PALA, Calif. — The second half of the SMX World Championship regular season got underway on Saturday, with the start of the 54th season of the Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing.
Southern California’s Fox Raceway at Pala was the site where abundant sunshine and moderate temperatures set the stage for a compelling afternoon of racing that saw a pair of dominant performances from two of the sport’s rising stars.
In the 450 class, Team Honda HRC Progressive’s Jett Lawrence made his return to action from a torn ACL and maintained his unbeaten record at Fox Raceway with a 1-1 sweep in which he led every lap.
A highly anticipated opening moto began with a familiar sight as the Team Honda HRC Progressive duo of Jett and Hunter Lawrence emerged from the first turn side-by-side and nearly came together, with the edge for the Pro Motocross Holeshot going to Jett. The younger sibling was able to inch away, as Hunter Lawrence was passed by Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper. A couple spots back, defending champion Chase Sexton started fifth aboard his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine.
As the top three settled in, Sexton faced adversity while running fourth as he was forced to take off his goggles. He maintained his spot in the running order, despite pressure from Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac, but was directed to visit the mechanic’s area for a new set of goggles. On the ensuing lap, Sexton crashed. He was slow to remount and eventually rode back to the paddock for a DNF.
The top of the running order remained unchanged the rest of the way, as Jett Lawrence moved out to a double-digit advantage and went wire-to-wire to extend his unbeaten streak in the 450 class at Fox Raceway to five motos. Cooper earned a career-best moto result in second, while Hunter Lawrence finished third. Tomac followed in fourth, with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger rounding out the top five.
The final moto of the afternoon got underway with a big Pro Motocross Holeshot for Hunter Lawrence that put him a couple bike lengths ahead of the field. His lead was short lived, however, as both Jett Lawrence and Plessinger were able to get by, with Tomac lurking in fourth. As Jett inched away, the battle behind him continued with Hunter Lawrence reclaiming second and Tomac following through into third to drop Plessinger to fourth.
Less than five minutes into the moto, Tomac was able to make the pass on Hunter for second and looked to close in on Jett Lawrence for the first time in Pro Motocross competition. In a matter of a half lap, the top two were multiple seconds ahead of the field, effectively setting up a head-to-head battle for the moto win. Behind them, Hunter Lawrence and Plessinger duked it out for third.
Tomac was relentless in applying pressure on Jett Lawrence, but the young Australian was able to keep him at bay and pull away in certain parts of the track. Tomac found a way to inch closer, but Lawrence would counter a few moments later. In his pursuit, Tomac made minor miscues that allowed Lawrence to build a lead that soon grew to about 2.5 seconds as they approached the final 10 minutes.
The Yamaha rider bided his time and made another push with about eight minutes to go and was able to close the deficit to under a second. Despite being faster and having better lines, Tomac couldn’t get alongside to attempt a pass. Slowly, the distance between the leaders started to swing in Lawrence’s favor. The lead continued to grow in the closing stages of the moto as the Honda rider withstood one of the toughest tests of his young career to close out his sixth straight moto win 11.8 seconds over Tomac. A lengthy battle for third between Hunter Lawrence and Plessinger saw the KTM rider make a late pass to grab the position.
In three career 450 class starts at Fox Raceway, Jett Lawrence has not only won all six motos but also every single lap. A third straight 1-1 performance resulted in his 16th win in 17 career starts. Tomac’s first season opener since the 2022 season resulted in a runner-up effort (4-2), while Hunter Lawrence rounded out the overall podium in third (3-4).
“I had a few good beast mode attacks from [Tomac] and I had to do everything I could to fend him off,” Lawrence said. “I knew I had a stronger section, so I made sure I nailed it every time. With about five laps to go I had to give it everything and I tried to use the lappers to my advantage. It was awesome to race against [Tomac] and feel that adrenaline again.”
In the 250 class, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan began his title defense with a second straight win at the season opener, his home race, also completing a sweep of the motos.
