In the final 250cc race of his professional career, Jett Lawrence went out with a bang. The Australian native had already clinched the 2023 250SX West Region title one week ago in Denver, Colorado, and was playing with house money at the final round in Utah. Still, without championship situations on the line, the newly crowned #1W went out and won the Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Showdown main event. It was the 13th career 250SX main event win for Jett (and his sixth win of the ’23 season), who now shifts his focus to the 450 Class for the AMA Pro Motocross Championship. He joined his brother Hunter—the 2023 250SX East Region Champion—(or “HJ” as Jett refers to him) for a post-race press conference shortly after the final checkered flag waved. Here is what Jettson had to say about his day and his season as a whole, and moving to the premier class.
Jett, congratulations on the win. Congratulations to both Jett and Hunter again on your championships. Jett, let’s just talk about that main event in particular. That was the last one, right? That’s the end of your 250 career. Did you think about that at all, late stages when things were settling down and all? Were you just looking at the checkered, or did you get a chance to reflect on anything just about the 250 career and that chapter?
Jett Lawrence: No, not really. It still hasn’t quite sunk in as my last. I think once I start racing 450 in outdoors it will kind of sink in as my last. It was a fun one. The track got pretty technical. The dirt was actually really sick for that one which was great. In the heat race it was like ice, so we weren’t looking forward to it. It didn’t really cross my mind until after. I was like, that’s really kind of my last one. I’m not going to go up to 450 and come back down for a few. I’m up to 450 now and we’re staying there for a while. It’s an exciting step for me. It’s a new kind of step in my life, that new chapter. I’m excited for it. It was a good way to end it, I think, for my last 250 race.
![Jett and HunterLawrence during opening ceremonies.]()
Jett and HunterLawrence during opening ceremonies. Align Media ![Jett Lawrence]()
Jett Lawrence Align Media ![Jett Lawrence taking the 250SX main event win with a huge whip.]()
Jett Lawrence taking the 250SX main event win with a huge whip. Align Media ![Hunter Lawrence, Chase Sexton, and Jett Lawrence.]()
Hunter Lawrence, Chase Sexton, and Jett Lawrence. Align Media
| Position | Rider | Hometown | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jett Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia  | 223 |
| 2 |  R.J. Hampshire | Hudson, FL  | 186 |
| 3 |  Levi Kitchen | Washougal, WA | 156 |
| 4 |  Enzo Lopes | Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil  | 149 |
| 5 |  Mitchell Oldenburg | Alvord, TX | 131 |
| 6 |  Max Vohland | Sacramento, CA | 121 |
| 7 |  Cameron McAdoo | Sioux City, IA | 101 |
| 8 |  Pierce Brown | Sandy, UT | 98 |
| 9 |  Derek Kelley | Riverside, CA | 87 |
| 10 |  Cole Thompson | Brigden, ON  | 87 |
You’re making the move to 450s. So, like this East/West thing we’ve been in where you guys get to kind of watch each other, what’s your thoughts on your brother going into the outdoor championship? You’ve won that title twice now. You’re moving on, and he’s probably the favorite to win that championship. What’s your thoughts on big bro heading into the summer and what he’s looking to accomplish with the 250 outdoor championship?
He’s just lucky I’m not in 250 still. That’s what the main part is. [Laughs] No, it’s cool. It’s going to be different, that’s for sure. It’s going to take a bit to realize, I feel like at the first round, once he starts getting dressed, I’m going to get dressed also. It’s going to be kind of a different schedule for me throughout the day, so it’s just kind of going to be getting used to that. But I like it. It’s time for a change for me. 250s has started to get pretty repeated for me, the same stuff. So I think it’s time for me to go up. It's going to be fun, exciting. Really exciting to cheer on HJ on 250. It won’t be long until he’s back up on 450. So, it will be good.
Next chapter is coming. Different group of riders, guys you’ve watched, legends, all champions. As you make your way through the 250 class, it’s guys chasing championships, now you’re going to be lined up not only this summer but next year with a gate full of them. What does it look like from your perspective now that challenge that’s coming and obviously the rookie year and what comes with that?
For me it looks like there’s going to be a lot of really good battles. I can tell you that. It’s going to be fun. Outdoors I get to race against my teammate, Chase [Sexton]. That’s going to be exciting. We all know he’s got a lot of speed up his sleeve. It’s going to be exciting. We get to kind of start at the bottom again, like I did going when I first went pro. Start at the bottom and kind of make your way up. I get to start there again and kind of just learn new stuff that you don’t learn while you’re watching TV. So, I’m excited for it. It’s always good to learn more and more stuff, to get my experience a little bit more and better. I’m excited for it. It’s going to be fun. Just go out there and have a fun outdoors and just go from there.
