Australian, Jett Lawrence was quickest in the first timed practice at Thunder Valley today. The HRC factory rider and defending champion was ahead of his brother, Haiden Deegan, Jorge Prado and Lucas Coenen.

Hunter Lawrence quickly put down a time to be top of the 450 A group, but soon after Jett Lawrence did a 2.03.749 to top his brother, with Haiden Deegan doing a 2.04.009 and on lap three of his practice, Lucas Coenen did a 2.05.635 to be fourth quickest behind the Lawrence brothers and Deegan.

Deegan went to the top of the lap times after his fifth lap, with a 2.03.112, but then Jett Lawrence did a 2.02.489 to show who the boss was. Garrett Marchbanks did a 2.05.302 to go ahead of Coenen, dropping the Belgian to fifth quickest and then Hunter Lawrence did a time of 2.02.677 to be quicker than Deegan.

Coenen started dropping down the order, with both R. J. Hampshire and Aaron Plessinger passing him, before the Belgian did a 2.04.437 to go back to fourth quickest, but still two seconds off the pace of Jett Lawrence and a bit more than a second slower than Deegan.

Prado came out on his sixth lap and did a 2.04.286 to drop his fellow euro KTM rider to fifth again and the top five were two Aussies, an American, a Spaniard and a Belgian. Times sure have changed since the 1980s, when USA riders dominated the series.

Two other euro riders, Dylan Ferrandis and Mikkel Haarup were 12th and 13th quickest, with times of 2.06.623 and 2.06.997. Coenen doing well to be on a very similar time to that of Prado and showing that the GP riders are still in amongst it against the 2023 and 2024 champion.

450 Top 30