Hunter Lawrence Focused On The Positive After Tenth At MXGP of France

Hunter Lawrence has battled his way to a 10th place overall at round 10 of the FIM Motocross World Championship in France over the weekend.

After tentative return from injury last week in England, the MXGP of France at the renowned Saint Jean d‰ÛªAngely track was another week that saw the Australian hampered by bad luck and lack of match fitness.

It wasn‰Ûªt an easy track to ride as the hot temperatures and Saturday night thunderstorm combined to leave the track a mix of hard pack and ruts, but Team Honda 114 Motorsports‰Ûª Lawrence showed good speed as he fought through the pack in both races.

He was rewarded with a sixth in race one, but was unable to match it in race two, however he now heads to Italy with a bit more race fitness and a bit more of a feeling of the pace he needs to ride if he is to challenge for the podium spots once again.

"The first moto wasn‰Ûªt great off the start as I crashed because another rider was doing crazy stuff, so I had to regroup from last place after that incident," Lawrence explained.

"I was coming through the pack well though, showing good speed and I got back to sixth. Unfortunately I hit a bit of a wall with about 10 minutes to go, so I had to settle for sixth, which wasn‰Ûªt too bad given the start I had.

"In the second race I was perhaps a bit too impatient and I clashed with another rider on the opening lap again. I fought back to around 10th place and was making a move on the red plate holder Pauls Jonass when I picked a rut that had caved in, and I lost my front wheel and fell over.

"I tried my best to salvage whatever I could get and that ended up being 13th place for 10th overall. I think this weekend was just about positives because I got some more bike fitness but this isn‰Ûªt where I want to be, so I need to keep fighting hard to improve," Lawrence concluded.

Honda Europe Off-Road Manager, Gordon Crockard, added, "Hunter Lawrence showed good speed, even if his results didn‰Ûªt quite reflect the pace that he was running as he charged his way through the field in the first race."

Despite missing half the season so far through injury, Lawrence still sits in a credible 14th in the MX2 standings.