By John Goolsby, Prep Sports Editor
DAYTONA – Jett Lawrence claimed the eighth round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series at Daytona Saturday night in front of a record-breaking crowd.
The Australian’s third win of the year on his Honda CRF450R extends the rookie’s point lead to ten points in the 450cc class as the series heads to Birmingham’s Protective Stadium this Saturday.
Rain and a soft soil and sand mixture made for a challenging course.
Lawrence’s race almost ended before it started as his team struggled to remove a rear tire cover seconds before the gate dropped.
Chase Sexton took the lead out of the gate on his KTM 450 SX-F, followed by Eli Tomac, winner of five straight Daytona events, on his Yamaha YZ450F, Frenchman Dylan Ferrandis on his Honda CRF450R and Lawrence.
Sexton and Tomac ran first and second for the first eight minutes of the twenty-minute main event before a hard-charging Lawrence, using the quad combination section to make up time, passed Tomac and Sexton in a span of twelve seconds.
Lawrence then opened a huge lead and coasted to victory.
“It felt great. I felt good all day, but like I said, we came here for business, I stood on business,” Lawrence said.
“I’m just happy to come out of here with a win.”
“Now I only hope we can keep clicking them off. I improved on my mistakes from last weekend, so I’m pumped about that and I’m ready to go on to the next few.”
Second-place finisher Tomac, dealing with an overheating bike due to maximum clutch use, was not as willing to jump the quad section.
When asked about his smoking bike, Tomac said, “No, to be totally honest I didn’t look over at my pit board so I didn’t see anything.”
“I didn’t feel anything, the motorcycle is fine,” he said.
“There are treacherous conditions out there. For me, I’m on the clutch a lot and with the ruts that deep, obviously make the bike hot but I powered through there.”
“Thinking back to the race, frustrated I didn’t do the quad, cost me. So gotta take more risks next time. That’s that. So, yeah, second place.”
When asked more about the quad, Tomac said, “Yeah, that’s all what it came down to.”
“And then I moved over to the right side and the depth of the rut was a lot smaller, I’m just bummed that I didn’t take that earlier.”
Sexton rounded out the podium.
“It’s definitely a step in right direction,” said Sexton. “I’ve had a rough couple weeks with my hand being hurt.
“It was a good first couple laps. I was doing this section next to the tunnel jump pretty good. Then I started getting a little sketchy and stopped doing it, and I paid the price for it,” he said.
“So overall this is a building block, and we’ll go back to work this week. I finally got to ride this week with my hand, and yeah, we’re not done yet. Just gotta keep building and keep moving forward.”
Daytona Top 10:
1. Jett Lawrence Landsborough, Australia
2. Eli Tomac Cortez, CO
3. Chase Sexton LaMoille, IL
4. Cooper Webb Newport, NC
5. Ken Roczen Mattstedt, Germany
6. Justin Cooper Cold Springs Harbor, NY
7. Malcolm Stewart Haines City, FL
8. Dylan Ferrandis Bedarrides, France
9. Jason Anderson Rio Rancho, NM
10. Benny Bloss Oak Grove, MO
Season standings through eight rounds:
1. Jett Lawrence Landsborough, Australia, 160
2. Cooper Webb Newport, NC, 150
3. Chase Sexton LaMoille, IL, 147
4. Eli Tomac Cortez, CO, 144
5. Ken Roczen Mattstedt, Germany, 133
6. Aaron Plessinger Hamilton, OH, 132
7. Jason Anderson Rio Rancho, NM, 131
8. Dylan Ferrandis Bedarrides, France, 107
9. Justin Cooper Cold Springs Harbor, NY, 91
10. Hunter Lawrence Landsborough, Australia, 87
Round nine in Birmingham takes place inside Protective Stadium this Saturday, March 9.
Gates open at 11 AM and racing begins at 6 PM.
