Hunter Lawrence delivered a masterclass performance at the penultimate round of the 2026 AMA Supercross season in Denver, taking a commanding start-to-finish victory to close the championship gap to just one point heading into the finale.
The Australian arrived at the Mile High City four points adrift of championship leader Ken Roczen, knowing that only a victory would keep his title hopes alive. Racing his Honda CRF450RWE, Lawrence responded to the pressure with a near-perfect performance that has set up a winner-takes-all showdown at the season finale in Salt Lake City.
Starts are critical at altitude, and whilst Jorge Prado claimed the holeshot by sneaking around the outside, Lawrence powered his Honda to the front by lap two and never looked back. As battles unfolded behind him, the Honda HRC Progressive rider steadily extended his advantage, ultimately crossing the finish line 12.3 seconds ahead of title rival Roczen, who finished second.
“The bike was working good, giving me what I needed,” Lawrence said. “It was a really tough track, not much traction out there; I had to kind of pick and choose where I made my arcs in the corners. My starts weren’t amazing all day today; we were kind of fiddling, massaging some things, and we got them sorted for the main.”
The victory marks Lawrence’s fifth of the season, matching Roczen’s win total and giving the Australian the advantage in a potential tiebreaker scenario. With just one point separating the pair heading into Salt Lake City on 9th May, the championship remains wide open.
“Everyone knows what I needed to do—win the last two rounds—and we checked the first box,” Lawrence added. “This is my title to lose, and I feel like under pressure, I’ve been the best guy this year.”
Elsewhere for Honda, Quad Lock Honda racer Dean Wilson finished ninth, whilst teammates Christian Craig and Shane McElrath completed the race in 12th and 16th respectively. The team received unfortunate news regarding Joey Savatgy, who crashed during the first qualifying session and was diagnosed with a dislocated wrist after being transported to hospital.
Team Manager Lars Lindstrom was effusive in his praise: “There’s nobody I’d rather have on my side going into these pressure-cooker races than Hunter; he just oozes confidence, and it bleeds into the entire team. His start in the main was quite possibly the most awesome start I’ve seen by our guys in SX.”
The 450SX championship now heads to Salt Lake City with Lawrence trailing by a single point, setting up a thrilling conclusion to what has been an intensely competitive season.
Photo: Honda HRC Media
