In his first grand prix at the notorious Lommel circuit in Belgium, Australian teenager Hunter Lawrence fell just shy of the top 10 at what was the 14th stop of the 2017 MX2 World Championship.

The Suzuki World MX2 rider went 11-10 for an impressive 11th overall result, with a poor start in race one ultimately affecting his chances of moving up in the order, while a costly mistake in race two only added to his misfortunes.

“In the first moto I didn’t get the best start and came around the first corner in around 20th,” Lawrence commented. “I soon got to work though and worked my way up to 11th. That wasn’t too bad, but obviously I wanted to do a bit better in the second race.

“I got a top 15 start in the second race but in the third lap I got a bit too impatient and cased a jump and that sent me off the track. I didn’t crash but I stalled it and it took a while to get it fired up again.

“Everyone had passed me by that stage so I was almost last but I charged through the field once again to get up to 10th place. It was my first Lommel grand prix done and it went okay, so I know what to expect now and believe that I can come back next year and do much better.”

The Queensland-native is still on the return to full fitness after a back injury sidelined him for a number of weeks, making his racing return two weeks ago at the Czech grand prix. Lawrence’s efforts last weekend saw him elevated to ninth in the standings as five rounds remain.