Round 12 of AMA Supercross in St. Louis brought a mix of positive results and setbacks for the Honda HRC Progressive team, as Hunter Lawrence secured a premier-class podium finish to reclaim a share of the championship lead. The Aussie is excited for the final rounds of the 2026 championship, with everything on the line in each round now.

“From what happened last week and how my wrist is feeling, I'm pretty happy. I think this track was arguably one of our gnarliest tracks, more so than Daytona or Indy. It was wild how the bumps were, how kicky the jumps were, and how deep the ruts were. I had to ride more governed.

"A lot of it was just due to the strength loss in my wrist; it would give out on some of the stuff where normally I could kind of muscle up and continue on and make the next rhythm. Nothing’s broken—it’s just really sore and swollen in the joint, but it was good enough to do what I could do today. I’ve got a great team behind me, and we’re in a great spot. How cool is it? Three of us, so close, and two tied for the red plate! I’m going to get healthier again and be back ready to fight next weekend in Nashville.”

The 450SX main event saw Lawrence grab his second holeshot of the night. He engaged in early battles with Jorge Prado and Ken Roczen before settling into third on lap 2. As the race developed and the track conditions became more challenging, the Australian spent laps 5 through 14 outside the podium positions, while managing wrist discomfort from a crash at the previous round.

He mounted a signature late-race surge to retake third and secured that position at the finish. Quad Lock Honda riders Joey Savatgy, Christian Craig and Shane McElrath completed the night in seventh, 11th and 12th, respectively.

Lars Lindstrom the Team Manager for HRC in USA had mixed feelings about the night, due to their 250 rider Jo Shimoda going out injured, but was happy to see Hunter back on the podium.

“A bittersweet night, which is common in racing when you have two riders that are championship contenders. Jo never got a chance to show what he had, and we’re doing everything we can to help him get back to being on the bike. Initially, it looked really serious, but now I’m more hopeful that it’s only a minor setback. Hopefully, we’ll know more after an MRI, but weight on the foot seems to be okay. I’m happy with Hunter’s race; if you’re going to race banged up, especially with a sore wrist, this is not the track you want to be racing at. It was absolutely brutal; Hutch and I had to walk the track afterwards, and that’s when they should have the fans walking the track. It blows my mind that the top guys are able to continue to do the rhythms and jump things out of turns when the track is that soft, rutted and destroyed. We’re satisfied with the result, happy to make up points and be tied for the red plate, but we definitely want more and look forward to battling for this championship to the end!”