A perfect Jett Lawrence breaks a nearly 40-year-old motocross record

Lots of young motocrossers get hyped. Some of them fulfill that promise and some become the subject of "whatever happened to..." bench racing conversations. In the last few years, no riders have received as much attention as the Australian brothers, Jett and Hunter Lawrence, especially Jett. Now, in his debut in the top 450 class, Jett is backing up the hype.

As Common Tread contributor Brett Smith at We Went Fast pointed out before this weekend's race, Lawrence was poised to break an obscure record that had stood since 1985. That year, Jeff Ward moved up to the 250 class — then the premier motocross class in the two-stroke era — and won both motos at the first two rounds, going four for four. No other premier-class rookie has done that since. Until this year, when Lawrence won both motos at the first two rounds of the outdoor season at Fox Raceway and Hangtown in California.

Then, this weekend at Thunder Valley in Colorado, Lawrence again won both motos on his Honda CRF450R, keeping his perfect season alive. Of course other riders have laid down longer winning streaks, including perfect seasons by Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart. But never as a rookie, starting from the very first race. (Meanwhile, Hunter Lawrence, also riding for Honda, has been almost as good in the 250 class, winning the overall at all three events, but not winning every moto like his brother.)

Admittedly, the 19-year-old from Australia is winning against a weakened field, with contenders such as Eli Tomac, Chase Sexton, and Jason Anderson out with injury. Still, perfection is hard to attain against any professional field. Lawrence won the AMA Pro Motocross 250 class championship the last two years, won the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250 East title in 2022, and easily topped the standings in the 250 West series this year, so it isn't a surprise that he's strong in the 450 class. But even Jett Lawrence was surprised by just how strong.

Ward had a particularly interesting racing career. After winning seven AMA motocross and Supercross titles, he tried his hand at Indycar racing and nearly won the Indy 500 as a rookie. He also raced off-road trucks and returned to motorcycle racing in his 40s to compete in the new AMA Supermoto series. That means Jett Lawrence is in some rare company, and he's giving us reason to believe his career is going to be a special one to watch, as well.