Coming into the penultimate race of the 2026 AMA Supercross season, Hunter Lawrence found himself four points behind the championship leader, in a situation where performing was a must to keep his title hopes alive. The Australian delivered when it mattered, racing his CRF450RWE to a convincing victory and closing to within a single point, with just one round remaining.

“The bike was working good, giving me what I needed. It was a really tough track, not much traction out there; I had to kind of pick and choose where I made my arcs in the corners and bank off stuff whenever I was turning. My starts weren’t amazing all day today; we were kind of fiddling, massaging some things, and we got them sorted for the main. I love having to work for it a little bit during the day. I feel like that’s when I have my best days, and I love working with the team; I feel like we work so great together, and it brings the best out in me.

"I honestly feel like those are my best days when I have to dig for it. The team, we work so well together, each session figuring out where we can be better. Every step of the way, working through it, and I really enjoy that kind of day."

Racing at altitude places added importance on starts, and the 450SX main event saw Lawrence get an epic launch down the start straight, although Jorge Prado was able to claim the actual holeshot by sneaking around the outside. Lawrence took over the lead by lap 2 and never looked back.

As battles unfolded behind him, he leveraged his pace to steadily extend his lead, ultimately crossing the finish line with a 12.3-second advantage over second-place finisher and title-rival Ken Roczen.

"Yeah I love it. I’d rather be in this position now than I would have been what, seven points down if Kenny had won it. Yeah this is my title to lose I feel like and I feel like under pressure I’ve been the best guy this year. Clutch up and try to make something happen. Go into Salt Lake City and have some fun. This is my first full 450 season and I feel like we’ve been racing for six months already!”

Lars Lindstrom - Team Manager: “What a race! There’s nobody I’d rather have on my side going into these pressure-cooker races than Hunter; he just oozes confidence, and it bleeds into the entire team. We did our due diligence to give him the best advantage possible, on the track and on the start, and it seems that it worked out. His start in the main was quite possibly the most awesome start I’ve seen by our guys in SX; he just rocketed out of the gate and down the straight! The help from the IndyCar/IMSA team and the Honda Turbo Hybrid system was really cooking, haha—kidding, of course! We’re excited for the last race and will work on anything else that we can do to help Hunter have an advantage to win.”