Motocross

Hunter Lawrence continues to show speed with fourth at French GP

Posted:

Monday, May 29th, 2017

9:45 AM

Australia Hunter Lawrence continues to find form after backing up his second overall in ther German MX2 GP last weekend with a fourth overall at this weekend's French GP at Enree, France.

The Suzuki World rider could have finished higher had his gear shifter not snapped off in one of the deep ruts that littered the track. Still, he brought the bike home safely for fifth place in moto 1, which he then backed up with a solid fourth in the second moto.

Lawrence had a bit of a lonley weekend ended up on his own for large portions of both races, battling with himself to keep concentration and continue his good run of results that have seen him go four-three-five-four in the last four motos.

‰ÛÏI was off to a really good start in the first moto, top seven round the first bend before making some quick passes and finding myself in third place," Lawrence explained. "It took me a couple of laps to get going but then I started to click off some good lap times and closed up a bit on the two riders in front. Unfortunately, on the sixth lap I ran into a problem when my gear shifter got snapped off in a rut and I had to ride the rest of the moto in second gear. As bad as that was, I was still riding ok and was able to finish fifth.

‰ÛÏIn the second moto I didn‰Ûªt get the best start but quickly got through the pack into fourth but when I got there, Jeremy Seewer, Pauls Jonass and Benoit Paturel had long gone. I just had to ride my own race, which is quite difficult actually as I had no one around me to gauge my speed on or pressure me. Still, I came home in fourth for fourth overall and a lot of positives from the weekend.‰Û

Hunter Lawrence just missed the podium with fourth at the French GP. Credit Ray Archer

Team Manager Stefan Everts said: ‰ÛÏHunter rode really well all weekend, even on Saturday which has been a weakness in previous rounds. In the first moto he could have got that third place but unfortunately that gear shifter got snapped off and he had to settle for fifth. He rode smart to keep the bike going and can be proud of the effort with a handicap like that.

"The second moto was a strange one because by the time he‰Ûªd fought through to fourth, the top three were gone so he was just all alone. Fourth was all he could do. Overall it was a great performance and result for Hunter, backing up last weekend and proving it wasn‰Ûªt a one-off. His confidence is growing and I think we can expect a lot more from him in the rest of the season." Everts concluded.

Lawrence now moves to ninth in the MX2 championship standings.

Main Photo: Hunter Lawrence
Credit: Suzuki Racing

Hunter Lawrence and team-mate Jeremy Seewer at work. Lawrence is now ninth in the MX2 championship. Photo: Ray Archer

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten:
1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 35:40.293
2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:02.395
3. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:03.324
4. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), +0:19.084
5. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Suzuki), +0:24.152
6. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), +0:40.842
7. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:44.865
8. Brian Hsu (GER, Husqvarna), +0:55.028
9. Stephen Rubini (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:57.490
10. Conrad Mewse (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:01.587.

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten:
1. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), 34:00.096
2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:01.699
3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:03.626
4. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Suzuki), +0:45.346
5. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), +1:11.119
6. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), +1:16.485
7. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +1:22.585
8. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +1:26.415
9. Conrad Mewse (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:30.988
10. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki), +1:32.488.

MX2 Overall Top Ten:
1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 47 points
2. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 45 p.
3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 42 p.
4. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, SUZ), 34 p.
5. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), 33 p.
6. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 31 p.
7. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 27 p.
8. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 24 p.
9. Conrad Mewse (GBR, HUS), 23 p.
10. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KAW), 19 p.

MX2 Championship Top Ten:
1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 372 points
2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 330 p.
3. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 291 p.
4. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), 282 p.
5. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 265 p.
6. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 208 p.
7. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 206 p.
8. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 174 p.
9. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, SUZ), 171 p.
10. Darian Sanayei (USA, KAW), 157 p.