Hunter Lawrence topped the 450 Overall Qualifying session at Thunder Valley, laying down a blistering lap of 2:01.727 and leading the field heading into race day. The Honda HRC rider looked fast and consistent throughout the session, showcasing excellent speed on the rough and technical Colorado circuit. With the fastest qualifying time secured, Hunter heads into the motos with confidence as he looks to continue his strong 2026 Pro Motocross campaign. 🏁🔥
⏱️ Fastest Qualifier: Hunter Lawrence
🚀 Best Lap: 2:01.727
📍 Thunder Valley Motocross Park, Colorado
🏆 2026 Pro Motocross Championship – Round 3
#promotocross #thundervalley #hunterlawrence #450mx #hondahrc #motocross #smx #dirtbike #motocrossracing #qualifying #ThunderValleyNational #HunterLawrence96 #AMAProMotocross
⏱️ Fastest Qualifier: Hunter Lawrence
🚀 Best Lap: 2:01.727
📍 Thunder Valley Motocross Park, Colorado
🏆 2026 Pro Motocross Championship – Round 3
#promotocross #thundervalley #hunterlawrence #450mx #hondahrc #motocross #smx #dirtbike #motocrossracing #qualifying #ThunderValleyNational #HunterLawrence96 #AMAProMotocross
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00:00Here is the rider to beat in the qualifying sessions.
00:02Jet Lawrence on top right now.
00:05Oh, a little mistake there.
00:08Yeah, one thing about this racetrack, you can see those ruts, you know, really getting deep.
00:12And speaking of Jet Lawrence, one thing we have to watch is how that foot is.
00:17Last weekend there was ruts, but not like Thunder Valley.
00:19As you can see, there's three ruts in this corner right here, and it will continue to get deeper and
00:23deeper.
00:24So how's that play in the back?
00:26Was last weekend just the racetrack, or is this guy back?
00:29I think it's going to be a different challenge for him, obviously with the Kunins coming over here.
00:34But I think these guys like Hunter Lawrence, Hayden Deegan, they kind of know how important this race is for
00:39them to at least stop the number one wheel.
00:43James, I was talking to Jet yesterday, you were talking about the ruts and the challenges that that could, you
00:48know, potentially cause for him this week.
00:50I asked him, you know, does the ankle hurt during racing?
00:54And he said, yes, sometimes, because he talked about, and we've spoken about this in depth a lot already, but
01:00he can't ride on the ball of his foot is the main problem.
01:03He still has to at certain times.
01:05He said that flex is when the pain comes in.
01:07But what he was explaining is when he doesn't with that right foot, he was showing me how he then
01:12has to angle it out.
01:13And the fear of having that kind of toe angled out and catching that when the ruts get deeper is
01:19a big problem.
01:20And that's something that he's got an extra thing that he's going to have to think about here out on
01:24the track.
01:25How much of a risk is that?
01:27How difficult may it be for Jet to have that sort of extra thing to be mindful of?
01:32Yeah, it's huge, and I want to give props to Jet for being very open about this, because not a
01:37lot of athletes are.
01:38I mean, he's basically telling us kind of what we see, but from hearing it from him, it's pretty cool
01:42and bold.
01:44But I also think it is a big deal, because not only you've got to worry about your foot getting
01:49caught in an ACL, something like that,
01:52but I feel like the biggest thing for him is, like, having to adjust his foot for the brakes, it's
01:57when he has to have an instant stop.
01:59But, you know, normally, if you can flex your foot, you can hit the brake and all that.
02:03If something goes off, he gets upset, or his bike is, his weight's a little bit more far forward, and
02:08he needs to stop,
02:09that's where it's really going to challenge him.
02:11Like, sections like this, going down this hill that we're watching, hey, Deegan, let's just say his bike gets upset,
02:15he slams into that corner, Jet won't, he probably won't be able to stop.
02:19So he's going to slam in that corner, and it's going to upset him in following, I guess, going through
02:24the whole corner.
02:25So, yeah, there's a lot of challenges, but really cool for him to be an open, and kind of just
02:31share those,
02:32and just show you how good he is to be able to route around now.
