The Birmingham AMA Supercross saw Honda HRC Progressive rider Hunter Lawrence continue the upward trend he has shown all year. One month after taking the first premier-class Supercross win of his career, he grabbed his third victory and his second in a row, extending his title-fight lead to nine points.

“The track layout was rather simple, but the conditions made it tricky, and we did a lot of laps. Kenny [Roczen] had a really good pace; when he got around Eli [Tomac], he put in some good laps, and I’mlike, ‘Alright, this is his really good sprint speed, so I need to kind of push at the beginning.’ I was trying to push as much as I could. That’s one of the things I find the coolest: a high-pressure moment or high-stakes scenario, and you’re able to deliver. You’ve got to be consistent, precise and just push the whole main. I don’t really want to think about the title, because it’s still seven races away and so much racing left to be had. I’m just trying not to be an idiot, and focusing on the week-in and week-out.”

In the 450SX main event, Lawrence executed his strategy to perfection, launching inside the top three, quickly moving into the lead in the opening corners, and controlling the race from the front. Demonstrating improved early-race intensity, the CRF450RWE rider established a comfortable gap and maintained composure, eventually securing the win by 2.4 seconds over Ken Roczen. Quad Lock Honda’s Shane McElrath and Christian Craig finished in 12th and 17th, respectively.