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/1542841
Lawrence picked up the pace near the end and looked to be making a run at Sexton, but a lapped rider blocked his lines on multiple occasions. This put the nail in the coffin for Lawrence and halted his forward progress. Still, two runner-up finishes in back- to-back weeks are a first-ever for Lawrence in the 450SX class. The Australian now sits second in the championship points. "I just need a little more consistency throughout the day," Lawrence said. "Every time I went on the track, I made a change to the bike, so every time, I was learning the track again and trying to adapt to the bike. I looked up, and there was The Honda HRC Progressive Team rider once again found himself up at the front but came under fire from all fronts. He spent most of the early laps duking it out with Sexton and Eli Tomac for a spot on the podium. Lawrence and Tomac traded positions back and forth, with Lawrence "...threading the needle through the whoops," and ultimately holding off attacks from points leader Tomac. "The battle with Eli was cool," Lawrence said. "When we were going into the whoops, when he was on the inside, and I was like kind of just, 'Hail Mary, let's throw it and see,' kind of thread the needle, and it worked out." series. It's also the first win for Kawasaki since 2022, ending a dry streak of 53 races. "It's been a long few months," Sexton said. "Even after the heat race tonight, I was wondering what I was doing wrong and knew I needed to just go out there and do my laps. I strapped up for the main event and just rode solid and more within my - self. I just told myself I'm going to go out there, ride at a good pace, get into a flow, and see what happens. I knew my speed was good enough to be able to ride not at 100 percent and still win." Lawrence finished second for the second week in a row. ROUND 3 / JANUARY 24, 2026 ANGEL STADIUM / ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA SUPERCROSS I MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS / SUPERMOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP P62 36 GARRETT MARCHBANKS 14TH 450SX Garrett Marchbanks returned to ac- tion at A2 and made his first main of the season. "I had a lot of confidence coming into the weekend. I felt com- fortable on the bike right away and was able to build throughout the day. The goal was to stay patient and keep building, and that's what we did. I'm just happy to be back on the bike and feeling like myself again." MYOWNRACE (Right) Jason Anderson (21) led the first half of the 450SX race before slotting back to fourth.