Image: Octopi Media.

Located 20 miles south of Atlanta, the Atlanta Motor Speedway proved to be the site of another relatively simple win for 250SX East points leader Hunter Lawrence during his 2023 Monster Energy Supercross campaign.

The team Honda HRC rider faced an early challenge from Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider Haiden Deegan and was forced to reel Deegan back in after saving a near-crash in the early moments.

Upon his return to the lead, Lawrence pulled out to a lead of nearly 4s entering the final minutes and more than doubled it to 8.232s at the checkered flag.

Riding a Star Racing-prepared Yamaha YZ250F of his own, Jordon Smith got by Deegan for second before the race’s halfway point and settled for second behind Lawrence. The result ties Smith’s best previous 2023 result, from Arlington in late February.

Deegan collected his third career podium result ahead of Jo Shimoda as the returning Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider finished fourth in his first race of 2023.

Max Anstie (Fire Power Honda) finished fifth for his third time in 2023 in the follow-up to his 22nd-place outing inside Detroit’s Ford Field last time out.

Henry Miller (Ti-Lube Storm Lake Honda), Chris Blose (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki), Talon Hawkins (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna), Cullin Park (Phoenix Racing Honda), and Caden Braswell (Phoenix Racing Honda) comprised the remainder of the top 10.

Nate Thrasher battled early with his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammates but crashed heavily in the whoops entering the final minutes. Known to be racing with a torn ACL, Thrasher left the racing area on a stretcher.

Similarly, crashes for Coty Schock (Phoenix Racing Honda, Jace Owen (Phoenix Racing Honda), Jeremy Martin (Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha), and Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM) limited their potential in the Atlanta main event and mired them at the bottom of the race results.

With the East/West Showdown at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium up next on April 22, Lawrence’s 250SX East lead has swelled to 45 points over Deegan. Anstie now holds third, a further 10 points back.

Detailed results