Hunter Lawrence claims career-first 450 Triple Crown race win | Houston Supercross 2026
The first Triple Crown race of the 2026 season, held at the domed NRG stadium in Houston, was a positive one for Honda HRC Progressive, as Hunter Lawrence earned his third consecutive runner-up overall result, finishing just one point shy of victory in a format that has not been friendly to him in the past. This is by far the best beginning to an AMA Supercross series of the Australian’s young 450SX career, and the Texas performance reduced his gap to championship-leader Eli Tomac by half, from eight points to just four. Lawrence continues to close in on his first premier-class win, with confidence building each weekend.
The first 450SX race saw Lawrence start inside the top five and make his way to third before a small mistake relegated him to an eventual seventh-place finish. After regrouping during the short turnaround, he executed another strong start, getting around Jason Anderson in the first turn to take over second position. As he had done in the previous rounds, Lawrence gained strength lap by lap; he made a decisive pass on Jorge Prado to take the lead and never looked back until the checkered flag, earning his first win in an individual 450SX Triple Crown race. The final race of the evening got underway with Lawrence in second position. For the first half of the race, he faced challenges from Tomac and Anderson and briefly dropped to third before regaining second position. With Lawrence provisionally tied on race points with Cooper Webb in the late going, the overall victory was ultimately decided behind him, as Webb made a late pass to secure the overall victory. Lawrence’s 7-1-2 tally earned him second overall.
