It was a historic season for Honda. The manufacturer won all five championships in the regular season and key in their success were the efforts of Hunter Lawrence.
Lawrence won two of the five championships with the 250 East Supercross and 250 Motocross titles this season. He was also played an important as the key member of the support system of his younger brother Jett Lawrence, who claimed the 250 West championship before moving up to 450s for the outdoor season. Jett wrote his name into the record books with a rookie campaign that put his name in the record books. He was only the third rider to complete a perfect season by winning 22 of 22 motos and the first rookie to do so, but it was very much a family affair.
As the outdoor season started, Hunter was in lockstep with his brother Jett regarding overall victories. He won the first four rounds of the campaign with a sweep of the podium. For weeks you could count on Jett going 1-1 and Hunter getting a modest start before climbing onto the podium in Moto 1 and winning Moto 2 to claim the overall.
Momentum shifted midseason.
At Redbud, Lawrence won the first Moto but crashed immediately after the gate drop in Moto 2. He made no effort to remount his bike. The following week at Southwick, Hunter experienced a mechanical failure in Moto 1, which allowed Haiden Deegan to close the gap. When Deegan swept the motos at in the Washougal National, he momentarily took the championship lead. Lawrence took that as an incentive to improve.
Following his two moto DNFs, Lawrence immediately rebounded and scored another overall win with a first-place finish in Moto 1 and second in Moto 2 at Spring Creek. Pressure built during the remaining races, but the rider of the No. 96 Honda was always up for the challenge.
A Turning Point
Earlier in the season, NBC Sports caught up with Hunter in Denver for Round 16 of the Supercross season to discuss his and his brother’s championships one week after Hunter wrapped up his 250 East title in Nashville. At that point, Hunter’s focus was on the success his brother would have.
“Jett, he was doing really well at the moment and (I was) at a breaking point where it may not work out and what’s next for me in life,” Lawrence recalled. “Because this sport is a huge aspect of our life, but it isn’t everything. It’s only the first 30 years of our lives in a nutshell.”
These words came from a rider that just won 250 East and was weeks away from starting his winning campaign in Motocross. It’s a constant reminder that family comes first and as much inspiration as the media can take from the Lawrence Brothers, it matters to them more.
“I’ll remember that for the rest of my life,” Hunter said after their joint 250 SX Championships. “It was one of the biggest milestone boxes for the family to check off: both their boys are champions. It’s not the end of our journey by any means. What is the end goal? Is it one premiere class title? 3? 4? 2?”
His question would proof to be prescient and it didn’t take long to answer. Since then, he and his brother won two more championships. Hunter is no longer at a breaking point.
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Entering the Ironman National, Hunter was on top only losing one overall in the four rounds before the season finale. Still, his championship wasn’t clinched the same way as his brother’s. He entered the round with a comfortable 22-point lead, but in racing anything can happen. After all, Hunter already experienced two DNFs.
In order to lose the championship, Hunter was going to have to run into trouble again. And that is precisely what happened.
At the gate dropped for Moto 1, Hunter was caught behind a massive Turn 1 pile up that forced him to come to a complete stop. He didn’t crash, however, and when he looked down in front of his wheel, his principal rival was lying on the ground. Justin Cooper was also involved in the Lap 1 crash and fared worse in the experience.
“When I went around the first turn, I thought this one would be a tough one,” Lawrence said after the Ironman National. “And then came to a stop with that pile up - and unfortunately Justin was on the ground. I realized I could go a little easier knowing that was the only guy I had to focus on beating to wrap it up.”
Riding well within his limits, Lawrence climbed to fifth as Jo Shimoda won. Cooper finished 13th and Hunter’s championship was locked up. The No. 96 bike climbed onto the podium, Hunter saw his mechanic and the celebration began.
“It was ours to lose, essentially,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence then had the opportunity to enjoy watching his little brother Jett complete off the perfect season. On a warm afternoon in Indiana, the Lawrence brothers achieved their wildest dreams. Now they have their sight set on securing two more championships for Honda in the SuperMotocross World Championship that begins September 9, 2023 at zMax Dragway in Concord, North Carolina.