Jett Lawrence Extends 250 Win Streak at High Point National MX
High Point RacewayFor the fourth time in as many weeks, Jett Lawrence captured the overall win at an AMA Pro Motocross round, posting 2-1 moto finishes at the High Point National in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania.
His only real competition was his brother and Team Honda HRC colleague Hunter, whose 1-2 tally tied him with Jett on points. In the 450 class, Chase Sexton was untouchable in moto 1 and scored a second-overall finish with 1-2 moto scores, while Ken Roczen shrugged off a seventh-place moto 1 result to finish third in moto 2 for fourth overall.
In the first 250 moto, Hunter completed the first lap in second place, and although he was pushed back to third a few laps later, he was to the front by the midway point, moving by a crashed Michael Mosiman. Meanwhile, Jett was busy overcoming a so-so start, climbing from sixth on lap 1 to second with four laps remaining. In the end, Hunter won by 4.25 seconds over the defending champ. Moto 2 saw Hunter and Jett running 1-2 on lap 1, and apart from a brief challenge from Justin Cooper early on, the two brothers were the class of the field, engaging in an epic, race-long battle that included multiple lead changes. Jett led on the last lap, but a signature late charge by Hunter brought him to within just over half a second at the checkered flag. The third-place rider was over 36 seconds back.
Sexton was flawless in the first 450 moto, snaring the holeshot aboard his CRF450R and stretching out a lead of over 15 seconds. He eventually backed it down, crossing the line with an advantage of 11.65 seconds. Roczen suffered a poor start, completing lap 1 in 11th place, but he advanced steadily through the pack to finish seventh. Roczen started better in moto 2, taking over the lead on lap 2, with Sexton just behind. Sexton got by at one point, but a mistake cost him momentum and allowed both his teammate and Eli Tomac by. Tomac then overtook Roczen, and although Sexton recovered and moved back up to second, he was unable to catch Tomac. He eventually finished just three-and-a-half seconds back, with Roczen putting in a late surge to finish seven seconds behind Sexton, in third.
NOTES
Following the morning qualifying sessions, the team held a small ceremony at the hospitality truck, where Hunter Lawrence signed a two-year extension to his agreement with Honda. The Australian will continue with Team Honda HRC through the 2024 season.
In morning qualifying, Jett and Hunter Lawrence gave a preview of what was to come in the 250 motos, posting the top two lap times—the only two to dip into the 2’02” range. In the 450 ranks, Chase Sexton and Ken Roczen were third- and fourth-best.
The weather was relatively mild for the High Point National, with temperatures ranging from 68º to 71º Fahrenheit during the motos, and humidity varying from 35% to 43%.
The first 450 moto saw Sexton set a fastest lap time of 2’06.658”, which was over a second faster than the next-best rider. Hunter Lawrence set the fastest time of 250 moto 2 on the final lap, a 2’04.984” that was .308” than the next-fastest, Jett Lawrence. The brothers were the only two riders to dip below the 2’06” range in the moto.
In addition of maintaining his undefeated streak in terms of 250 overall wins this season (four wins in four rounds), Jett raised his total of overall victories to nine, while Hunter raised his 250 moto-win tally to five. It was the Lawrence brothers’ third 1-2 overall performance of the season. Chase now has three 450 moto wins this year and five in his career.
The Lawrence brothers continue to dominate the 250 points standings, with Hunter still 12 behind Jett and now 37 ahead of the third-place rider (11 more than before High Point). In the 450 ranks, Sexton holds onto the red plate, 14 ahead of second place, with Roczen sitting in third.
With the 2022 AMA Pro Motocross season now one-third complete, Team Honda HRC will enjoy the first weekend off before heading to the RedBud National in Buchanan, Michigan.
In the first moto I had the luxury of being able to ride my own lines; it felt like a practice moto for me, so that was obviously really good. When you’re out front on a track like this, you’re able to be more creative and take your time in places that are rough but charge in spots that are not. The second moto, I didn’t really feel like I rode that great, especially in the beginning; I was just kind of bulldogging and not riding super smooth. That was a little bit difficult, and then I made a mistake; I got by Kenny, he got me back and then Eli got me. I think ‘Dunge’ [Ryan Dungey] almost got me too, so I had to kind of kick it in gear there. I got Kenny and then Eli [Tomac] was pretty far ahead at that point. I just tried to ride as hard as I could, but it obviously wasn’t enough to win. It was a good day for me—the first moto was a dream moto and the second moto was a good fight. I’m looking forward to going into my week off and then going into my home race at RedBud.
It was a little bit of a struggle bus today. I didn’t really gel with the track really well, with how choppy it was. We’ve got to do better as a team; we’re going to go back and do some work. It was so awesome racing with Dunge; we found each other on the track in both motos. After he passed me, I stalled it at the top of track, and that gave us a big gap. The moto kind of went by pretty quick, and I saw the two-lap board and just wanted to fight for it again. That’s what I did, and with a couple of turns left, I was able to make a pass happen. Every point counts, so it was damage control this weekend, but we’ll go back and enjoy the off weekend but keep working.
The track was fun, but the main line was always fastest. In that second one, thankfully I had energy, where last week I had none, so I was able to fight a bit. Whenever we’d pass in a certain spot, the next lap we’d block that line. It was a fun race to just go back and forth. We can push the limits hard and get close to each other, but we know we’re technically good enough not to take each other out and end our race. It was fun, but very difficult, because you’d have to use a passing spot and make sure to make the pass, because otherwise he’d know and use that line. For the week off, I’ll probably just keep at it and come back to RedBud.
The track was tough and gnarly today—not flowing compared to a traditional High Point—but it was a good one. Me and Jett went 1-2 in the first one, and then 2-1 in the second one. It was a coin toss in that second one, honestly—so close! It was virtually a 35-minute sprint; from the gate drop, we were sprinting the whole moto. Third place was 36 seconds behind us, and I set the fastest lap of the race on the last lap. There will be another time for sure, and I’ll get him back. There’s going to be many more motos just like that one, and I think it’s cool; it’s what everyone has been wanting to see for a long time.
We had another great day for the team on a beautiful day here at High Point. The Lawrence brothers are really proving that they’re head-and-shoulders above everybody, and they had one of the best battles I’ve ever seen! The fact that they’re brothers doing it must be incredible for them—I can’t even imagine what that must feel like! It was awesome to watch. The 450 class is super difficult to win in when you’ve got as great a rider as Eli Tomac, but Chase proved that he can do it. Kenny showed he has the speed to do it as well; we just need to do it in both motos. Now we’ll take a weekend off, try to focus on those areas we need to be better at, hopefully make some improvements and come back and win at RedBud.
