“Hunter’s mental strength is his greatest attribute,” says Lindstrom. “There have been guys in the past that weren’t able to break through to the next level in the sport, and they were great riders, too, but he just has a ton of belief in himself and, obviously with his family and the help from them and this team and the hard work he puts in to be at this level, it’s just amazing, you know?
“It’s amazing he’s able to be that calm in that moment,” Lindstrom explained. “He’s got Cooper Webb behind him just revving at him coming into a turn, and a lot of people that might get in their heads, but he just keeps calm and keeps going. His 250 career was a lot like that.”
Hunter’s first victory was indeed hard earned, a race-long battle with three greats. There’s well over 100 combined 450 victories between Ken Roczen, Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac, and they each played to their strengths. The early-race pace of Roczen, the Texas magic of Webb, the late-race intimidation of Tomac. He’d already made a pass on Webb when Webb made a mistake trying to get around Roczen. Hunter then had to figure out how to get Roczen while also hold the ever-crafty Webb at bay. Kenny actually admits, in a Suzuki press release, that he “tried to be a roadblock as long as I could.”
“I mean it’s like just chess out there,” Lawrence explained of his side. “He would make a little mistake and I’d try and get there, but then he’d have the inside for the next corner and it was really cool. I think that racing is fun to watch and to be a part of it is really cool. Honestly, it’s like don’t miss, you’re playing defense, but you’re playing offense. It’s cool. I really enjoy that because it is such a tricky spot to be in, but man, it feels good when you pull it off. I think that’s one of those very high stakes pressure moment, which I don’t know, I just love that. It’s so cool and so fun.”