Image: Octopi Media.

The mindset of Hunter Lawrence remains unchanged entering the final round of the 2022 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship at Fox Raceway as he trails Jo Shimoda by seven points for P2 in the 250MX standings.

Lawrence started the year in fine form, scoring a worst result of P4 across the opening 10 motos of the season.

Misfortune sporadically throughout the rounds since has seen the number 96 lose crucial points to the red plate and come under pressure from the in-form Jo Shimoda, who relegated Lawrence to third in the standings following Budds Creek.

Lawrence has scored three race wins and 13 podiums across the 11 rounds this season but has been unable to land a 250MX overall victory in 2022. Achieving such is at the forefront of his mentality entering the Fox Raceway finals.

“Just same as it has been, go in and try to win,” explained Lawrence. “That’s all it has been. We have had a bit of bad luck this season, it is what it is, second or third, it’s not first.

“Regardless I’m going there to try and win, get an overall and it will be what it will be, like I said, we came in with goals to win [the championship], and it is looking like it is pretty slim now. So we will just go in and try to get an overall win, and yeah, just do me.”

Despite additional bonus money awarded to Lawrence if he can secure second in the championship, he stated that is not his motivation and looks forward to successful years ahead with an improved 2022.

After 11 rounds last year in 250MX, Lawrence had 349 points, two moto wins and five podiums to his credit. While he was also P3 in the standings then, the CRF250R rider has 430 points now entering the 12th stop in the 2022 series, highlighting the steps made in the last 12 months.

The Australian notched 3-2 results at Ironman on Saturday but was demoted two points from the opening moto for jumping under a wheels on the ground flag, which ultimately demoted him to third overall on the day.

Round 12 of this year’s Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship takes place this Saturday in Pala, CA.