Source: Supplied.

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Hunter Lawrence overcame first lap crashes in both EMX250 championship motos to finish sixth overall and advance to second place in the series standings at Kegums, Latvia.

The Aussie charged from 22nd on the opening lap of the first race through the pack to finish fourth in the opening moto, just over three seconds behind the winner.

A collision at the start of the second race left the teenager even further back but he charged hard to cross the line seventh. That was enough for sixth overall and he’s moved to second in the championship as a result.

“It was a good and a bad weekend,” Lawrence recalled. “The riding was good, but the results didn’t really reflect how I rode. We’ve made some good progress since Valkenswaard.

“In the first moto I crashed by myself on the first lap and came back from 22nd to fourth, so that was not bad even if I was not so happy with this crash.

“There was a crash at the start of the second moto. I don’t really know what happened, but I was in it and another wheel was stuck between my rear wheel and the frame so it took a lot of time to restart in last position.

“I again came back through the pack to finish seventh. That is never easy as everyone is trying to make aggressive passes and you need to find your way.

“I’m now second in the standings, we’ll continue to work hard and hopefully we’ll be even stronger in Germany next weekend.”