Team Honda HRC Sweeps Denver Supercross

May 6, 2024

Jett and Hunter Lawrence notch historic 1-2 finish in 450SX class
Jett holds 20-point advantage in title chase heading into final round
Jo Shimoda earns his first victory of the season in 250SX West

Team Honda HRC achieved a near-perfect performance in Denver, at the penultimate round of the 2024 AMA Supercross Championship. Jett and Hunter Lawrence made Supercross history as the first brothers to stand on the premier-class podium together, after they finished first and second, respectively. Jett's win enabled him to pad his lead in the 450SX standings ahead of the season finale. In the 250SX West division, Jo Shimoda led wire-to-wire, earning his first win of the season, the second of his career and his first with Team Honda HRC.

The factory Honda CRF450RWE machines were quick out of the gate in the 450SX main event, with Hunter Lawrence grabbing the holeshot and Jett close in tow. Hunter led the first half of the race, showing impressive speed and poise. At about the midway point, Jett made the pass for the lead, and from there, the Australian duo logged consistent laps and crossed the finish line just under two seconds apart. It was Jett's eighth win of the season, putting himself in a strong position in the title fight. Hunter's career-best second-place finish comes on the heels of several strong showings in recent weeks, including a heat-race win and pole-position qualifying result.

Team Honda HRC's Jo Shimoda executed a flawless start in the 250SX West main event and never looked back. The Japanese rider pulled away from his competition in the early stages of the race, establishing a comfortable gap ahead of second place. Despite a last-lap charge from Levi Kitchen, Shimoda maintained his composure and brought home the second 250SX win of his career.

NOTES

Littleton, Colorado, dealership Peak Honda World staffed a pop-up activation booth in the Team Honda HRC pits, where they displayed powersports products and engaged with fans and customers.
Jett and Hunter Lawrence both participated in media-day activities on Friday in Denver, trying out the track and speaking with the journalists on hand.
For the ninth time this season, Jett Lawrence was the top rider in combined 450SX qualifying times, and Hunter Lawrence was fourth. Jo Shimoda notched the sixth-best time in the 250SX West division.
In the first 450SX heat race, Hunter Lawrence led the first lap before being passed by Cooper Webb. Hunter pushed Webb hard throughout and eventually finished just over one second back. Jett Lawrence then took a wire-to-wire win in the second heat, with Fire Power Honda's Dean Wilson and SmarTop Spas/MotoConcepts Honda's Vince Friese also making it straight through to the main event. After a heat-race crash, Phoenix Racing Honda's Dylan Ferrandis worked his way through the pack in the last-chance qualifier to take the win.
Jo Shimoda used an excellent start to get an early lead in the first 250SX West heat race, and he led all the way to the finish for an 8.686-second win.
On his way to the 450SX main-event win, Jett Lawrence turned in the fastest lap time of the race.
Team Honda HRC riders secured the holeshot in every race that they lined up in, including heat races and main events.
With Jett's victory this weekend, Honda has surpassed Kawasaki for most premier-class wins in Denver, with three (Jeremy McGrath in 1996 and Chase Sexton in 2023). With Shimoda's 250SX victory, Honda now has the most support-class wins in Denver, with two (the other was with Hunter Lawrence in 2022).
With his eighth victory of the year, Jett now has double the 2024 season win tally of his next-closest competitor.
The 2024 AMA Supercross season finale takes place this coming weekend, in Salt Lake City. Jett Lawrence now has a 20-point lead in the 450SX standings, while Hunter climbed two positions, to eighth. Salt Lake is a 250SX East-West Showdown, which means Chance Hymas and Jo Shimoda will both be in action.

Jett Lawrence
"It's an awesome accomplishment to get my eighth win in my rookie season, but the bigger story of tonight is Hunter and I going first and second, for the first brothers to ever do that! Hunter was holding a really good pace all race, but I knew I had to get those extra of couple points for next weekend. But it did feel like we were home at the Dog Pound [practice facility] all race, just Hunter and me following each other."

Hunter Lawrence
"Tonight would've been awesome to get a win, but the championship isn't about me right now; I'll have my time next year, and maybe even next weekend. It felt amazing to get the holeshot I'd been waiting on, and to lead some laps. It's crazy to think back to earlier this season, when I got three seventh-place finishes in a row, and now to see where I'm at. I just have to learn more, gain more confidence on the bike, and keep working."

Jo Shimoda
"I'm super pumped to get a win for me and my new team; it feels like I'm rewarding the whole team for all of their work. I've been putting in a lot of work on the starts, and I think my recent finishes have shown that it's paying off. I'm hoping to keep building off of this."

Lars Lindstrom – Team Manager
"Tonight is a night that I won't ever forget. It kind of gave me feelings of last year, when we won both classes many times. Congrats to Jo for his first win on our team and getting a holeshot at altitude says something about the performance of the CRF250R. Winning a 450 SX is so difficult and going 1-2 is something that hasn't happened that many times. To do it with brothers is not only a record, but something so special that I feel incredibly lucky just to be a part of. I can't imagine how happy and proud Darren and Emma Lawrence are of their boys, it's truly an honor to have them on Team Honda HRC."

Media contact:
Danny Gonzalez // Jonnum Media // danny@jonnummedia.com // +1 (805) 915-7889

450SX Results