Hunter Lawrence swept both 450 motos at Spring Creek Motocross Park on July 20, reclaiming the AMA Pro Motocross championship lead with his fourth overall victory of the 2026 season. Brother Jett Lawrence, who looked to be on his way to splitting the day, crashed while leading Moto 2 and finished third overall. The margin between them now stands at 10 points with four rounds remaining.
Hunter grabbed the Moto 1 holeshot on his CRF450RWE and opened a four-second gap over Jett in the opening laps. A first-turn incident had collected several of their main competitors, and the two brothers pulled away cleanly. Hunter won wire to wire, with third place finishing another 29 seconds back.
Moto 2 was tighter. Jett applied pressure early, eventually passed Hunter before the halfway point, and began pulling clear. Then he went down in a soft section, his handlebar lodging in his boot. He remounted in fifth and held that position, finishing the moto third to Hunter’s first. Hunter, unaware his brother had crashed, crossed the line and only then learned the situation. His 1-1 scorecard gave him the overall; Haiden Deegan on a Yamaha took second overall, Jett third.
Spring Creek was also Honda’s 10th premier-class overall win at the venue, giving the brand sole ownership of the track record. Previous Honda winners there include Ricky Carmichael with three, Jett Lawrence with two, and Bob Hannah, Ron Lechien, and Eli Tomac with one apiece. For Hunter personally, it was his fifth premier-class career overall.
In the 250 class, Chance Hymas delivered the ride Honda HRC has been waiting for. He exited the first turn in 15th in Moto 1 after narrowly avoiding two crashes, charged to seventh by the halfway mark, and ultimately crossed ninth. The result understated the performance. Moto 2 told a different story: Hymas worked his way into the top five, passed Julien Beaumer for second, then took the lead from Kayden Minear and held it to the flag with an 11-second margin. His 9-1 scorecard earned second overall behind Beaumer, who went 1-2, and placed him on his first podium of the year.
Jo Shimoda will not factor into the 250 championship picture for at least the next month. After crashing the previous week and initially being assessed with a shoulder injury, Shimoda’s follow-up scans confirmed a fractured clavicle beneath a plate from a prior injury. Surgery is not possible given the existing hardware, and the team expects him sidelined for four to six weeks. Shimoda sits fifth in the 250 standings with 194 points, tied with Ryder DiFrancesco, and trails leader Levi Kitchen by 67.
In the 450 standings, Hunter holds 320 points to Jett’s 310. Haiden Deegan is third at 258, already 62 points back with four rounds left. Hunter currently holds the top seed for the SMX Playoffs. Round 8 goes this Saturday in Washougal, Washington.
Source: Honda. Images courtesy of Honda.