02:35Yeah, you're right, we're almost taking for granted that Jet is being this honest about him,
02:39because he's pretty much always been that way, but you're right, that's not often the norm of the riders at
02:44his level,
02:44to be that transparent.
02:45No, absolutely not, I mean, even when you watch him walk up the stairs, come to the podium, you know,
02:51you see how much he's limping, and, you know, part of you, like, is he that hurt, is it that
02:55painful,
02:56or is it something that he really can't, you know, bend his leg that much.
03:00So, to me, the guy's talent, like, for me, like, if he doesn't land on that, let's say he comes
03:06up short,
03:06the bike lifts up, he bounces into that corner, that's where that rear brake and having that flexibility
03:11is really going to hurt him.
03:12But if he gets a downside, it's got to be perfect, so he's got to have to watch out for
03:17that all day long,
03:18and so far he's been able to figure it out, but it will get tougher.
03:22Well, it will get tougher because the track's going to be a lot different today.
03:24They did ride a bit yesterday.
03:26Jet didn't put in a ton of laps because he doesn't want to put too much stress on the ankle
03:30the day before a race,
03:31but we saw when the sessions yesterday were done, then they came in and really dug it deep.
03:37So do you think today's track will be a lot different than even yesterday?
03:39Absolutely.
03:40It's going to be, and we talked about it last weekend when Jet was leading.
03:45I said the difference to me, obviously he got better from round one to round two,
03:49but I think the biggest is being out front.
03:51If he's out front, then he's not being pressured, so he can make sure he can get into these sections.
03:56And clearly he knows, like, some of these, you know, limitations that he's had.
04:00Obviously he's sharing it with us.
04:01I think it helps him being out front.
04:03When he has to really just lay it, hammer it down, that's when these things can kind of pop up
04:08because he's thinking about getting to the front, he's not necessarily thinking about how do I protect this foot.
04:12And it's going to be interesting to kind of see how this thing plays out, not only today, but all
04:16year long.
04:17Hunter Lawrence, championship leader in the mechanics area now, not really in a rush to get back out there.
04:23I think it's time.
04:26And the question is, can anyone surpass the 2.024 that Jet laid down earlier?
04:33What?
04:34Cheering on just in Barsha?
04:36Hey, any time you make friends with 51, it's a win out there.
04:41Stay on his good side.
04:43Barsha to make a big bike changes.
04:46A lot bigger, I believe, between round one and two.
04:48We're not sure if they threw the bike upside down again this week, as this is a new machine with
04:53Troy Lee Designs, Red Bull, and Kati in this sport for the first time.
04:57And it was better last week.
04:59He told me he basically went from a 15th-ish guy to a 10th-ish guy a week ago.
05:04So, hoping to continue making progress.
05:06Yeah, I haven't had a chance to talk to Justin and those guys to kind of hear exactly what they're
05:10struggling on.
05:11But, you know, you know when it comes to power and how this bike reacts, you know, Kati is known
05:16for that in GP, and that's what they're bringing over here also, along with a great package.
05:21So, they should be pretty well.
05:24And also, this guy, I think you need a bounce-back ride from last weekend, unfortunately for him.
05:30Had the bike issues and then a bad start.
05:31I think the emergence of this guy coming over here is going to help the 26th, because, again, it goes
05:37back to that teammate battle.
05:39He doesn't want to get beat by a teammate, but also somebody who's coming from Europe.
05:43Eventually, he's going to have to lose Jorge Prado 2.0 coming next year.
05:49He don't want to get beat.
05:50So, I think it's going to elevate Jorge's game to have a great finish today.
05:54That's Lucas Coonan there, that 104 Prado a couple of tenths quicker.
05:57Let's go down to JT with today's grand marshal.
06:01Thank you, Jason.
06:02Well, if I ever need a reminder that I'm not big enough to play in the NFL, today's that day.
06:06But I'm here with Derek Wolf, who is our grand marshal.
06:09Now, Derek, we were just talking off camera.
06:11You've been to some races before.
06:12You have some friends that have raced in the past.
06:14First Thunder Valley, though.
06:16Give me your first impression.
06:17Dude, this place is unbelievable.
06:19And this place is iconic.
