Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1441959
over Lawrence. The runner-up finish is the fourth career podium for the sophomore Kawasaki racer. Hammaker maintained his second-place position after fending off Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha rider Garrett Marchbanks and later Lawrence. Hammaker came up short on the triple jump just before the finish line but still managed to hold the position— barely. "When I felt pressured, I told myself to make it clean through the whoops and pass the lap- pers clean," said Hammaker. Lawrence crossed the check- ers third, just a half second behind Hammaker. The older of the two Lawrence brothers, Hunter, announced that he was racing the West Coast earlier in the week following a rib injury to his brother and teammate, Jett. Hunter Lawrence got off to a slow start at A1. He was credits the win in part with Star Racing relocating to Florida, say- ing that practicing on softer tracks gave him an edge on Anaheim's unusually soft soil. "I'd say moving to Florida, this helps me a lot with a track like this tonight, getting broken down, rutted, and G'd out," Craig said. This is Craig's second time winning the season opener, and with the '21 East champ Nichols out for most likely the rest of the season, Craig certainly looks to be an early favorite. But judging by the A1 results, he will most likely have challenges along the way, most notably Monster En- ergy Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Seth Hammaker and Honda HRC's Hunter Lawrence, who both had solid outings. Hammaker held off charging competitors and claimed second on the night by just half a second ROUND 1 / JANUARY 8, 2022 ANGEL STADIUM OF ANAHEIM / ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA P70 SUPERCROSS I MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES 10th after the first lap. "The gate flinched a bunch of times and like seven [other] guys hit the gate," Hunter said of his bad start. Lawrence soon picked up speed in the latter half of the race when he made most of his passes en route to third. Smartop/Bullfrog Spas/ Motoconcepts Honda's Vince Friese, the veteran racer who is going to bounce back and forth between the 250SX West and 450SX classes this year, led the early stages of the race after nailing the holeshot. He looked fast in the opening laps laps but eventually got shuffled back to fifth where he would finish. CN 450SX Results 1. Ken Roczen (Hon) 22 laps 2. Cooper Webb (KTM) 07.296 3. Justin Barcia (GG) 10.381 4. Marvin Musquin (KTM) 15.867 5. Chase Sexton (Hon) 15.881 6. Eli Tomac (Yam) 20.320 7. Malcolm Stewart (Hus) 21.531 8. Joey Savatgy (KTM) 26.982 9. Aaron Plessinger (KTM) 29.726 10. Jason Anderson (Kaw) 34.851 250SX West 1. Christian Craig (Yam) 16 Laps 2. Seth Hammaker (Kaw) 05.625 3. Hunter Lawrence (Hon) 06.054 4. Garrett Marchbanks (Yam) 8.160 5. Vince Friese (Hon) 26.635 6. Michael Mosiman (GG) 36.824 7. Jo Shimoda (Kaw) 41.598 8. Robbie Wageman (Yam) 44.917 9. Dominique Thury (Yam) 52.585 10. Carson Mumford (Suz) 56.276 After a bad start, Hunter Lawrence (96) surged in the second half of the 250SX main and was rewarded with a podium.