Jett Lawrence followed his brother Hunter Lawrence for half of Round 16 in the Monster Energy Supercross series at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado, but he picked up the pace when Jason Anderson began to catch the pair. Jett easily made the pass and cruised to his eighth win of the season.
Jett seemed content to run in second until his mechanic informed him Anderson had closed the gap to three seconds. Jett then easily moved around Hunter, but the brothers stayed in contact for the remainder of the race.
“I was screaming in my helmet the first lap when it was him and I,” Jett told Peacock’s Will Christien. “He was riding awesome, that one, and it’s so awesome to go 1-2 in the 450 class.”
Jett is the fifth different winner in five Denver Supercross races.
Jett has now tied fellow countryman Chad Reed for second on the rookie wins’ list. Jeremy McGrath is out of reach with 10 rookie wins.
In second, Hunter scored his best career finish in his rookie season.
“It was a good night,” Hunter said. “Just happy to get this one for the team, honestly. They work so hard and we love them so much and this is the only way we can really repay them.
“I think that was history — brothers going 1-2.”
Jett makes the move on his brother and takes the lead! 💥
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) May 5, 2024
🎥 Monster Energy 450 main event LIVE fueled by @MyKingSoopers#SupercrossLIVE #SMX pic.twitter.com/fEsW6aBZeA
Anderson finished third for his second consecutive podium.
“Just being on the podium feels good,” Anderson said. “It’s cool to do it here in Denver; this is the closest one for me and I have a lot of family here.”
In fourth, Justin Barcia scored his second top-five in the last three rounds.
The race began with all eyes on the championship fight between Lawrence and Webb. As Jett got a strong start, Webb got caught behind a snarl involving Chase Sexton and Malcolm Stewart. Webb finished the first lap in seventh and was unable to make up significant ground. Finishing fifth, he takes the championship to the final round, but lags 20 points behind Jett.
Click here for complete 450 Feature results
Click here for complete 450 rider point standings
Jo Shimoda grabbed the holeshot in the 250 West division and led every lap of the Feature to score his first victory in the division, but Levi Kitchen and RJ Hampshire refused to let him get away and finished within 2.16 seconds of the leader.
“I didn’t know where [Kitchen] was catching me so I had no idea of where to push a little bit harder,” Shimoda said from the top of the box. “But oh my God; I mean, switching teams from last year, we’ve fought so hard and struggled earlier but we never gave up. I know it’s late in the season — I get it — but I’m just stoked to win.”
Shimoda has been getting progressively stronger this season. After finishing fourth in three of the first four rounds, he was third in back-to-back races and then second in consecutive events leading into Denver.
With his second-place finish, Kitchen tied RJ Hampshire for the 250 West points lead, making Salt Lake City a winner-take-all event.
“The fans had to enjoy that one,” Kitchen said. “At the end of the race, we were all strong and all fit — and we were all sending it at the end. RJ got up close to me and it lit a fire up my butt, and I had to go.”
Kitchen rode the entire race with his left boot unbuckled in two places. In the post-race news conference he said it was distracting for a couple of laps and then he forced it out of his mind.
Not ideal riding conditions for Levi Kitchen 😳#SupercrossLIVE #SMX pic.twitter.com/ABI0k7nCad
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) May 5, 2024
Hampshire got knocked around in the opening laps but recovered to finish third.
“We’re going to give the fans a show,” Hampshire said. “It’s awesome to be in this position and going for a championship. I’m honestly a little frustrated with that Main Event.
“I had a decent start, and then someone brought me high in that first turn, and Levi got around me. I got hit really hard in that opening lap — kind of threw me off a bit, rand into a couple of lappers. Those guys are riding good. I just didn’t have enough to make a pass.”
Click here for complete 250 Feature results
Click here for 250 West points standings
In-Race Notes
Race Day Live is underway on Peacock.tv.
Tomac chose Denver as a fitting venue to announce he will complete the 2024 SuperMotocross season with a full ride in Pro Motocross and the SMX playoffs.
Benny Bloss scored points for Beta Motorcycles in the last 14 rounds but suffered a practice crash and will not complete the Supercross season.
