Thunder Valley: Jett Lawrence (Honda) wins ahead of Lucas Coenen (KTM)

Stage 3 of the US Nationals in Thunder Valley (Colorado): Australian HRC factory rider Jett Lawrence may still be struggling with the after-effects of the foot injury he sustained earlier this year, but that didn't stop him from burning the best lap time into the ground in qualifying. The Australian superstar was almost half a second faster than Belgian guest starter and MXGP World Championship leader Lucas Coenen.

Combined qualifying

1. Hunter Lawrence (AUS), Honda, 2:01.727

2. Lucas Coenen (B), KTM, +0.474

3. Jett Lawrence (AUS), Honda, +0.762

4. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha, +1.124

5. Jorge Prado (E), KTM, +2.559

6. R.J. Hampshire (USA), Husqvarna, +3.010

7. Cooper Webb (USA), Yamaha, +3.036

8. Mikkel Haarup (DK), Triumph, +3.410

Lucas und Sacha Coenen starteten im Look vor Roger DeCoster

Foto: copyright free

First run

Hunter Lawrence took the holeshot in the first race, just ahead of Jett. Behind him was Hayden Deegan (Yamaha). Jett outpaced his older brother and Deegan overtook Hunter, setting up the long-awaited duel between 'Jettson' and 'Dangerboy' Deegan. Deegan utilised the outside lines with enormous cornering speed, but he couldn't get past the Australian. Deegan began to make mistakes, came off the track and crashed. This allowed Lucas Coenen (KTM) to pass him for third place, but after Deegan continued the race, he went down again because his handlebars had bent. This meant that the Yamaha works rider had dropped so far back that Lucas Coenen and 3rd place were out of reach. Deegan crossed the finish line in 4th place, but was penalised 7 positions.

Penalties for Deegan, Prado and Hunter Lawrence

Hayden Deegan systematically drove outside the track limits on a hilltop. He was moved down one position for each offence of this kind. In the end it was 7 positions. Jorge Prado (2 positions) and Hunter Lawrence (one position) were also penalised for this offence.

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Lucas Coenen came closer to the front at the end

Lucas Coenen started in the top 6, halfway through the first run and after Deegan's crash he had reached 3rd place, but Hunter Lawrence crashed on a downhill section, so the Belgian inherited second place. At this point, he was 10 seconds behind the leader. Lucas was able to close the gap until the end of the race, finishing just 2.4 seconds behind Jett Lawrence.

Jett Lawrence untouchable

Jett Lawrence again took the holeshot for the second race ahead of Hunter Lawrence, Aaron Plessinger and Lucas Coenen. Hunter went down on the first lap and dropped out of the top 20, while Lucas Coenen held off Aaron Plessinger to take second place. He was unable to get within striking distance of the leading Australian in this race and finished second, 10 seconds behind. With two solid second places, Lucas Coenen finished second overall in his US debut. Hunter quickly caught up in this race and also held off Hayden Deegan, but he crashed again in the same place and had to concede third place to Hayden Deegan. With two fourth places, Hunter still ended up on the podium.

Jorge Prado in 5th place

After the penalty in the first race, Jorge Prado was only classified in 7th place. With a 7-5 result, the Spaniard finished the day in 5th place overall and ranks 6th in the standings.

Jett Lawrence new championship leader

With his double victory in Thunder Valley, Jett Lawrence took the championship lead after 3 of 11 stages. Hunter Lawrence is 8 points behind in 2nd place. Hayden Deegan is already 32 points behind in 3rd place.

Next race High Point

Championship round 4 of the US Nationals continues next week at High Point. The two Coenen brothers will now return to Europe, where the 9th stage of the Motocross World Championship will be held in Montevarchi.

Results Thunder Valley

1. Jett Lawrence (AUS), Honda, 1-1

2. Lucas Coenen (B), KTM, 2-2

3. Hunter Lawrence (AUS), Honda, 4-4

4. Garrett Marchbanks (USA), Kawasaki, 3-6

5. Jorge Prado (E), KTM, 7-5

6. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha, 11-3

7. Aaron Plessinger (USA), KTM, 6-7

8. R.J. Hampshire (USA), Husqvarna, 5-8

9. Dylan Ferrandis (F), Ducati, 8-9

10. Cooper Webb (USA), Yamaha, 10-10

11. Mikkel Haarup (DK), Triumph, 12-11

450 Championship standings after stage 3 of 11

1. Jett Lawrence (AUS), 138

2. Hunter Lawrence (AUS), 130 (-8)

3. Haiden Deegan (USA), 106 (-32)

4. R.J. Hampshire (USA), 94 (-44)

5. Dylan Ferrandis (F), 86 (-52)

6. Jorge Prado (E), 85 (-53)

7. Garrett Marchbanks (USA), 83 (-55)

8. Aaron Plessinger (USA), 68 (-70)

9. Cooper Webb (USA), 68 (-70)

10. Mikkel Haarup (DK), 66 (-72)