15 years old motocross sensation, Hunter Lawrence, has finished a sensational third place at the 2015 World Junior Motocross Championships, held in Spain over the weekend.
The Sunshine Coast teenager battled 80 of the world‰Ûªs best 14-17 year old 125cc racers, in stifling conditions, to take third place with 5-4 race results and announce himself as a future star of world motocross.
On board his YZ125, Lawrence was on the gas all weekend and was the second fastest qualifier in his group and confident of achieving his goal of a top five finish at the prestigious event.
Racing got underway with the winner determined by the highest points‰Ûª scorer over two 25 minute races and Lawrence was left mid pack after suffering from a poor start. He went to work on the hard pack El Molar circuit and started picking off the riders in front of him. By the half way point, he was just inside the top 10 and 14 seconds off the race lead but the momentum was building.
With one lap to go, Lawrence was in sixth and the top six riders were separated by less than six seconds in an enthralling race. A last lap move saw Lawrence cross the line in fifth, an eye opening result.
Race two and with a better start, he was 12th on the opening lap and looking to get into the battle early. Again his relentless determination saw him surge forward and this time he finished the race in fourth place and his two consistent races saw him take the final spot on the podium in third place.
‰ÛÏMy goal coming here was to finish in the top five but after the first race, I knew I could do better than that,‰Û
