Damn, Jett Lawrence really just did that. After missing the final six rounds of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship following a crash and thumb surgery, many were wondering how the 2024 450SX Champion would fare in his return to racing. Chase Sexton is in his best form ever after ending his 2024 450 Class AMA Pro Motocross Championship title run in dominating fashion. Eli Tomac looked like himself at the MX finale in Ironman, showing both speed and fitness. Who would come out on top with all three back behind the gates? Would Sexton continue to whoop the field? Would Tomac perform well in the SMX format like he always does at Daytona International Speedway? Is Jett fully healthy, and if so, how does his first race on the 2025 CRF450R go?
Well, without watching the race you would see the #1 Honda of Jett Lawrence on top of the results pages and in the center of the podium, and you would not necessarily be shocked. But if you watched the action, you would see how big of a day it actually was.
Tomac scored the race win in his first ever moto in the hybrid SMX format, which was impressive. Remember, he missed last year’s playoffs with his Achilles tendon injury and was forced to watch from the TV. Jett Lawrence came through second ahead of his brother Hunter as Sexton finished fourth.
But in moto two, Tomac passed Jett for second place only a few turns into the race. Tomac got around his teammate Justin Cooper and started to set sail, already leaving a few bike lengths between him and the field. The crowd was going nuts out front for Tomac as a wave of cheering, clapping, and yelling followed the #3 Yamaha around the track. The #1 Honda moved into second a handful of minutes later, then Sexton found himself third and joining the party. This is what everyone wanted to see, these three guys out front. This was the proving grounds.
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Eventually, Jett cut Tomac’s lead completely and pulled off a pass entering the sand turn at the start of the dragstrip. Tomac fought back until the very end but could not get a pass attempt on his competitor. Race win, check. The Honda HRC Progressive rider’s 2-1 gave him the overall win over Tomac’s 1-2. Just like that, Jett Lawrence was back in the center of the podium.
“Yeah, it was kind of a question mark for myself,” Jett Lawrence started off in the press conference. “I mean, during the week Hunter was smoking me. So, I was like, ‘Oh, gosh, I guess it’s gonna be a rough one.’ But, yeah, practice went good, qualifying also, but I was kind of like, ‘Oh, I mean, it's a lot easier to put down one lap than a 20-minute moto.’ But then, got a good start first one. Was kind of blowing off the cobwebs with Eli. He had his lines set and made no mistakes the first five minutes and just kind of got that gap and then we started match and once I kind of got into my lines and Hunter ended up getting past me and it was kind of too late [to get Eli]. We could never pull it back.”
“And the second one I just knew I had to try and get Eli, and I was in front of him the first few turns, and he ripped it around me, and I thought like, ‘Gosh,’ so that made it a bit harder,” he continued. “But, no, I'm just glad to be back. Super pumped with that result. Hopefully we can just build up with more and just keep on improving because obviously, yeah, we still ain't perfect just yet. The race intensity is definitely a lot different than practice. But no, I'm just happy to be back.”
SMX Playoff 1 - 450SMX
September 7, 2024| Rider | Hometown | Motos | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jett Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia  | 2 - 1 | Honda |
| 2 |  Eli Tomac | Cortez, CO  | 1 - 2 | Yamaha |
| 3 |  Chase Sexton | La Moille, IL | 4 - 3 | KTM |
| 4 |  Hunter Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia | 3 - 6 | Honda |
| 5 |  Ken Roczen | Mattstedt, Germany  | 5 - 5 | Suzuki |
Getting more experience racing each other, Jett and Eli learned a good bit from one another. The sand section and big rhythm section ended up being two big factors.
“A key thing I saw is he had the paddle [tire] so I in the sand if I can stay as close as I can or even, I could maybe gain a little bit else where I was a bit harder packed because I had the knobby tire,” said Jett Lawrence on his approach. “So, I was just trying to make sure if I could just be close and put on more pressure on the slick spots, it’d kind of help.”
