Team Suzuki World MX2’s Hunter Lawrence backed up his maiden world championship podium with a fourth-place finish at Ernee in France on Sunday, continuing his impressive front-running form.

The Aussie rookie’s weekend could have been even better had his gear-shifter not snapped off in one of the deep ruts that littered the track. Still, he brought the bike home safely for fifth place, which he then backed up with a solid fourth in the second moto.

“I was off to a really good start in the first moto, top seven round the first bend before making some quick passes and finding myself in third place,” Lawrence recalled. “It took me a couple of laps to get going but then I started to click off some good lap times and closed up a bit on the two riders in front.

“Unfortunately, on the sixth lap I ran into a problem when my gear shifter got snapped off in a rut and I had to ride the rest of the moto in second gear. As bad as that was, I was still riding okay and was able to finish fifth.

“In the second moto I didn’t get the best start but quickly got through the pack into fourth, but when I got there, Jeremy Seewer, Pauls Jonass and Benoit Paturel had long gone. I just had to ride my own race, which is quite difficult actually as I had no one around me to gauge my speed on or pressure me. Still, I came home in fourth for fourth overall and a lot of positives.”

Lawrence’s up-turn in consistency sees him climb to ninth in the point-standings following the ninth round of the season. The next round will take place in two weeks’ time at Orlyonok, Russia on 9-10 June.