Even when things go wrong for Jett Lawrence, he finds a way to win. A red flag waved over Moto 2 of the High Point Nationals for lightning in the Mount Morris, Pennsylvania area with seven minutes remaining, two laps after he moved into the third position after starting the race ninth. It was also two laps after Jett ran out of tear-offs, which may have ultimately affected his vision if the race had continued.
“I needed to make sure I didn’t make a mistake any bigger than the one I made on the start [of Moto 2],” Jett said in a news release. “Eli [Tomac] and Hunter [Lawrence] were gone, and I saw AP [Aaron Plessinger] and knew I had to do the best I could, which was third place. I didn’t know how much time was left when they flew the red flag, but thankfully I was third [to secure the overall].
Lightning ended the race, and per AMA (American Motorcycle Association) rules, the running order reverted to the previous lap, which meant Hunter Lawrence actually came within one lap of scoring his first overall win. That would have made him only the third rider behind Jett and Chase Sexton to win in the past two seasons.
“I know my capabilities on the bike, so after the first moto I knew I needed to improve on my start and a few other small things,” Hunter said. “But that all went out the window when the rain came and then I knew that the first lap could likely determine how the race would play out.”
Eli Tomac won his second moto of the year, but after finishing fifth in Moto 1, he was relegated to third overall.
“It was like I had two different days [Moto 1 to Moto 2],” Tomac. “It’s such a different experience racing out front versus being in the chaos, so it was good to make things easier on myself in Moto 2. It was a breath of fresh air.”
Podium interviews were canceled because of lightning in the area.
Aaron Plessinger battled Justin Cooper in the final laps. Cooper made the pass on the final lap, but was forced to give it back when the race reverted to the former lap.
Plessinger finished fourth overall with his 3-4.
Cooper rounded out the top five in Moto 2 and overall with a fourth-place finish in the first race.
Joey Savatgy narrowly missed with his sixth-place result.
In Race Notes
Tomac got the jump on the field in Moto 2 of the High Point Nationals as rain pelted parts of the track.
Jett ended Lap 1 in ninth.
Hunter (second) and Cooper rounded out the podium.
Jett moved up to eighth on Lap 2.
As they ran on Lap 3, Hunter had the points for the overall win, but there was a lot of time on the clock (more than 21 seconds).
Jett moved into seventh on Lap 3; Savatgy was the next victim in line.
Jason Anderson rounded out the top five.
At the halfway point, it was raining heavily on portions of the track with bright skies over the remainder.
Jett moved up to fifth on Lap 6 after getting around both Savatgy and Anderson.
Hunter cut into Tomac’s lead by Lap 7 and trailed by 3.7 seconds.
On Lap 8, Jett passed Cooper for fourth. He needed one more position (held by Plessinger) to score the overall win.
Jett ran out of tear-offs.
Jett climbed to third on Lap 8. That should be enough for the overall.
The red flag waved with seven minutes on the clock — two laps after Jett moved into a position to win the overall.
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