06:21You know, where I'm from, I'm from northeast Ohio.
06:23Everybody talks about this track, about how epic it is and how unique it is.
06:27It's like on the side of a mountain.
06:29And, you know, I drive by it all the time.
06:31I just never really had an opportunity to come and watch a race.
06:33So when they asked me to be grand marshal, I was like, hell yeah, let's go.
06:36This is, like, I love the culture.
06:38The race culture is just unbelievable, man.
06:39I still ride a bike today.
06:41I don't jump it and send it off at jumps or anything.
06:43I do a lot of more single track stuff.
06:44But I'm just too big to be sending it off at jumps, man.
06:47I'm not going to do it.
06:48Yeah, I was going to ask you about that.
06:49So I'm assuming you had clauses in your contract, couldn't ride probably when you were playing.
06:53But did you get an opportunity now to get on a bike?
06:55Oh, yeah, there was all kinds of clauses.
06:57But that didn't stop me from snowboarding and riding my bike.
07:00Like, you still got to live, man.
07:02But, yeah, from now on, I still ride.
07:05I have a Husky 501 that I ride, and it's big enough to get me around.
07:08I got an upgraded suspension.
07:10I'm still 300 pounds.
07:11So it puts a wear and tear on a bike.
07:14And you got to find something with enough power to get you up the hills out here in this altitude.
07:17But, man, I love riding.
07:19I love the culture.
07:20And I'm super honored to be here.
07:22I love having you here at Weech.
07:23I think there are a lot of quarterbacks that are very excited that he is no longer on the field
07:26anymore.
07:27But we love having him here.
07:28Yeah, attack the trails, not the quarterbacks.
07:32Super Bowl winning tackle for the Denver Broncos.
07:37Let's send it down to Will.
07:38So we got the Kunins jumping into racing.
07:40Let's see how the KTM team is adapting.
07:42Will?
07:42Well, so far, so good is the answer to that, Jason.
07:45I'm now with Jay Dungy, Eli Tomac's mechanic, who was acting as Lucas Conan's mechanic for the weekend.
07:51We just saw Lucas just shave close to a second off there.
07:54You had yes written on your pit board.
07:56So how much of an adjustment is this for these guys?
07:59This is not the bike they're used to riding.
08:00This is elevation.
08:01This is so many differences, Jay.
08:03Talk to me about what comes with that.
08:05Everybody thinks that we're quite different.
08:07But we're actually, he's pretty close to his race bike right now.
08:10The fuel's a little different, and we're at altitude.
08:13But suspension, everything's the same.
08:14So they adapted really good.
08:15So everything's going pretty well today so far.
08:18Very little experience on this track, though.
08:20We can't dodge that.
08:21We're only in the second qualifier.
08:22What do you see in Lucas right now as he's starting to sort of piece this together?
08:26He's just learning as he's going.
08:27You know, like, this is his first time here.
08:29And this track's very tough with altitude, and everybody's down on power.
08:32So that's been a big adjustment.
08:33But these kids are just kids.
08:35They want to ride their dirt bike.
08:36So it's just as long as they got their dirt bike in one piece, they're going to have fun.
08:39And they do it well.
08:41Thanks so much, Jay.
08:41Appreciate it.
08:42Yeah, Jay Dungy right there.
08:44He's going to be one of Lucas' biggest access today.
08:47Great guy, great mechanic.
08:49And if Lucas can have anybody, he's one of them.
08:53Jay Dungy's definitely going to get his rider.
08:55The best he can do here today.
08:57And he is doing well as we watch Hunter Lawrence here.
09:00In this current session out on track, Hayden Deegan quickest, Lucas Coon in second.
09:04Now, you see, overall, it's still the Jet and Hunter times from the first session holding up.
09:09That's what you see on the left side of the screen.
09:11And Hunter making a run at it right now.
09:13And for the moment, he's actually a little bit quicker.
09:15Yeah, that was a beautiful line from Hunter.
09:17If you notice in that long run, he was able to stay just on the inside of it,
09:21but up against it so he can keep that power.
09:23That was beautiful.
09:24And bam, to the top.
09:26There you go.
09:27Got it done.
