Hunter Lawrence retains the red plate entering the RedBud Nationals this week at RedBud MX Park in Buchanan, Michigan. Still, his brother Jett Lawrence was steadily gaining points and could have exited Round 6 with the championship lead.
Jett has had a distinct advantage through five rounds, 10 motos, of competition. If not for his accident in the Hangtown Motocross Classic, Jett might still be perfect in Pro Motocross. In that round, Jett injured his shoulder in a Moto 1 crash and has not been riding 100 percent. Nevertheless, he finished first or second in every race before and after Hangtown.
BREAKING: Jett Lawrence out for remainder of 2024 Motocross
Chase Sexton closed the performance gap last week, however. He became one of the rare riders to pass Lawrence in head-to-head competition in route to his third moto win at Southwick. Sexton has tended to push too hard in these scenarios but kept his KTM upright in the closing laps last week and stretched his lead in the closing laps.
Southwick’s Moto 2 was unkind to several riders. Jason Anderson fell back through the pack and finished outside the top 10 for the first time this year. He was 31st.
Entering the second race at Southwick, Malcolm Stewart had finished every moto in a narrow band of seventh through ninth. He struggled in Moto 2 and finished 16th.
Justin Barcia also saw his top-10 streak evaporate. Struggling with a knee injury since the start of the Pro Motocross season, he tore a couple of tendons during the weekend and finally succumbed to the pain in the second race to barely finish outside the top 10 in 11th. Barcia will miss the next three rounds to allow his knee to heal naturally.
According to WeWentFast.com, RedBud MX Park has hosted Motocross uninterrupted since 1976, including during the 2020 season which saw many venues silenced by COVID-19. In 2020, the track hosted two events with Adam Cianciarulo and Zach Osborne, adding their names to a winners’ list that now includes 30 riders in 44 races.
NBC analyst Ricky Carmichael dominated this track with seven overall wins in eight starts. These wins came in consecutive years from 2001 through 2007.
No active rider has more than one overall win in RedBud, but if Jett can keep his three-round winning streak alive, he will join four riders tied for fourth on the all-time wins list.
The same holds in the 250 division, which leaves this class wide open despite the recent domination of last year’s winner, Haiden Deegan.
Deegan’s 42-point lead in 2024 over Chance Hymas in the Pro Motocross Championship represents almost one full round of competition. He can’t clinch the title this week, but he can continue to demoralize the field if he keeps his perfect record of first- or second-place finishes alive.
Previous RedBud Winners
450s
2023: Jett Lawrence (followed by Dylan Ferrandis Chase Sexton)
2022: Eli Tomac (Chase Sexton, Justin Barcia)
2021: Dylan Ferrandis (Eli Tomac, Aaron Plessinger)
2020, Race1: Adam Cianciarulo (Blake Baggett, Zach Osborne)
2020, Race2: Zach Osborne (Chase Sexton, Justin Barcia)
250s
2023: Haiden Deegan (Levi Kitchen, Justin Cooper)
2022: Jo Shimoda (Hunter Lawrence, Stilez Robertson)
2021: RJ Hampshire (Justin Cooper, Jett Lawrence)
2020, Race1: RJ Hampshire (Dylan Ferrandis, Shane McElrath)
2020, Race2: Jeremy Martin (RJ Hampshire, Shane McElrath)
Motocross by the Numbers
Southwick
Thunder Valley
Hangtown
Fox Raceway
Supercross by the Numbers
Salt Lake City
Denver
Philadelphia
Nashville
Foxborough
St. Louis
Seattle
Indianapolis
Birmingham
Daytona
Arlington
Glendale
Detroit
Anaheim
San Diego
San Francisco
More SuperMotocross News
Lawrence Brothers bring back AUSX Open
Justin Barcia out with knee injury
450 results from Southwick | 250 results
Jett Lawrence wins Southwick Nationals
Max Anstie announces Southwick start
Southwick Betting Odds
Colt Nichols, Beta Motorcycles part ways
Coty Schock breaks wrist in training accident
Cooper Webb returns to training on turn track
Washougal to host Military Appreciation round