The Lawrence brothers’ assault on American racing has already been marked with incredible moments, such as 1-2 finishes and great battles in the 250 class, a split of both the 450 and 250 AMA National Motocross Championships last year, and more battles at the front this year on 450s. Jett and Hunter’s 1-2 finish at the Denver Supercross this year marked a first for a set of brothers. The stakes were even higher for the SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) finale in Las Vegas, where they symbolically tied in points for the million-dollar 450 SMX Championship, with Jett, the younger bro, getting the nod over Hunter via a tie-breaker, most SMX wins (Jett won two, Hunter won one. Yes, they won all three SMX races).
We’ve said this several times, but it can’t be repeated enough: siblings might not have ever taken this level of control over any sport, let alone this one. Perhaps the Williams sisters in tennis. That’s about it.
But even in a tie in points, only won can win, and in this case it was Jett. Again. That’s his second SMX title following last year’s nail biter over Ken Roczen.
“It means a lot for the team and the family,” said Jett Lawrence. “I think obviously sitting that outdoor season out [with a thumb injury] kind of really stung and obviously drove me a lot to get back and try and at least do good for this. And I think it also makes it more special with Hunter and I going 1-2, too, also. I mean, it's obviously a tough one, I wanna see Hunter good too. But that's the one harsh thing about the sport. I obviously got the good start and he was right there. I I couldn't make any mistakes. I think it's just mainly awesome for the team and obviously, I feel that Dazzy [father] would be pretty happy about those results!
“Obviously, versus Hunter this last round and obviously him coming with red plate, it's cool to battle with him, but obviously the brothers side of thing too, I want to see him do good, and better than me. But it's like once you get on the bike, you click into a different kind of person. After like now that it's set in, I feel like a bit of an asshole with a bit now! But at least you could almost put a title where we are robbing Feld for $1.5 million dollars, the Lawrence brothers. [Laughs]"
Now over a full year into Jett’s 450 career, and already sporting titles in 450 AMA Supercross, 450 AMA Motocross and 450 SMX, there aren’t many new accomplishments left, but he can actually point to a new feat here: proving he can bounce back from injury, quickly.
“I mean, obviously the injury wasn't ideal, but I think, for how much injuries suck, I think it was almost a needed for me,” he said. “I've had a really lucky run with injuries last time I had actually sat races out back in 2020 in the supercross season with my collarbone. So I think it was a long time coming honestly and I got pretty lucky with it just being a thumb. It wasn't a very painful crash, you could say.”
The Las Vegas finale was pitched as a winner-take-all showdown between not just Jett and Hunter, but also Chase Sexton. When Sexton went out immediately with a collision with Justin Barcia, the focus changed. It was now brother versus brother, but both Jett and Hunter were quick to offer sympathies to their rival.
“You don’t want to see that,” said Jett of Sexton. “You want to see all three of us out there. Chase is such a nice guy and he’s a great competitor, he races clean and gives it 100 percent. That really wasn’t anyone’s fault. It was a split decision and it didn’t end up good. I hope no one rips Justin because that wasn’t his fault at all.”
The lone challenger left for the Lawrences on this night was Eli Tomac, who was bidding for the race win and led Jett through most of the first moto. Jett wasn’t even thinking about Sexton’s plight or anything else at that point, he was just trying to figure out a way to get the six-time AMA National Champion.
“I was focused on beast mode in front of me trying to dodge the roost because that paddle throws it everywhere!" Lawrence said with a laugh. Especially out in the moto area, it just covered my goggles. I went a few laps blind through there, scared. [Laughs] So it's just more so just focus on the task at hand, really.”
He made the move by getting inside as the riders headed toward the motocross section, and then with a wild scrub on a wall jump.
“I knew Eli was taking that outside, so that time I was like, 'Please stay left, please stay left. Don’t take my line!' I had a line over in the sand on the inside and he saw it and took that line away. I had that line [inside heading to the motocross section] and I knew if I could send it and get close enough I might be able to get next to him, and I did it that way.”
From there Jett controlled the moto and brought it home. He holeshot moto two and finished the job, even though second to Hunter in moto two would have still given him the overall win and the championship (Jett would still have bested Hunter 1-2 to 3-1, and SMX pays points based on overall, not moto, finishes).
“It’s pretty awesome to finish SMX and the race 1-2 with Hunter, and he really didn’t let me get this easily; he was on me from start to finish all day, and I knew I couldn't make any mistakes," said Lawrence in a Honda statement. "I’m pumped that we got to do this for our family and the team. It’s great to say that the Lawrence brothers got to take home $1.5 million between us!”
