Australia will have an extremely strong presence at this year’s Motocross of Nations in the United Kingdom in October.
The Lawrence brothers, Jett and Hunter Lawrence, alongside Kyle Webster, will spearhead Australia’s 2024 MXoN assault at Matterley Basin, near Winchester, on the weekend of October 4-6.
The Honda-riding trio will all take exceptional form into the blockbuster international event, with Webster currently leading the premier MX1 class in the 2024 ProMX Championship, while factory-backed duo Hunter and Jett are first and equal second respectively in the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship in the 450cc class – the same category where Jett produced an irresistible unbeaten season in 2023.
Unfortunately, in news just in, Jett has just this week injured himself, hurting his thumb in a small practice crash. He will undergo a procedure this week, which will result in him sitting out the remainder of the AMA Pro Motocross series.
However, he is expected to be fit to race again by September.
Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Webster is currently riding alongside the Lawrence siblings in the AMA Pro Motocross paddock during a break in his ProMX campaign, with the MXoN already a major talking point for the Aussie hard-chargers – an event where Team Australia has come tantalisingly close to victory in the past but without achieving the ultimate reward.
Meanwhile, in May, Jett became only the third rookie after Jeremy McGrath and Ryan Dungey to win the 450cc class in the AMA Supercross Championship, adding more silverware to an already burgeoning CV for the 20-year-old Queenslander.
Team Australia (Jett, Hunter and Dean Ferris) gave it a tremendous shot in 2023 when it finished second behind home team France in front of a boisterous crowd, eclipsing its third-place results in 2011 and 2022.
With all three 2024 MXoN incumbents riding out of their skin, Australian team manager Michael Byrne is exuding an air of cautious optimism ahead of the Matterley Basin event.
“I’d like to congratulate Kyle, Hunter and Jett on their Team Australia selection,” said the American-based Byrne. “For Kyle, it’ll be his first MXoN since 2019, and a just reward for the season he has put together in Australia.
“I’ve been glued to the livestream coverage of ProMX and marvelling at his pace, temperament and work rate – traits that are all required to make a mark in the pressure-cooker of the MXoN.
“The Lawrences are simply box office stars, and I’m confident if they produce their very best it’ll go a long way towards Team Australia winning the Chamberlain Trophy for the first time.
“But I’m under no illusion the MXoN is an uncompromising high-stakes event, and nothing is a given in sport or deserved – it has to be earned.
“We certainly won’t leave any stone unturned in our preparation for Matterley Basin, and I’ve already sat down with all three riders to begin that process.
“We can’t wait to it perform on the big stage, and we know there is a huge amount of support coming from Australia which is absolutely brilliant.”
The 2023 MXoN in France was a spectacular event
Byrne will again be supported at the event by Gary Benn – who was previously a long-time Team Australia manager – and Motorcycling Australia motocross commissioner Mark Luksich.
The final entry list for the 2024 MXoN will be released shortly, which will include all the European heavyweights such as France and Italy as well the most successful team in event’s history – The United States of America. The list will also include the breakdown of riders across the MX2 (250cc), MXGP (450cc) and Open classes.
All three classes compete against each other once, and a team can drop its worst result.
Team France (Maxime Renaux, Romain Febvre and Tom Vialle) won the MXoN at Ernee, near Rennes, in north-western France last year, while Australia finished runners-up, their highest-ever finish, and the trio from Italy (Andrea Bonacorsi, Andrea Adamo and Alberto Ferato) claimed the third podium spot.
The three-rider team from New Zealand (Cody Cooper, Hamish Harwood and James Scott) battled through to finish up 14th out of the 37 countries represented in France last year.
© Photo above of Kyle Webster in action in the MXoN in The Netherlands in 2019, by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
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