Australian rider Jett Lawrence has wrapped up his second consecutive 250 class title at the 12th and final round of the 2022 AMA Pro Motocross Championships at Pala, in southern California.
Over the course of the 2022 domestic championship series in the United States, which saw racers complete 24 motos across 12 rounds, the Australian factory Honda rider’s repeat title was never in serious doubt, as he rode to 11 moto wins and nine overall victories.
Lawrence ended the season with a 45-point advantage over his nearest rival, Japanese Kawasaki rider Jo Shimoda.
For the second year in a row, Jett’s brother and Team Honda HRC colleague Hunter Lawrence also finished in the top three, having amassed three moto wins and nine overall-podium results.
The Lawrence brothers are natives of Landsborough, in Queensland, Australia, where Jett was a successful youth amateur racer before relocating to Europe for the 2016 German ADAC series and 85 European Motocross Championship, and later the 250 European Motocross series.
His family moved to the US in 2019, where he and Hunter raced for the Honda-backed Factory Connection team. In 2020 Jett took the Marty Smith Rookie of the Year Award, and last year the Lawrence siblings moved up to the factory Team Honda HRC program, where Jett won his first National Championship, in the same class. Earlier this year, he took his first “indoor” title, the AMA Supercross East Region 250SX Championship.
“It’s awesome to get it done back-to-back. I’m definitely grateful,” Jett Lawrence said.
“The team has been awesome this year. Honda brought out an awesome new CRF250R and I’m super pumped to be on it again in Supercross next year. I’m also excited to ride the 450 in Pro Motocross next summer.
“I definitely have a little work to do before battling with the top guys like Eli [Tomac] and Chase [Sexton]. It’s going to be fun, and I can’t wait.”
Following the race, Jett Lawrence was presented with the Gary Jones Cup – the award that goes to the winner of the 250 championship.
Team Honda HRC came extremely close to also adding the 450-class crown, as Sexton earned nine moto wins and four overall wins in a historically competitive title fight that saw him finish just seven points behind Yamaha’s eventual 450cc champion Eli Tomac.
The historic showdown between Tomac and Sexton culminated with another memorable battle, from which Tomac prevailed following a 1-1 effort at Pala, to see him hoist the Edison Dye Cup for the first time since 2019 and secure the fourth 450cc class title of his decorated career.
Tomac’s fourth 1-1 performance of the season was his biggest as he finished the year with a class-leading fifth victory, his first since the seventh round.
His third win at Fox Raceway was the 32nd victory of his career and marked his 70th career podium finish, which moved him into second all-time.
Sexton’s overall runner-up finish came on the heels of a hard-earned 2-2 effort, while Jason Anderson (Kawasaki) had a strong final moto, which landed him third overall (4-3).
Tomac’s 11-race podium streak to close out the season and his 14 moto wins were the tipping point in the championship, where he finished seven points ahead of Sexton in the final standings in what has been the closest battle in the history of Pro Motocross.
Anderson enjoyed a career-best season to finish third on the championship podium.
Tomac’s title, combined with his Monster Energy Supercross Championship from earlier this year, also made him the first rider to sweep the season championships since Ryan Dungey did it during the 2015 season.
The fourth premier class title of Tomac’s career is also the second most in history, trailing only Ricky Carmichael (7).
Meanwhile, Sexton’s team-mate Ken Roczen also had a strong year, notching the German rider three podium-overall results, including a victory.
From racing mini motocross in Australia and at Huntly, in New Zealand, in 2010, to top results in Europe and then now in the US nationals, the performance this season from Jett Lawrence earned much praise from American Honda’s senior manager of customer engagement, Bill Savino.
“It’s amazing to see how much Jett has matured as a racer since taking last year’s 250 crown,” said Savino.
“He was great in 2021, but this year, he dominated to such an extent that it was easy to forget he’s just 19 years old. His success says a lot about his abilities as a rider, the performance of his bike, and the effectiveness of the support structure we’ve built.
“We have an amazing group right now and I can’t adequately express how proud everyone at Honda is of Jett and the entire Honda HRC team—thank you.”
Next up, Tomac, Sexton and the Lawrence brothers will all compete in the Motocross of Nations at Michigan’s RedBud MX on September 25 (Tomac Sexton for Team USA and the Lawrence brothers for Team Australia).
Photo courtesy Honda
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RESULTS & FINAL STANDINGS:
450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish // Points):
1 Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha (1-1 = 50)
2 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda (2-2 = 44)
3 Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki (4-3 = 38)
4 Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Yamaha (3-4 = 38)
5 Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GasGas (5-6 = 31)
6 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM (7-7 = 28)
7 Benny Bloss, Oak Grove, Mo., KTM (6-8 = 28)
8 Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM (10-5 = 27)
9 Ken Roczen, Germany, Honda (8-13 = 21)
10 Dean Wilson, Scotland, Husqvarna (13-9 = 20)
450 Class Championship Standings (Round 12 of 12):
1 Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha – 546 Points
2 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda – 539 Points
3 Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki – 440 Points
4 Ken Roczen, Germany, Honda – 394 Points
5 Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Yamaha – 373 Points
6 Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM – 359 Points
7 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM – 322 Points
8 Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GasGas – 303 Points
9 Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki – 222 Points
10 Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., Husqvarna – 213 Points
250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes = Points):
1 Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda (1-2 = 47)
2 Jo Shimoda, Japan, Kawasaki (4-1 = 43)
3 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (3-3 = 40)
4 Hunter Lawrence, Australia, Honda (2-5 = 38)
5 RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (7-4 = 32)
6 Seth Hammaker, Bainbridge, Pa., Kawasaki (6-7 = 29)
7 Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (5-9 = 28)
8 Max Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., KTM (12-6 = 24)
8 Nate Thrasher, Livingston, Tenn., Yamaha (14-8 = 20)
10 Carson Mumford, Simi Valley, Calif., Suzuki (10-12 = 20)
250 Class Championship Standings (Round 12 of 12):
1 Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda – 525 Points
2 Jo Shimoda, Japan, Kawasaki – 480 Points
3 Hunter Lawrence, Australia, Honda – 468 Points
4 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 415 Points
5 RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 346 Points
6 Max Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., KTM – 303 Points
7 Seth Hammaker, Bainbridge, Pa., Kawasaki – 256 Points
8 Nate Thrasher, Livingston, Tenn., Yamaha – 251 Points
9 Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., GasGas – 208 Points
10 Pierce Brown, Sandy, Utah, GasGas – 198 Points