Only three rounds after San Diego Supercross where Jett Lawrence and Jason Anderson had their infamous run in with each other, both riders found themselves on the podium in Glendale. At the post race press conference both riders seemed relaxed, even discussing risk verses reward of tripling or quadding the long rhythm section. It seems like the heated rivalry that fans were hoping for and building up, may have fizzled out as quickly as it started. Instead, they discussed the pros and cons and different ways of a attacking that rhythm section, and how it impacted their race. Anderson, for example, had a different combination than race leader Ken Roczen. It was faster but trickier, and it ultimately cost him.
“Obviously, Kenny [Roczen] got out front and he was hitting his marks, and I was trying to overcompensate and get some speed to get close to him,” said Anderson, who was jumping over the tabletop where Roczen and others were jumping on and off. “I kept making little mistakes like that and especially in that [long] rhythm section… for a second there, I felt like I was closing in on Kenny. That rhythm section that I was trying to do, I felt like I was gaining a little bit of time. I just missed it. One of the times, I actually blitzed the whole rhythm section. So, yeah, I think I was just trying to do that and make up time, but the line wasn't consistent, and Kenny was hitting his marks and being smooth as usual. So, I kind of lost the tow a little bit and at one point kind of understood kind of where my place was and just had to ride her in for a second.”
Did Anderson ever consider going really big and quadding in that rhythm section to close the gap?
“To be honest, nowadays with quads or anything like that, I'm not gonna be the first one to hit them and that's for sure! [Laughs] I'm too old! And to be honest, I thought all day I thought we were gonna do the line that Kenny was doing where he jumped off the thing and then was going 3-3. I was waiting for something to go big to big [five foot jump to five foot jump]. Honestly that type of stuff at the age I'm at right now just gives me anxiety. I don't even want to think about it.
Then Lawrence, 10 years younger, was asked if he had considered a quad.
“Yes, I would say I definitely thought of it,” said Lawrence. “I eyed up the one at the end of that long rhythm, but I know I just never got that rhythm clean enough to try and have a full go of it. So, I decided to pick life and just go with the triple through.”
Anderson added to it: “I feel like to be honest right now a 450 motorcycle, those quads are relatively easy. It's just the amount of error that is involved with maybe it going bad or anything like that. I'm thankful that no one was willing to take that risk because, because then we would all just start doing it!”
The field is deeper than ever and only eleven points sit between Jett Lawrence in first and Jason Anderson in fifth. It makes the difference between a good weekend and a bad one very, very tight.
“Yeah, I mean, the class is obviously very, very stacked right now and I think just being inside the top five and collecting points and just trying to improve yourself to be able to get to a point in the season to where you're one of the guys that's consistently up there and hopefully start grabbing some wins here soon,” said Anderson of the key to staying in the fight. “Obviously, that's the goal, that's a plan, but it's hard to make that happen. And right now, I feel like I'm kind of under the radar being as good as I've been so far this year. But I feel good and I'm excited to see what the rest of the season brings, but I always wanna be better, that's for sure.”
There is just no time for rivalries when the competition is so steep and the tracks are just as much of a challenge as any rider. At San Diego, Lawrence saw what it was like when action on the race track spills over after the race. This time, he tried to make as little as possible of any incidents. In his heat, he got the full Vince Friese experience while trying to pass the veteran and move forward. In the main, Cooper Webb didn’t hesitate to push him off the track early. At one point, Lawrence was out of the top ten. He methodically moved forward and didn’t engage.
Has he learned from his mistakes at rounds two through four? His patience in Glendale resulted in a podium and a reclaiming of the points lead.
“Yeah, I think a big thing that kind of just helped was just how the track conditions were,” said Jett, “You just had to kind of be patient and kind of not push anything. So, I think that kind of got set in my mind with like the small little hiccups with the instance with kind of Coop [Webb] pushing me off the track and then trying to get around [Vince] Friese. It’s kind of like, I know in my head, I was just a lot more calm in this situation. I'm not the fastest on this type of [dirt] condition. So just kind of take it how it is, just find a way around this person, then just try and go to the next. But I think it's just the whole kind of attitude that I was going into the race with, how the soil was, kind of just being patient, not trying to push too much and push the limits. Stay in the track limits and just hit your marks. I think that kinda got me in that mindset of being “Alright, whatever kinda gets thrown at me just deal with it calmly and just keep moving forward.”
Along the way, he had to pass Eli Tomac for a spot on the podium. Jett did ignite some more internet fire when he said that “it's not like the exact same as the beast he used to be. But it’s still Eli Tomac.”
Lawrence was likely trying to use this to say he knows he’s not passing a peak Eli Tomac right now. Either way, his comments have polarized fans, as has much of what he has said throughout this year. Of course, he’d prefer to just worry about the racing. What did he learn when he caught Eli?
“It was just kind of learning obviously how he kind of flows and kind of learning where a kink in the armor could be almost,” Lawrence said. “And it was cool to kind of follow him because like obviously, nowadays, it's not like, the exact same as the beast he used to be. But it's still Eli Tomac. So, it was kind of cool to follow him, just learn off him, and then I just got close enough to where we can kind of maybe make a pass. I was looking forward to a battle, but I was able to kind of just get on the inside of a little bit and just give a still leave a bit of room and then just put my head down. I kept on trying to see if I can chip away to Jason, but I just ended up running out of time.”
In the end, solid rides for Anderson and Lawrence, no heat between them, and good points moving forward. That doesn’t mean things won’t flare up again, but at round six, both are trying to focus on improving themselves and nothing more.
