Source: Supplied.

Australian Hunter Lawrence was denied of a fairytale ending to his time in the MX2 World Championship after a mechanical failure in the opening encounter at Imola’s 20th round saw him forced to record a DNF result.

The 114 Motorsport Honda ace led for the majority of the moto until disaster struck in the closing laps, although left content with his level of riding, Lawrence says he wasn’t too demoralised by the incident.

He bounced in race two for a stellar charge to second, granting him eighth overall while also crediting him ninth in the championship rankings with just 13 rounds to his name.

“I was really happy with my weekend,” said Lawrence. “It was disappointing how the first moto ended but all weekend I felt pretty good. In the first moto I ripped a good start on my Honda CRF250R, made some quick passes and got myself into the lead. I then led the whole race until two or three laps to go, until we had a small technical issue, so I ended up not finishing.

“I wasn’t too demoralised though because I knew how well I was riding, so I regrouped in the break and got my focus back to try and do the same again in race two. Unfortunately I didn’t get such a great start but I put my head down and moved from outside the top 10 into the top five, halfway through the race.

“I knew my speed and fitness were good so I kept charging and got into second place and moved to within striking distance on first place before the race expired. I know deep down I was the fastest this weekend, I believe that, and I know I’ve worked really hard to be here, which is a satisfying feeling.”

The Queensland native will head to the USA where he’ll make his first appearance with the Geico Honda squad while representing Team Australia at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations (MXoN) at RedBud this weekend.