Last week, Jett and Hunter Lawrence became the first pair of brothers to ever win an AMA Pro Motocross Championship event overall on the same day, and this weekend they doubled the feat by doing it again. Doubling a non-existent record in seven days seems crazy, but it doesn’t look so wild when you watch Hunter and Jett do it. Everything looks calculated, planned, smooth, repeatable. The numbers bear this out, with Jett topping every qualifying session and leading every lap this year in the 450 class. Hunter has gone exactly 3-1 in both races this year, showing he can make good despite a bad start in a moto, and also dominate if he gets out front early.
“First moto was tough, not as good a start so I was coming through the pack,” Hunter said in the post-race press conference. “Track was weird, it was not as deep, which sometimes has promoted better racing, but today it was kind of tough. It was pretty one lined. So I got back to where I could. Better start in the second moto and was able to ride a pretty good race.”
![Hunter Lawrence]()
Hunter Lawrence Align Media ![Hunter Lawrence]()
Hunter Lawrence Align Media ![Hunter Lawrence]()
Hunter Lawrence Align Media ![Hunter Lawrence]()
Hunter Lawrence Align Media
Hunter wasn’t alone in his thoughts, as Hangtown wasn’t ripped and watered as aggressively as some past years. The track crews have moved away from that concept a bit because riders and teams though a slightly dryer track might lead to shorter ruts and less “slot-car” or “locked in one rut” racing. This time that theory didn’t quite pan out, and lots of riders felt that led to a one-lined track in both motos.
“Yeah, basically the same, except they threw a lot of water down for the second moto, so if I had gotten the bad start in the second moto it wouldn’t have been as fun,” said Hunter. “You try to stick to whatever line is driest, and when you’re trying to make passes, you’re using lines you’re not familiar with, and it gets tricky. The track today, it was tough, difficult to deal with, dry, then when there’s a lot of water on the top it adds another element. Just trying to manage it and not ask for more than what the track gives you in the second moto.”
There. Right there. That’s what makes the Lawrence brothers such a formidable duo. It’s not just blazing speed, talent or daring. They play it smart and take what the track gives. It makes this success seem sustainable for longer. Further, for as dominant that Jett has been, he can actually get much better, since he’s only a rookie.
“Yeah, it was kind of just learn the track again, it’s still a new bike and new power, so it’s kind of learning that,” said Jett. “It was fun in the first moto to give and take, learn where I can be aggressive and where I can’t. The track was so chopped out, and it was already dry, it was already gone the first few laps of moto one. They tried fixing it with a ton of water in for the second moto and that doesn’t help. Not a crazy day, a few things we need to work on. I learned that I need to eat! I just had one of Dr. G’s [Dr. H. Rey Gubernick] smoothies and yeah, that didn’t last me the whole moto! Just learning areas I need to improve. Onto Colorado and we’ll see how the bike works at altitude.”
![Jett Lawrence]()
Jett Lawrence Align Media ![Jett Lawrence]()
Jett Lawrence Align Media
Chances are Honda will have it dialed in there, but if you’re trying to beat the brothers, you have to hope some different track prep or elevation or really anything can change the game.
“I would definitely say, I knew my sprint speed would be decent just because, off of 250s I was fairly close in times, and I was getting onto a bike with more power. So I knew I had a decent chance of running with the top guys, but I didn’t expect it to go this good so far,” said Jett. “Hunter got another win, but he’s gotta sort his first moto out, he’s riding like an idiot getting terrible starts. [Laughs] But Honda is happy and yeah, just go back, same thing, get more time on the 450 because I’m still learning the character of it. Get to race another sick track and hopefully we learn even more stuff to build myself and my experience.”
In each 450 race, we’ve found ourselves watching and wondering if Jett is really pushing. His style makes it look easy, and in Hangtown he maintained a gap of around five seconds while the Cooper Webb/Dylan Ferrandis/Aaron Plessinger battle raged behind him. How does he do that?
| Rider | Hometown | Motos | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Hunter Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia  | 3 - 1 | Honda CRF250R |
| 2 |  Justin Cooper | Cold Spring Harbor, NY  | 2 - 2 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 3 |  Haiden Deegan | Temecula, CA | 1 - 4 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 4 |  Tom Vialle | Avignon, France  | 7 - 3 | KTM 250 SX-F |
| 5 |  R.J. Hampshire | Hudson, FL | 5 - 5 | Husqvarna FC 250 RE |
| Rider | Hometown | Motos | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jett Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia | 1 - 1 | Honda CRF450R |
| 2 |  Dylan Ferrandis | Avignon, France | 2 - 3 | Yamaha YZ450F |
| 3 |  Cooper Webb | Newport, NC | 4 - 2 | KTM 450 SX-F |
| 4 |  Aaron Plessinger | Hamilton, OH | 3 - 6 | KTM 450 SX-F |
| 5 |  Adam Cianciarulo | Port Orange, FL | 5 - 4 | Kawasaki KX450SR |
“It’s just finding a decent comfortable pace for me to go at,” Jett says. “I’m assessing the gap. The first few laps, kinda go as fast as you can, just try and, while everyone is behind you, maybe while they’re making passes, they get held up a little bit, so I’m trying to get away a little bit, because I feel like that’s where I mainly get my gap. So I tuck my ears back and go. Then from there, once I get that five or so second gap, I try to see where my pace is at, can I keep on gapping them out with my pace? If not, I’ll just stay here. With this track, I was searching with some different lines and stuff. I took a few lines seeing if I could gain and I lost some time. One of the main things in the first moto was lappers, trying to get through them was such a big thing. They were waving the blue flags, but they kept racing and battling. I kind of keep an eye out. I had a few spots where I was able to see where the lads were at in the corner of my eye. So it was just keeping an eye on that. When AP got into second, he picked it up a bit, so I ended up having to pick it up. It’s just kind of seeing what their body language is like.”
So that’s it. Jett is only going as fast as he needs to, Hunter is taking what the track and starts dictate. The brothers are already off to a record-breaking start, but the main focus is to make sure they’re there to the finish.
