As the AMA Supercross series approached its midway point at the unique Daytona, Florida, round, Jett Lawrence put in a statement ride, making solid passes before pulling ahead to a convincing victory. Given the venue’s rich history and challenging track, Daytona wins are meaningful; this one was particularly impressive, as Jett earned it in his first year as a premier-class rider, indicating that he learned an important lesson following last week’s final-lap crash out of the lead in Arlington. The 20-year-old Australian also became the year’s first three-time winner, and he expanded his lead in the title chase to 10 points.
Following a tense moment before the start when there was a delay in the removal of his rear-tire cover, Jett was sixth out of turn 1, just behind brother and teammate Hunter Lawrence. When lap 1 was finished, Jett was up to third, where he stayed through lap 4. At that point, Lawrence used a quad jump through a rhythm section to move by Eli Tomac, then snuck by Chase Sexton in the following turn. From there, Jett went about establishing a cushion, running lap times a couple of seconds lower than his competitors. In the end, Jett won by nearly six seconds, though he led by more than 10 seconds at times. Phoenix Racing Honda rider Dylan Ferrandis ended the night eighth, while Hunter Lawrence suffered a hard fall early on and withdrew with a sore shoulder. (At the time this was published, Hunter was awaiting results of an MRI to determine the gravity of the injury.)
Hymas was just inside the top 10 off the 250SX East main-event start, then up to seventh by the end of lap 1. He moved up one position on each of the next two laps to assume fifth, but a fall and getting stuck on a Tuff Block dropped the Idaho native back in the pack, resulting in an eventual 15th-place result. Meanwhile, Fire Power Honda rider Max Anstie recovered from 10th after lap 1 to finish eighth, good enough to maintain a narrow lead in the championship battle.
Team Honda HRC: ama.hondaracingcorporation.com/
4 мар 2024
