Youthful talent Hunter Lawrence says it was a really pleasing achievement to assist Team Australia to P4 at yesterday’s Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations (MXoN) in the USA after finishing an impressive second in moto two.

In his first official appearance with Geico Honda on US soil, Lawrence displayed incredible form as he pushed through the treacherous conditions, earning eighth in a stacked opening moto that saw MX1 and MX2 riders combined.

The Queensland native returned for back to back outings in race two, this time paired up with the Open class, piloting his CRF250R to a mighty second against 450cc machinery, crediting him second in the overall MX2 standings behind recently crowned world champion Jorge Prado (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).

“I’m really happy with how this whole weekend went,” Lawrence explained. “I knew that it would be a track that I’d like and that the conditions would really suit my style and that’s exactly how it turned out. To come second in the second moto, on a Honda CRF250R up against the 450 riders was a really pleasing achievement and it was great it helped Australia achieve a fourth place overall.

“I thought coming into this event that a top five was possible so to one better was really cool. I really had a great time all weekend and it was awesome to show my speed on the biggest stage of them all.”

Lawrence’s podium performance along with stellar showings from fellow Team Australia members Kirk Gibbs (KTM Motocross Racing Team) and Mitch Evans resulted in a strong combined effort to land the nation inside the top five, falling just short of the podium.

The teenager will now stay in the US as he embarks on the next phase of his career in a multi-year deal with Geico Honda, where he’s set commence testing for the 2018 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship immediately.