Four straight runner-up finishes pay off as the Australian takes championship control heading to Seattle
In front of a record-breaking crowd at Glendale, Arizona, round five of the AMA Supercross season delivered the kind of premier-class main event that can tilt an entire championship. For Hunter Lawrence, it was a night of speed, composure and another near-miss that somehow felt like a breakthrough, with the Honda HRC Progressive rider finishing second yet leaving the desert with the biggest prize of all: the red plate as the new 450SX points leader.
Lawrence arrived with momentum and backed it up early, placing fourth in combined qualifying before launching strongly when the gate dropped. Starting third, he immediately looked ready to take control and did exactly that, charging into the lead on the opening lap and setting the tempo at the front. For several laps he dictated the pace with the kind of confidence that’s become a feature of his recent run, before Ken Roczen managed to wrestle the lead away. Rather than forcing the issue into a mistake, Lawrence settled into a measured rhythm, kept the pressure honest, and maintained a safe margin back to third.
As the race tightened late, Lawrence delivered his now-familiar surge, trying to reel Roczen back in across the closing stages. It wasn’t quite enough to bridge the final gap, and he took the chequered flag in second—his fourth consecutive runner-up result—continuing an ultra-consistent start to his 450SX campaign.
The bigger swing came from behind. Championship rival Eli Tomac was caught up in a first-lap incident and could only salvage 12th, and that opening created the points shift Lawrence needed. With Glendale in the books, the Australian now leads the 450SX standings by five points over Roczen, claiming the first red plate of his 450SX career and planting a significant marker in the title fight.
Next stop for Honda HRC Progressive is round six this Saturday in Seattle, where Lawrence will arrive not just in form, but in front.
Hunter Lawrence
“Second again – we just focus on the positive. I just felt a little flat; usually, around the 10-minute mark, I feel like, ‘Alright, we’re on,’ but I couldn’t quite get into that tonight. I tried to make a push at the end with Kenny [Roczen] and closed a little bit on him, but a little too late. The first thing I focus on is the start, and I saw Eli [Tomac] down when I came back on the start straight; that was obviously in my favor, but I just focused ahead. Kenny had the sand line really good. The majority of the day, the outside was a better run into that double-triple; I hadn’t gone inside yet in the race, and I didn’t realize how good it actually was. Sure enough, after I got passed [by Roczen], I went inside for the rest of the race, so that’s on me. Before the beginning of the season, I had supercross circled on my calendar for this year. I’m happy to have the red plate – it’s cool in the 450 Supercross Championship. I want to keep it, but I just want the red plate at the last round, plain and simple. From 2020, the amount of work to be here, it’s kind of tough to put into words how much goes into getting to this point, but it is pretty damn cool.”
2026 ROUND 5 AMA 450SX Results
- Ken Roczen (Suz)
- Hunter Lawrence (Hon)
- Cooper Webb (Yam)
- Justin Cooper (Yam)
- Jorge Prado (KTM)
- Joey Savatgy (Hon)
- Chase Sexton (Kaw)
- Aaron Plessinger (KTM)
- Dylan Ferrandis (Duc)
- Justin Hill (KTM)
2026 AMA 450SX Championship Points (after 5 of 17 rounds)
- Hunter Lawrence: 106
- Ken Roczen: 101
- Eli Tomac: 98
- Cooper Webb: 91
- Chase Sexton: 89
- Justin Cooper: 75
- Jorge Prado: 73
- Jason Anderson: 73
- Joey Savatgy: 66
- Dylan Ferrandis: 62
