Honda officially announces Hunter Lawrence's move to the 450 division
Team Honda HRC announced what has long been known: Hunter Lawrence will move up to the 450 division to race as a teammate to his brother Jett Lawrence.
Hunter takes over the ride vacated by the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross (SX) champion Chase Sexton after that rider’s move to Red Bull KTM for 2024.
Lawrence won the 250 Supercross East and Pro Motocross championships last year. He was one of the leading contenders to win the inaugural SuperMotocross World Championship until a back injury suffered in practice for the season finale at the Los Angeles Coliseum kept him out of the feature races.
MORE: Hunter and Jett Lawrence walk a delicate balance
"I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished in my 250 career, but it’s exciting to move up to the premier class for 2024," Lawrence said in a press release. "I feel like my style is well-suited for the CRF450RWE, and off-season testing has been going well so far.
"I enjoyed battling with Jett in the 250 class before he moved up, and I’m looking forward to doing that again now that we’re both on the big bike. I’ve got a great team around me, and I can’t wait to get back in action at Anaheim 1."
The fulltime battle between Hunter and Jett has been anticipated since the brothers first entered American competition in 2019. Since they have largely competed in opposing regions of the 250 class during their career, head-to-head matchups have been limited to East/West Showdowns and Pro Motocross competition.
Jett was practically unchallenged in 2023 Pro Motocross competition. In the few races in which he did face significant challenges, those came from his teammate Sexton and Honda expects Hunter to take over that role.
MORE: One last faceoff for Hunter and Jett Lawrence at Salt Lake City
"It’s a pleasure to move Hunter up to the CRF450RWE," said Brandon Wilson, Manager of Racing and Experiential Marketing at American Honda. "Since joining our team three years ago, he has consistently made a positive impact, in terms of results but also for the constructive, optimistic influence that he invariably brings.
"Last season saw him earn the 250 titles that we all knew he was capable of, but he’s also a very good 450 rider. We look forward to him adding to his success now that he’s in the premier class."
Some of the highlights of Lawrence's career were included in Honda's press release:
2013: 2nd in FIM 85 Junior World Championship
2015: 3rd in FIM 125 Junior World Championship; Australian 125 and 250 Junior Motocross Champion
2017: 9th in 2017 FIM MX2 final standings; MX2 winner at Motocross of Nations (Team Australia)
2018: 3rd in FIM MX2 final standings; 2nd in MX2 at Motocross of Nations (Team Australia)
2019: 10th in AMA Pro Motocross 250 final standings
2020: 13th in AMA Pro Motocross 250 final standings
2021: 2nd in AMA Supercross 250SX West Region final standings; 3rd in AMA Pro Motocross 250 final standings
2022: 2nd in AMA Supercross 250SX West Region final standings; 3rd in AMA Pro Motocross 250 final standings; 2nd in MX2 at Motocross of Nations (Team Australia)
2023: AMA Pro Motocross 250 National Champion; AMA Supercross 250SX East Region Champion; 9th in SuperMotocross 250 final standings; 2nd in MX2 at Motocross of Nations (Team Australia)
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