Australian Jett Lawrence has added his name to Daytona SX winners’ list, the 450SX rookie delivering Honda a record 18th premier-class win at the legendary venue.
As the AMA Supercross series approached its midway point at the unique Daytona, Florida, with this venue hosting round eight of the series at the weekend, Lawrence put in a statement ride, making solid passes before pulling ahead to register a convincing victory.
Given the venue’s rich history and challenging track, Daytona wins are meaningful; this one was particularly impressive, as Jett earned it in his first year as a premier-class rider, indicating that he learned an important lesson following last week’s final-lap crash out of the lead in Arlington.
The 20-year-old Australian also became the year’s first three-time winner, and he expanded his lead in the title chase to 10 points.
Following a tense moment before the start when there was a delay in the removal of his rear-tire cover, Lawrence was sixth out of turn one, just behind elder brother and team-mate Hunter Lawrence. When lap one was finished, Jett was up to third, where he stayed through lap four.
At that point, Lawrence used a quad jump through a rhythm section to move by Colorado’s Eli Tomac, then snuck by Chase Sexton in the following turn. From there, Jett went about establishing a cushion, running lap times a couple of seconds lower than his competitors.
In the end, Jett won by nearly six seconds, though he led by more than 10 seconds at times. Phoenix Racing Honda rider Dylan Ferrandis, from France, ended the night eighth, while Hunter Lawrence suffered a hard fall early on and withdrew with a sore shoulder. (At the time this was published, Hunter was awaiting results of an MRI to determine the gravity of the injury.)
Meanwhile, Frenchman Tom Vialle (KTM) won the one of the 250SX East main-event at Daytona.
Fire Power Honda rider Max Anstie, from England, recovered from 10th after lap one of the 250SX East main-event to finish eighth, good enough to maintain a narrow lead in the championship battle.
The day after the race, multi-time former champion Rick Johnson published an Instagram post about a text message he had received from fellow Team Honda legend David Bailey: “Young guy with talent and fight and bold confidence takes on an older guy who already won the title and Daytona and beats him in the heat and the main event and goes on to win the title!,” Bailey wrote.
“Statement wins in ’86 and ’24.” (Johnson bested ’84 winner Bailey in ’86, then went on to take his first SX crown).”
Jett’s victory at Daytona gave Honda sole ownership of the premier-class Daytona win record, at 18.
Other Red Riders to have topped the top class at the venue include Marty Tripes, Darrell Shultz, Bob Hannah (twice), David Bailey, Rick Johnson (twice), Rick Ryan, Jeff Stanton (four times), Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael (twice), Kevin Windham and Justin Brayton (the previous Honda-mounted Daytona premier-class winner, in 2018).
AMA Supercross now proceeds to Birmingham, Alabama, this weekend, when round nine will be held at Protective Stadium (a new venue on the schedule).
Photo courtesy Honda
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450SX Results:
- Jett Lawrence (Hon)
- Eli Tomac (Yam)
- Chase Sexton (KTM)
- Cooper Webb (Yam)
- Ken Roczen (Suz)
- Justin Cooper (Yam)
- Malcolm Stewart (Hus)
- Dylan Ferrandis (Hon)
- Jason Anderson (Kaw)
- Benny Bloss (Bet)
450SX Championship Points (after 8 of 17 rounds):
- Jett Lawrence: 160
- Cooper Webb: 150
- Chase Sexton: 147
- Eli Tomac: 144
- Ken Roczen: 133
- Aaron Plessinger: 132
- Jason Anderson: 131
- Dylan Ferrandis: 107
- Justin Cooper: 75
- Hunter Lawrence: 86
250SX East Region Results:
- Tom Vialle (KTM)
- Cameron McAdoo (Kaw)
- Seth Hammaker (Kaw)
- Haiden Deegan (Yam)
- Pierce Brown (Gas)
- Coty Schock (Yam)
- Jalek Swoll (Tri)
- Max Anstie (Hon)
- Marshal Weltin (Yam)
- Daxton Bennick (Yam)
250SX East Region Championship Points (after 3 of 9 rounds):
- Max Anstie: 52
- Cameron McAdoo: 51
- Pierce Brown: 51
- Tom Vialle: 49
- Haiden Deegan: 49
- Coty Schock: 48
- Daxton Bennick: 44
- Seth Hammaker: 39
- Henry Miller: 37
- Marshal Weltin: 35