Both Jason Lawrence & Grant Langston Put Team ampm/Boost Mobile/JLaw in Main Event
January 13, 2010, 1:33pm
CARLSBAD, Calif. – With an early Christmas present of sorts due to good behavior, former supercross Lites champ Jason “JLaw” Lawrence (ampm/Boost Mobile/JLaw) walked out of jail and back into the limelight of supercross, receiving one of the loudest ovations of the night from the nearly 45,000 fans packed into Anaheim’s (Calif.) Angels Stadium for the opening round of 2010 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, this past weekend.
The ’08 WSX Lites champ struggled through the week with an undisclosed illness, managing only a few practice sessions on his Yamaha YZ450F – and not even getting into the whoops section (instead riding around them). Like a prize fighter taking a bout on short notice, Lawrence, though physically strong, didn’t have the necessary cardio work time put in while incarcerated for the past four months and it effected him greatly in the 20-lap main event.
“I was pumped to be able to race Anaheim 1, but unfortunately I think my body wasn't able to fulfill what my mind wanted to do,” he said. “In the best interest of the rest of my season I had to make a difficult decision which was to pull off, knowing that a lot of the fans were going to think it was the same as last year. I’ll tell you right now it's not. I've decided to train and be prepared to ride at my best – and I won't race until I am 100-percent.”
JLaw’s teammate, Grant Langston, was making a comeback of sorts as well. The 2007 Outdoor National champion hadn’t raced a supercross in two years – and really hadn’t ridden hard and trained during this time. Eager to get back, Langston showed the Zulu Warrior spirit he’s known for in not only qualifying for the SX class main event, but also rode well enough to crack the top ten.
“I really didn’t know what to expect,” admitted Langston. “I was nervous all day, but had a plan not to ride over my head and to pretty much just make the main. That was it. I ended up qualifying better than I expected and making the top ten certainly exceeded my expectations. My plan is to be more prepared for Phoenix this weekend and to keep taking baby steps towards the podium.”
The ’08 WSX Lites champ struggled through the week with an undisclosed illness, managing only a few practice sessions on his Yamaha YZ450F – and not even getting into the whoops section (instead riding around them). Like a prize fighter taking a bout on short notice, Lawrence, though physically strong, didn’t have the necessary cardio work time put in while incarcerated for the past four months and it effected him greatly in the 20-lap main event.
“I was pumped to be able to race Anaheim 1, but unfortunately I think my body wasn't able to fulfill what my mind wanted to do,” he said. “In the best interest of the rest of my season I had to make a difficult decision which was to pull off, knowing that a lot of the fans were going to think it was the same as last year. I’ll tell you right now it's not. I've decided to train and be prepared to ride at my best – and I won't race until I am 100-percent.”
JLaw’s teammate, Grant Langston, was making a comeback of sorts as well. The 2007 Outdoor National champion hadn’t raced a supercross in two years – and really hadn’t ridden hard and trained during this time. Eager to get back, Langston showed the Zulu Warrior spirit he’s known for in not only qualifying for the SX class main event, but also rode well enough to crack the top ten.
“I really didn’t know what to expect,” admitted Langston. “I was nervous all day, but had a plan not to ride over my head and to pretty much just make the main. That was it. I ended up qualifying better than I expected and making the top ten certainly exceeded my expectations. My plan is to be more prepared for Phoenix this weekend and to keep taking baby steps towards the podium.”