“I mean, I got to race [Tomac] a little bit in supercross [earlier this year] and but I think, yeah, everyone's riding style in outdoor is always different,” he added. “So, I had a good two motos behind him, kind of learned some style. First one, not as nice because he has gone. But the second, at least I got to watch him and kind of pick up on a few things.”
And right before the sand section is where the pass was made.
Jett Lawrence takes over the race lead! 🎥 @SuperMotocross #SuperMotocross #SMX #SMX2024 pic.twitter.com/M45aJHrIqo
— Mitch Kendra (@mitch_kendra) September 7, 2024
Years ago, while Tomac was in the middle of his run of four straight Pro Motocross 450 Class titles, Jett Lawrence was a few years removed from even being in the U.S., let along racing pro here in the premier class. Now, we're getting spoiled with this clashing of generations. Jett commented on getting to race a full-stride Tomac.
“It’s cool to experience it [racing Tomac] and I hope it stays around, Beast Mode, because it’s fun racing someone with such knowledge and speed, obviously, too.”
“I think in Eli's standpoint, I think it's like he wanted to race with Ricky Carmichael or one of those guys, you wanna race the best at the time and you want to battle with them,” the now 21-year-old Lawrence added. “And obviously right now, Eli's probably the biggest name that has the most championships for sure right now in this class. So, yeah, it was awesome race. I mean, the one cool thing is with racing against another grade and a champion is that there's no quit. There's always fighting until the checkered flag. So, I think it's always cool. And it's definitely a bucket that's kind of checked off whether if I want it or not. I think it just to get the battle with them. I think it's just a really cool thing and an honor.”
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Align Media ![Jett Lawrence and Eli Tomac after the second moto.]()
Jett Lawrence and Eli Tomac after the second moto. Align Media ![Tomac, Lawrence, and Sexton heading to the podium.]()
Tomac, Lawrence, and Sexton heading to the podium. Align Media
Yes, there is respect. Lawrence got himself on the wrong side with some fans when he passed Tomac earlier this year in Glendale, Arizona and said Tomac was "not the beast he used to be." He meant that to say he wasn't passing a fully 100 percent Tomac, who was still coming back from that Achilles injury. Not everyone understood it that way.
"Yeah, back then I wasn't really good with my words," Lawrence said, then adding. "I still ain't now!" [Laughs]
Plus, let’s not forget that again, this was Jett’s first time on the 2025 CRF450R platform in a race environment. It did not seem like anything was holding him back at all (bike or injury wise) as he was not jarringly different from where he was before. We heard the Lawrence brothers liked the bike (clearly as they chose to race it early, Hunter starting at the final three MX rounds then both for SMX) and there might be some refined testing needed come 2025 SX, then MX, but, wow, this much progress this quickly is a scary sight for the competition.
Hunter Lawrence was quite happy with the bike. "A big thank-you to the team for the setup today, because I felt we were very prepared compared to where we were last year."
Was Jett Lawrence really able to get back up to full speed and fitness ahead of these SMX Playoff rounds? Or could he actually, gulp, keep getting better?
Honda HRC Progressive team manager Lars Lindstrom said the following in the team’s post-race release this afternoon:
“I’m pretty sure I saw Jett get into a UFO after he left, proving that he is in fact an alien—what a performance for his first race back, and we couldn’t be prouder of him!”
Meanwhile in their battle, Lawrence and Tomacdropped Sexton. Still, the Red Bull KTM rider left with the SMX Championship lead because he came in seeded first, Jett seeded sixth, and Tomac seeded 11th. Sexton leaves the first SMX round with 45 points over Jett Lawrence’s 41 points, Hunter Lawrence’s 30 points, and Tomac’s 33 points. With double points this coming Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas, and triple points at the finale in Las Vegas, Nevada, anything could still happen until the final checkered flag. But if Jett Lawrence’s first round is an indication of what happens at the next two rounds, the defending champion is not going to any easier to beat this year.
