Hunter Lawrence has ridden to his second 250SX East division victory in two rounds, but this one was completely different from last week’s. Whereas he had led all but two laps in Houston, the Tampa Supercross saw him ride through the pack on a wet, slippery track that rewarded deft bike-handling skills, making a last-second pass for a thrilling win.

Lawrence suffered a poor start in the 250SX East main event and nearly went down in turn 1, putting him in sixth at the end of the first lap. The Australian took fifth from Jeremy Martin on the next lap, then moved by Haiden Deegan in the sand on lap 4. He dogged Michael Mosiman until making a hard pass on lap 9, and he passed Max Anstie for second in the same corner two laps later. At that point, Lawrence was six seconds down on Nate Thrasher, and with eight laps remaining, he began eating into the advantage, finally reaching the leader’s rear fender on the last lap. The two made contact twice, with Lawrence finally executing the pass in the final corner and crossing the finish line with a margin of just .134 seconds—the closest 250SX main-event finish in eight years. Anstie finished on the podium for the second week in a row, and his teammate Chance Hymas recovered from 11th on lap 1 to finish eighth.

Hunter Lawrence 96

“My starts weren’t the best, but in the main event I went into a zone where I didn’t even notice it was raining—I just put my head down. Honestly, I don’t really remember coming through the pack; there wasn’t a lot of thinking involved. I’m super-stoked on how the night ended—probably the most hyped I’ve ever been after a win. This one was special, and I’m excited about where we’re at.”

250SX East Results
  1. Hunter Lawrence (Hon)
  2. Nate Thrasher (Yam)
  3. Max Anstie (Hon)
  4. Haiden Deegan (Yam)
  5. Jeremy Martin (Yam)
  6. Tom Vialle (KTM)
  7. Michael Mosiman (Gas)
  8. Chance Hymas (Hon)
  9. Jace Owen (Hon)
  10. Hardy Munoz (Hus)
  11. Coty Shock (Hon)
  12. Caden Braswell (Hon)
  13. Henry Miller (Hon)
  14. Luke Neese (Hon)
  15. Michael Hicks (Hon)
250SX East Region Championship Points (after 2 of 10 rounds)
  1. Hunter Lawrence: 52
  2. Max Anstie: 44
  3. Haiden Deegan: 38
  4. Jeremy Martin: 36
  5. Tom Vialle: 33
  6. Michael Mosiman: 33
  7. Nate Thrasher: 31
  8. Chance Hymas: 30
  9. Jordan Smith: 29
  10. Jace Owen: 23

The AMA Supercross returns to the 250SX West region for the delayed Oakland round, to take place on 18 February 18.