There has been a lot of talking points in the first nine rounds of Monster Energy AMA Supercross. Start at the top of the premier class championship standings and you have a 450cc supercross rookie in Jett Lawrence battling two-time 450SX Champion Cooper Webb, both physically on track and in the championship chase. The two faced off briefly last year in the AMA Pro Motocross Championship, but this supercross season we are seeing the two truly battle closely with one another for the first time.
Webb sits inside the top ten in premier class AMA Supercross wins and has made a living since 2019 as the guy you do not want behind you on the last lap of a main event. Jett is quickly becoming the guy you do not want to see ahead of you on the first lap. These two different approaches could make for some epic racing if paired together on the same night. This year, it’s been mixed. Webb and Lawrence had a close finish in Texas last month, when Jett’s crash coughed up the lead to his older competitor. Then, a last-lap, last-ditch effort to get the race lead back cost him second place and third place as well. The weekend at Birmingham was a rematch, and this time, Jett held strong to the end.
Webb might be a tough contender and strong on mind games, but game recognizes game, and he has nothing but respect for how good Jett Lawrence really is.
“Like I’ve been saying all year, if it wasn't for freaking Jett Lawrence, I’d be on the podium,” Cooper Webb said with a laugh about the Daytona SX during our First Look pre-race video in Alabama. “It’s certainly changed things [having Jett in the class]. For me, at least I knew coming into the year you’d have Eli, you’d have Chase, Kenny, all the guys we’ve been racing the last couple of years. I didn’t get to race Jett much last year, but you saw at SMX and all the races last year how good he was going to be. I think for me the whole off-season that was kind of the bar. That’s what we were working on, making sure we had speed and all that. So, like I said, I’m happy with where I’m at, but it’s a new guy that’s here to stay, unfortunately for us! [Laughs] But I think it’s raised everyone’s level of competition. The fourths I got this year would have been thirds.”
Case in point, Webb’s strong charge at the Daytona round would have been a big podium finish, and his ride at Birmingham would have been enough for a win. It’s just that dang #18 guy is pretty freaking good for a rookie! Webb has said he feels he is riding the best he ever has, but he has just two wins this season with only four podiums. To put it simply, the bar has been raised.
“You wouldn’t want it any other way,” Webb added. “I’ve been racing the best guys my whole career. Now we’re racing the best guys, the up-and-coming guys, the old guys, everybody. This year, especially, I feel everyone in the class is the best versions of themselves they’ve been in a long time. It’s awesome and whoever wins this year deserves every bit of it.”
And on Saturday, the two had a run in their heat race. Webb ran in hot on the inside line trying to pass for second.
Even with this incident, the two shared mutual respect after the race.
“I mean, it's kind of cool to like kind of finally race Cooper,” Lawrence said in the post-race press conference. “I remember, I think, I don’t know if it was ‘21 off-season or ‘22 off-season, Cooper was training at the now Dog Pound [facility]. So, I got to ride with him a lot on 250. So, ever since those days, I was always excited to race him because you knew you always got 100 percent. He's very crafty on the bike, too. And I've watched him a lot because obviously he's a two-time champion for a reason, you know. So, no, it's good learning and I know in the end parts of the race, he's lethal. So, I make sure I work my butt off at the start to try and get a bit of a gap on him so he's not close enough. Because I know from previous practice days and that stuff at the end, he's a beast. So, no, it's definitely cool learning. I love battling with Cooper because you know you're gonna get 100 percent. Like I said, he's very, very crafty. So, I feel like I've still got some more learning to do well for him. So, hopefully he can teach me some more in some racing [pats Webb on the back]. But, but no, I always love racing Cooper. I'm really looking forward for the rest of the season.”
Watch their responses in the clip below:
“Appreciate that, man,” Webb smiled back. “No, it's a challenge, right? You know, I said it earlier today, like, you know, if it wasn't for Jett so far this year, we, I'd have a lot more wins and a lot more podiums. So, it's nice to have everyone performing at a high level. There's a lot of guys, like Ken [Roczen] said, we're all, I feel like performing at our highest level right now. And it makes it the greatest riders in the world for sure right now. And that's what's great about our sport, you know, you're at the top when you are up here on the podium or winning. So, yeah, like I said, it hasn't been too much of a battle. He's led a lot of laps. But it's good to be in the fight. I mean, I saw what he did this [past] summer and in the SMX and so to just bridge that gap is really good. And like I said, I feel like for me it's been one of my best years yet. And so, we just keep digging and a lot of respect, him and his family has always been great for me. And, so yeah, it's cool to race the best guys in the world.”
Jett had a run in and some words with Jason Anderson earlier this season in San Diego, California. In the heat race in Alabama, Webb even ran into the rookie, but they shared nothing but respect, kind words, and laughs after, even as the title fight begins to narrow. Could it eventually come down to only these two? There is still a lot of racing to go for the guy with the lead and the guy who is always in the fight until the end. They respect each other for it.