Two storylines we’ll be following in Denver are the championship races. Hampshire leads Kitchen in 250 by a mere two points; Jett Lawrence holds a 12-point advantage over Webb.
Features
450s
Hunter gets the holeshot with Jett second. Webb gets a poor start and will have to ride forward from seventh.
On Lap 3, Tomac crashes from third after losing the front wheel.
Webb is up to fifth with 15 minutes remaining.
Jett seems content to run behind Hunter and is staying within a second of the leader.
The best battle on the track belongs to Tomac and Sexton for seventh.
Patient no more: Jett passes Hunter with nine minutes, 30 seconds remaining.
Sexton has moved up to sixth and works on Webb. As they run, Jett has a 20-point lead on Webb.
Sexton gets around Webb and then immediately goes down.
Hunter has kept Jett in sight and the brothers stretch their advantage over Jason Anderson in third.
For the first time in history, brothers finish first and second in the 450 class.
Jason Anderson scores his second consecutive podium at his hometown venue.
250s
Shimoda wins the holeshot as things get squirrelly behind him.
On Lap 1, Hampshire takes a shot from Nate Thrasher but stays upright.
Things settle down, and now the chess match between Kitchen in second and Hampshire in fourth begins.
Hampshire pressures Smith with 11 minutes remaining and forces Smith to jump wide. As they run, Hampshire and Kitchen are tied in points.
Shimoda has a 1.8-second lead.
Peacock shows a shot of Kitchen’s left boot being unhooked. That must be a huge distraction. Even so, Kitchen stretches his lead over Hampshire to about four seconds with six minutes, 30 seconds remaining.
Kitchen lands awkwardly with five minutes on the clock and loses time to Shimoda.
As the white flag waves, Hampshire catches sight of Kitchen for second-place. They both close on Shimoda marginally.
In an incredibly tight finish, Shimoda wins his first 250 feature by .649 seconds over Kitchen.
Hampshire finished 1.5 seconds further back and will enter Salt Lake City tied in the 250 West points.
Last Chance Qualifiers
450s
Mitchell Oldenburg wins the holeshot.
Dylan Ferrandis does not get the start he wants in sixth. He makes the pass for fourth over Grant Harlan with just under three minutes on the clock.
Ferrandis patiently moves into the lead as time runs off the clock.
Ferrandis wins by 3.8 seconds over Oldenburg.
Jerry Robin and Jeremy Hand also advance.
Click here for complete results from the 450 LCQ
250s
In 250s, Noah Viney goes down in Turn 1 and collects nine other riders.
Max Sanford takes the early lead.
With time running off the clock, there is a great battle for the final transfer spot between Kyle Epperson, Bracken Hall, Kyle Wise, and Brad West.
Sanford wins the LCQ over Preston Taylor and Carter Stephenson.
West won the battle for the final transfer.
Click here for complete results from the 250 LCQ
Heats
450s
In Heat 1, Hunter Lawrence gets the holeshot with Webb giving chase.
Ferrandis crashes with Oldenburg and falls to the back. Ferrandis’ bike appears to be injured.
Webb gets around Lawrence for the lead and sends a message to Jett Lawrence, who will line up in Heat 2.
Hunter won’t allow Webb to relax. He keeps showing his nose to the leader. They have a two-second lead over Malcolm Stewart.
Webb wins in a tight contest with Hunter.
Stewart held onto third.
Tomac in fourth and Shane McElrath round out the top five.
Justin Hill , Mitchell Harrison, Cade Clason, and Fredrik Noren also advance.
Ferrandis was only able to move into 11th, who he will have to go through the Last Chance Qualifier.
Click here for complete results from 450 Heat 1
In Heat 2, Jett Lawrence answers Webb with the holeshot.
Vince Friese settles into second with Sexton pressuring him.
With four minutes on the clock, Sexton moves into second. Anderson takes third.
With less than a minute, Jett has stretched his advantage to 3.4 seconds over Sexton. Anderson is two seconds further back.
Lawrence wins the heat.
Sexton and Anderson hold onto second and third, respectively.
Justin Barcia is in fourth, and Dean Wilson rounds out the top five.
Justin Cooper, Adam Cianciarulo, Friese, and Colt Nichols also advance.
