The Lawrence brothers put on an amazing one-on-one battle at High Point, but it was looking like a distant memory after Jett turned up the wick a week later. His engine blew up at RedBud, but so did his motivation.
“After RedBud, I was pissed off and told Christian [mechanic] and Doc G, ‘For now on I’m winning every race to the end of the season,’” he told Steve Matthes in an interview on Saturday at Millville. “So far so good.”
With the engine fixed, the second moto at RedBud was much different. Jett went from a blown engine to blowing them all away. He followed it with 1-1 at Southwick while Hunter Lawrence faltered. The battle of the Lawrences? The scales were no longer even.
Hunter tried to get them back on his side at Millville, and he accomplished the hardest part. He found the speed! In the first moto he snuck into the lead when Jett got held up by a crashing Justin Cooper. He pulled away slightly and then really messed up the whoops, going off the track and nearly heading into a tree or Spring Creek itself. Hunter saved it but not before Jett pounced and then completed the pass half a lap later. But Hunter responded! He retook the lead and held it again, until the lappers slowed him just as Jett launched one more attack. Hunter was stuck with the lappers, and Jett rode by. Run that race back in a simulator a few times and Hunter wins a few of them. The brothers were back to being that close again.
![Jett Lawrence]()
Jett Lawrence Align Media ![Hunter Lawrence]()
Hunter Lawrence Align Media
| Rider | Hometown | Motos | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jett Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia  | 1 - 1 | Honda CRF250R |
| 2 |  Jo Shimoda | Suzuka, Japan  | 3 - 2 | Kawasaki KX250F |
| 3 |  Hunter Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia | 2 - 5 | Honda CRF250R |
| 4 |  Justin Cooper | Cold Spring Harbor, NY  | 6 - 3 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 5 |  R.J. Hampshire | Hudson, FL | 5 - 4 | Husqvarna FC 250 |
“We learn so much off of each other,” Hunter explained to Steve Matthes. “You know Jurassic Park, and those raptors? Where they adapt and learn and get smarter and smarter and smarter? That’s literally like how it is with me and Jett. High Point. Study him for four laps, pass him. He’d study me for four laps, pass me back, and then vice-versa. It’s not just racing all out, because our speed is so similar to each other, that even if someone is slightly faster, we can just adapt and learn the faster speed.”
In moto two Hunter was in an even better position, nailing the start and getting the early lead and sprinting while Jett had to make some passes. Then came a red flag and a restart, and it was wiped out. Hunter blew the start the next time, and it was over. The best he could do was fifth. Jett cruised to a 1-1.
Bummer it didn’t work for Hunter, but he can’t curse the racing luck completely, because he’d be some 50 points down if Jett’s bike made it to the finish at RedBud. Sometimes it bounces your way, sometimes it doesn’t. All you can do is be ready when opportunity strikes, and Hunter is doing all he can to take advantage.
