Hunter Lawrence wraps up 250 AMA Pro Motocross Championship

Hunter Lawrence
2023 AMA Pro Motocross 250 Champion

Hunter Lawrence overnight wrapped up his maiden National Championship with a careful 5-9 moto performance in the AMA Pro Motocross 250 class finale at Ironman Raceway 250 aboard the factory CRF250R.

Lawrence had entered the weekend with a 22-point advantage and was able to race conservatively to earn the Gary Jones Motocross Cup with a fifth-overall result.

Amazingly, this was Team Honda HRC’s fifth professional AMA crown of the year, continuing an unprecedented season for the squad, which has swept every AMA Supercross and AMA Pro Motocross title available.

Also oevernight, Hunter’s brother and team-mate Jett Lawrence – who had clinched the 450 championship two weeks ago – completed a perfect season in AMA Pro Motocross, as he notched his 11th 1-1 moto sweep in 11 races. This is only the fifth time that a rider has posted a perfect record in the series, and the first time it has been achieved by a rookie.

Hunter, who turned 24 earlier this month, is a native of Queensland, Australia, and he started his career Down Under before racing in Europe. In 2019 he moved to Factory Connection (then American Honda’s satellite team) to compete in the U.S., and he was promoted to Honda’s factory effort two years later.

Hunter enjoyed success in 2021 and ’22, but he also faced adversity, with injuries and bad luck. This season has seen him rise to a new level, as he took the AMA Supercross 250 East Championship and increased his AMA Pro Motocross overall-win total from one to eight on his way to the 250 National Championship.

Hunter joins other Red Riders to have earned the AMA Pro Motocross laurels in the “small bike” class (which is currently campaigned with 250cc four-stroke machinery but used to be for 125cc two-stroke motorcycles); past Honda champs include Marty Smith, Johnny O’Mara, Ron Lechien, Micky Dymond, George Holland, Mike Kiedrowski, Doug Henry, Steve Lamson, Trey Canard and Jett Lawrence. It was Honda’s third consecutive crown in the class, boosting the brand’s total in the category to 17—two more than the next manufacturer on the list.

The Lawrence brothers’ 2023 AMA Pro Motocross Championship sweep marks the fifth time that Honda riders have accomplished that feat, although it had never been achieved by a pair of siblings.

This follows a 2023 AMA Supercross series during which Hunter and Jett took the 250SX East and West Region crowns, respectively, while team-mate Chase Sexton (second overall in the 450 class today in Indiana) collected the 450SX championship.

It all comes during a year when Honda marks the 50th anniversary of its first production motocross bike, the CR250M Elsinore, aboard which Gary Jones rode to Honda’s first AMA Motocross 250 Championship, in 1973.

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“It’s good, man—I’m so honored to thank the team,” Hunter Lawrence said after today’s race. “Five championships, and the year’s not done. It’s unreal. Everyone—Honda, Australia, all my crew—this is it; we did it, baby.”

Team Honda HRC will soon have an opportunity to add even more triumphs to its 2023 success. After a well-deserved weekend off, the riders and crew will take part in the inaugural SuperMotocross Finals, a three-race series that combines aspects of supercross and motocross.

2023 AMA Pro Motocross 250 Championship Points (Final)