Click here for complete results from 450 Heat 2
250s
In Heat 1, Shimoda gets a great start and leads Smith at the end of Lap 1.
Kitchen decides not to press the issue early and slots into sixth, but he makes up two spots on the next lap.
Smith tucks his front wheel and takes a gentle fall from second. Talon Hawkins takes that position and brings Kitchen to third. With two minutes on the clock, they are more than eight seconds behind Shimoda.
Kitchen moves into second with one minute plus a lap remaining.
Shimoda wins his third career heat race by nearly nine seconds over Kitchen.
Hawkins takes the final spot on the podium.
Fourth-place Smith and Cole Thompson round out the top five.
Hunter Yoder, Max Miller, TJ Albright, and Geran Stapleton also advance.
Click here for complete results from 250 Heat 1
Heat 2 is underway with Ryder DiFrancesco earning the holeshot.
As with Kitchen in Heat 1, Hampshire gets a modest start and overcomes it. At the end of Lap 2, he’s up to third.
Thrasher takes the lead from DiFrancesco on Lap 3.
Move Hampshire into second on Lap 4. He has enough time to catch Thrasher but trails by two seconds.
As time runs off the clock, Julien Beaumer takes third from DiFrancesco.
Thrasher leads the file on the white flag lap, but he’s been caught by Hampshire.
Thrasher slams the door in traffic and keeps Hampshire at bay.
Beaumer takes the final spot on the podium.
Fourth-place DiFrancesco and Anthony Bourdon round out the top five.
Robbie Wageman, Lux Turner, Phil Nicoletti, and Josh Varize also advance. Julien Benek pressed Varize hard on the final lap but came up one spot shy.
Click here for complete results from 250 Heat 2
Qualification
450s
Because of the altitude, Supercross allows the riders to do a mock gate drop in both sessions, and Jett Lawrence gets out first.
Sexton was the first rider to crack the 55-second mark with a 54.691, but he was eclipsed by Lawrence (54.596) on his final lap.
Sexton held onto second, with Hunter Lawrence (55.508) in third.
Webb needs to find some speed in the next session. He’s fourth, with Anderson rounding out the top five.
Tomac is back in ninth.
Click here for complete results from 450 Qualification 1
Tomac is faster overall in the second session; midway through, he is fourth on the combined chart.
Jett (53.917) is the first rider to break the 54-second barrier.
Stewart shows some speed and lands second on the chart as time runs out.
Jett sweeps both sessions and is the fastest qualifier ahead of Stewart.
Sexton lands third on the chart with Hunter fourth.
Anderson rounds out the top five.
And while Tomac was faster, the rest of the field was also. He landed eighth on the chart in Qualification 2.
Click here for complete results from 450 Qualification 2
Click here for complete combined results from both 450 sessions
250s
The 250 West division, Group A riders are lining up for their first qualification session.
Kitchen needs to make up two points on Hampshire and was fastest in Free Practice.
Thrasher puts his Yamaha at the top of the board with a time of 57.343.
Kitchen is second with Smith slotting into third.
Shimoda lands fourth as Hampshire could only manage the fifth-fastest time.
Click here for complete results from 250 Qualification 1
Qualification 2 is going to be faster overall than the first session. Smith, Hampshire and Julien Beaumer top Thrasher’s early time in the first couple of laps.
Hampshire overcomes his slow Q1 time and posts the fastest time of the day at 54.546.
Kitchen is second and Thrasher third overall.
Smith and Beaumer round out the top five.
Click here for complete results from 250 Qualification 2
Click here for complete combined results from both 250 sessions
More Supercross News
While we await the evening program, catch up on some of the recent stories you may have missed:
Eli Tomac extends contract to Pro Motocross, SMX
Benny Bloss out for remainder of 2024 SX
Denver by the numbers
Jalek Swoll: Podium denied
Philadelphia 450 results, points | 250 East
Jett Lawrence wins Philadelphia and takes control.
Dylan Ferrandis returns for end of SX season
Cameron McAdoo out, Seth Hammaker in at Philadelphia
Ken Roczen is out for the remainder of the 2024 SX
Aaron Plessinger renews with Red Bull KTM through 2025
