The media and fans will need to find something else to ask Hunter Lawrence besides when he will win a 450 Supercross race after the Australian star beat Eli Tomac to the checkers at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in Round 7 of the SuperMotocross World Championship. Lawrence took the lead from Ken Roczen on Lap 18 of 26 and held off a charge by his closest competitor, Tomac, in the Supercross championship.
The official margin was 2.817 seconds, and Lawrence added three points to his lead, but Honda HRC believed both numbers should be higher. Partway through the race, a red cross flag was displayed at the finish line, and when Lawrence rolled the jump, his three title contenders did not. The American Motorcycle Association deemed the jumps not egregious and found no penalties warranted. Had standard penalties been enforced, Tomac, Cooper Webb, and Roczen would each have been docked five championship points.
Lawrence’s victory in Arlington kept his perfect record of top-fives alive, but his championship advantage now rests on both consistency and strength.
Click here for a recap of Arlington
Tomac had a poor start in the feature (hitting the holeshot line in 11th), but he benefited from mistakes by a few riders in the opening lap and slotted into fourth at the conclusion of Lap 2. While Roczen set a comfortable pace, Tomac was content to patiently ride fourth, but one lap after Lawrence completed his pass for the lead, Tomac twisted the throttle hard and passed both Webb and Roczen to move into second place. Tomac lost three points in the round and now trails by four.
Webb had just completed his pass on Roczen when he was pushed wide by Tomac on Lap 20. Webb slowed to keep from crashing on the concrete and had to remount his charge on the German rider. Having lost the tow of the two leaders, Webb dropped five seconds behind Tomac at the checkered flag.
Relive the Heats
Roczen led the most laps (17), but faded in the closing laps to finish fourth. The top four riders are in serious contention for the championship with 18 points separating them, but had they been assessed the mandated five-point penalty for jumping on a red cross flag, Roczen would be nearly one full round behind in his title hunt.
Justin Cooper scored his third consecutive top-five finish by rounding out the top five. He did not get much television time in the feature, but he was consistent, and that gives the team a great set of notes from which to work.
Chase Sexton finished a distant sixth, 11 seconds behind Cooper and 26 seconds off the lead. He had one of the worst starts among the eventual top-10 finishers and was 19th at the holeshot line. He was the Hard Charger of the race after gaining 13 positions. Sexton is now 27 points behind the championship leader in fifth, and while he is not in a must-win situation, he has to gain on the four riders ahead of him consistently if he wants to be mentioned as a contender.
Here are the 450 Supercross results, lap times, and points standings after Round 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas:
Results
Fastest Lap and Sector Times
Individual Lap Times
Detailed Lap Times
Hard Charger Results
Lap Chart:
Here is the finishing order of Round 7 in Arlington:
1. Hunter Lawrence, Honda
2. Eli Tomac, KTM
3. Cooper Webb, Yamaha *
4. Ken Roczen, Suzuki
5. Justin Cooper, Yamaha
6. Chase Sexton, Kawasaki
7. Joey Savatgy, Honda
8. Aaron Plessinger, KTM
9. Christian Craig, Honda
10. Dylan Ferrandis, Ducati
11. Malcolm Stewart, Husqvarna
12. Justin Hill, KTM
13. Shane McElrath, Honda
14. Colt Nichols, Suzuki
15. Vince Friese, Kawasaki
16. Mitchell Harrison, Kawasaki
17. Kevin Moranz, KTM
18. Tristan Lane, Yamaha
19. Jordon Smith, Triumph
20. Joshua Cartwright, Kawasaki
21. Jason Anderson, Suzuki
22. Garrett Marchbanks, Kawasaki
* Holeshot
2026 Supercross Results
Anaheim 1 450 Results | 250W Results
San Diego 450 Results | 250W Results
Anaheim 2 450 Results | 250W Results
Houston 450 Results | 250W Results
Glendale 450 Results | 250W Results
Seattle 450 Results | 250W Results
