 p.;
7. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 28 p.;
8. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), 24 p.;
9. Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 23 p.;
10. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 22 p.;
11. Michele Cervellin (ITA, HON), 22 p.;
12. Iker Larranaga Olano (ESP, HUS), 17 p.;
13. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Suzuki World MX2), 17 p.;
MX2 Points Standings:
1. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki World MX2), 153 points;
2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 145 p.;
3. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 139 p.;
4. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), 139 p.;
5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 127 p.;
6. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 102 p.;
7. Michele Cervellin (ITA, HON), 84 p.;
8. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 83 p.;
9. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 81 p.;
10. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 80 p.;
11. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 70 p.;
12. Darian Sanayei (USA, KAW), 66 p.;
13. Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 66 p.;
14. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 60 p.;
15. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), 56 p.;
16. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Suzuki World MX2), 51 p
26. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki World MX2), 11 p.