Meanwhile, in his first official ride aboard the factory Team Honda HRC CRF250R, Jo Shimoda fought through the pack to finish fourth in the 250SX West division. The Anaheim 1 Supercross was not as kind to Hunter Lawrence, as a series of misfortunes prevented him from advancing to the main event, but he’s determined to come back strong next week to show his true potential in San Francisco.
Jett came out swinging in the 450SX main event, with an impressive holeshot aboard his CRF450RWE. The 20-year-old Australian sensation led every lap with his signature smooth, collected style, perfectly managing the gap to the riders behind him and crossing the finish line with a 7-second margin. Also impressive was Dylan Ferrandis, who finished in the top five in his debut with Phoenix Racing Honda.
In the 250 main event, Shimoda got a good jump out of the gate but was shuffled to the outside of the first turn and found himself out of the top 10 early on. The Japanese rider remained calm and settled into a good pace, working his way forward throughout the main event to eventually threaten for a podium position, although he ultimately settled for a close fourth place when the checkers flew. Other Red Riders to finish in the top 10 were SmarTop/MotoConcepts racers Mitchell Oldenburg (eighth) and Carson Mumford (10th).
Jett Lawrence #18“It’s an unreal thing to grasp, winning my first 450 Supercross. With how many years the sport has been around, you’d think someone has done it before, so I’m definitely grateful and happy to do it for Honda; it’s an awesome feeling getting into the history books for them. The season’s off to a great start, and hopefully we can keep doing the same throughout the season.”
Hunter Lawrence #96
“That obviously wasn’t how we planned for my 450 debut to play out, but there’s only one way to go from here, and it’s one I’m very familiar with: put my head down and get back to work. Bring on San Francisco!”
Jo Shimoda #30
“The last time I was here [in 2022, when he suffered a scary heat-race crash], I went to the hospital, so this is a much better finish. I made things tough on myself; that mistake in the heat race cost me a lot–you won’t do much with the 18th gate pick. I felt like I had the pace all day; I just couldn’t get to where I needed to early. I’m happy to show that I had the speed to catch the top guys. This week we’ll work on getting to the front quickly, and be ready for next weekend.”
Lars Lindstrom - Team Manager
“It was good to get the first race out of the way after all the anticipation for A1, and I think all of our guys had some nerves that they had to get through tonight. It was a bit of an up-and-down day. It’s not what we were looking for with Hunter–getting taken out off the start in his heat race and getting a bad start in the LCQ–but we know what we need to work on to turn that around. It was an absolutely epic night for Jett to win his first 450 Supercross. Everyone here is so proud of him and excited to start this series with a win. It was good to see Jo get a decent start after a poor gate pick, plug away, and catch those top guys. We’re looking to be more comfortable next week, and to keep building.”