09:28I bet a lot of that time came from that last segment right there.
09:31That was beautiful.
09:32And now the track's starting to come in.
09:34And it sounds like Prado looking to throw down now.
09:37Bit of a revenge ride.
09:39Had fourth in the first moto and was even making a run at Deegan for third late last weekend.
09:44Don't know if he would have got there, but fourth place points would have been fine.
09:47And then the bike let go on the last lap.
09:50Then he had the bad gate pick in moto two.
09:52And suddenly he's way back in the series, JT.
09:55Yeah, just thinking about Jorge Prado here, respectable time, sitting fifth overall.
09:58But I found it curious.
10:00You know, we had this open practice on Friday, which is not a normal thing.
10:03It's really cool, though.
10:04Great opportunity, of course, for the Kunins.
10:06But Jorge Prado decided to not participate on Friday.
10:09And I just really found that peculiar.
10:11You know, he's never raced a KTM at this particular racetrack.
10:14And it is the most unique race with the elevation.
10:17Gearing change is different.
10:18You know, a lot of riders start in first gear.
10:20I just found it very strange that he would miss that opportunity, Will.
10:24Well, I asked that very question.
10:26I think a lot of people found it strange.
10:27There was a lot of chatter about it.
10:30So I spoke to the team there over at Rebel KTM.
10:33And they told me it simply comes down to the fact that Prado had win on the Thursday.
10:37He's a man of kind of a habit, if you like.
10:40He likes to keep his routine as it is.
10:42And they said, you know, he didn't feel he was going to gain anything by going out.
10:46He was adding more riding when he'd already got his week done.
10:48So this was just simply his routine.
10:50He said there was nothing to figure out out there.
10:52So, James, I don't know what your take is on that.
10:54But they didn't seem worried at all.
10:56Yeah.
10:56But at the same time, you know, we're very, we like routine.
11:01And if Jorge feels like, you know, he doesn't like riding on Fridays, then no harm, no foul.
11:05I will say this.
11:06You know, KTM has a lot of experience at this racetrack, you know, as far as the bike.
11:11So necessarily he will kind of, he doesn't have to worry about figuring out the bike engine-wise.
11:15And this track will change quite a bit from even a lot from yesterday, but even from today, this first
11:21practice.
11:22And I think as it goes on, it will start suiting Jorge and Lucas and even Jett Lawrence as it
11:27slows down.
11:28So I think he'll be fine.
11:30And whatever happens today, it won't be because he didn't ride yesterday.
11:35Looks to me like Jett Lawrence starting to ramp it up a little bit compared to the pace he was
11:40on earlier in this session.
11:41Let's see if he can get that top qualifying spot back.
11:46Yeah, he's trying to throw it in there.
11:53Best corner, but it's solid.
11:55I like it.
11:58I would imagine that corner is not easy to be perfect.
12:01Yeah.
12:01So it's tough.
12:02Yeah, and one thing with this racetrack, you can't tell on TV, a lot of these corners are off-camera.
12:06Like, so it's always the insides falling away from you.
12:09So with these guys, it looks flat, but the wheels are always trying to fall away from you just because
12:14it's on the side of a hill.
12:15You kind of see that.
12:16So when a guy goes inside and he stands up and it looks like, well, why is he not turning?
12:20It's because the ground's falling away from him.
12:22It's just very difficult.
12:26All right, coming near the finish line now.
12:30And R.J. Hampshire, there he goes by.
12:35It's the old mechanics area in this section, and one more trip down the valley.
12:41This section's going to be brutal later on.
12:43That little double, that's easy today.
12:45Yeah.
12:46They're going to jump into those ruts, and like I said earlier, you're going to have to be perfect because
12:50you don't want that bike upset before you jump into 10 different ruts later on.
12:56See the time for Jett.
13:00No, not enough.
13:01And look at that.
13:02Lucas Coonan just put in a heater, and he has moved to second fastest overall, splitting the Lawrences.
13:09That is the question everyone had.
13:11But the Lawrence is winning the first two races.
13:13Could Deegan or Coonan or someone else in this 450 class get in there?
13:17And at least qualifying, the young Belgian has done it.
13:22That was Hunter Lawrence.
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