・Jett Lawrence wins SMX Finals, repeats as premier-class champion

・Second on the day and in the points for Hunter Lawrence

・Jo Shimoda finishes fourth overall in 250SMX for fourth in the season standings

Team Honda HRC Progressive has dominated the SuperMotocross World Championship’s premier class since its inception, and that continued on Saturday evening at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Jett and Hunter Lawrence finished first and second overall aboard their 2025 CRF450R race machines, giving the Australian duo the same final positions in the title fight. In the 250 ranks, Jo Shimoda worked to recover from poor starts, ultimately tallying 4-5 moto finishes for fourth overall and the same position in the final standings.

Jett and Hunter exited the split start of 450SMX moto 1 in second and third places, respectively. Jett dogged Eli Tomac for the lead for much of the race, ultimately using an impressive scrub to get by with just over two laps remaining and pulling away to win by 2.065 seconds, with Hunter finishing a safe third.

After starting moto 2 from opposite sides of the split, Jett and Hunter Lawrence merged onto the following straight in first and second positions. Hunter kept his younger brother honest, but Jett was nearly flawless, with a late bobble in a lefthand rut (followed by an impressive save) being the only visible exception. At the finish, the margin was 1.409 seconds. That was also the difference in the championship, as the brothers tied on series points, with Jett getting the nod by virtue of having two overall wins to Hunter’s one.

The early stages of the first 250SMX moto saw Shimoda get a sixth-place start and briefly slip back a spot before moving up to fifth. A tip-over by Ty Masterpool moved Shimoda up a position, and although the Japanese rider spent the rest of the race pressuring Tom Vialle for a podium spot, he ultimately accepted fourth at the checkered flag. Shimoda started just inside the top 15 in moto 2 and began picking off his rivals, with a signature late-race charge carrying him to fifth place at the finish—good for fourth overall and in the final standings.

NOTES

・Team Honda HRC Progressive was without Chance Hymas in Las Vegas, as the Idaho native prepared for ACL surgery on Tuesday in Nashville. Last week, the team announced that Hymas was withdrawing from the Motocross of Nations, in order avoid the possibility of his injury hurting Team USA’s results. His spot has been filled by Star Yamaha’s Cooper Webb.

・Hunter and Jett Lawrence both participated in the Friday press conference in Las Vegas, before they and Jo Shimoda took part in a pair of free-practice sessions.

・Las Vegas dealership Carter Powersports staffed a pop-up activation booth in the Team Honda HRC Progressive pits for the SMX Finals, engaging with fans and customers and displaying a CRF125F and a 2025 CRF450R.

・American Honda hosted a number of special guests at the Las Vegas event. Earlier this year, Honda dealerships participated in a CRF sales competition, with winners declared in four different zones: Western Honda in Zone 1, Cycle Shack North in Zone 2, Southern Honda Powersports in Zone 3 and Dutchess Recreational Vehicles in Zone 4. Representatives from all four dealerships were invited to a Friday-night party and to watch the race from a suite. In addition, zone managers and sales managers were on hand. During the off-season, the contest’s national winner (Western Honda) will make a trip to Florida to hang with the Lawrence brothers while they train at their Dog Pound compound.

・Team Honda HRC Progressive dominated afternoon qualifying in the 450SMX class, with Jett and Hunter Lawrence finishing 1-2 in the combined times. Jett’s best time was nearly 2 seconds faster than that of third place. In the 250SMX class, Jo Shimoda was ninth best.

・The Lawrence brothers took turns setting the fastest lap times in the 450 motos—Jett in moto 1 and Hunter in moto 2.

・Honda earned the Manufacturer trophy, which is based on each brand’s top-finishing rider in both classes at every round.

・Not only has Honda won both premier-class SMX titles, but they’ve taken all six overall wins to date—four for Jett Lawrence, one for Hunter Lawrence and one last year for then-Honda rider Chase Sexton.

・Jett Lawrence’s 2024 SMX crown is also the first for the 2025 CRF450R.

・Including AMA Supercross, AMA Pro Motocross and SuperMotocross, premier-class Red Riders to win in Las Vegas include Jean-Michel Bayle, Jeff Stanton, Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael , Kevin Windham, Chad Reed and now Jett Lawrence.

・The Las Vegas SMX event hosted a 250 World All-Stars competition, and the main event saw SLR Honda’s Parker Ross notched a solid fourth-place result, less than 2 seconds off the podium. His teammate, Alvin Hillian, finished 18^th.

・With the long, grueling 2024 season now complete, Team Honda HRC Progressive gets some well-earned recovery time, although some crew members will support the Lawrence brothers as they race for Team Australia in the Motocross of Nations on October 6 at Matterley Basin in England.

450SMX Standings

250SMX Standings