Image: Octopi Media.

Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence has put an end to Eli Tomac’s (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) dominant run of Daytona victories with a commanding win at the eighth round of Monster Energy Supercross, extending his points lead in the process.

It was a dramatic start for Lawrence before the main event even got underway as his mechanics rushed to remove the plastic wrap on his rear tyre, successfully pulling it off a mere seconds before the gates dropped.

Despite the panic, Lawrence still managed to land a strong start inside the top five, but it was reigning champion Chase Sexton (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Tomac who initially led the field.

Overcoming a mistake on lap one, Lawrence was positioned third as the race looked set to be a thriller between the points leader, Sexton, and Tomac, while at the same time, Hunter Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) experienced a heavy fall and ultimately retired from the race.

The three-way battle everyone hoped for wasn’t to be after Lawrence passed both Tomac and Sexton in a matter of seconds, securing the lead before quickly building an advantage.

The main event was largely uneventful as Lawrence stormed to a third win of the season, however a late charge from Tomac aboard his smoking YZ450F saw him pass Sexton with just two laps to go to finish second over the factory KTM rider.

Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha’s Cooper Webb made a late move on Ken Roczen (Progressive Insurance Ecstar Suzuki) for fourth, the pair locking out the top five. The top 10 was completed by Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha), Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing), Dylan Ferrandis (Phoenix Racing Honda), Jason Anderson (Monster Energy Kawasaki) and Benny Bloss (Liqui Moly Beta Racing).

Monster Energy Supercross now heads Protective Stadium in Birmingham on 9 March for round nine of the series, as Lawrence holds a 10-point advantage over Webb in the championship standings.

Detailed results