News 11 May 2024

Lawrence claims 450SX title in Salt Lake City

For the third time in the history of Supercross, a rookie is premier class champion.

Image: Octopi Media.

Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence rode to a comfortable seventh place finish in the 450SX main event at Salt Lake City to lock down the Monster Energy Supercross championship. In claiming the title, Lawrence became just the third rider in the history of the sport to win the championship as a rookie and he also bookended his rookie year on a 450 with championship sweeps in all three titles he competed in.

While Lawrence cruised home the title, Red Bull KTM’s Chase Sexton charged off to win the race leading every lap. It was Sexton’s second win of the season and he seemed relieved to click off one more win to end the season. Behind him was Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammates Justin Cooper and Cooper Webb. Webb passed into third place early in the race and looked keen to make a run at the lead, but settled in behind his teammate. Justin Cooper’s second place finish was his first career 450SX podium and the ride helped him secure P6 in the championship in what has been a solid season for the rookie.

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson ended up in fourth, but much of the talk about his race stems from early contact with Hunter Lawrence that put Hunter on the ground and then Hunter retaliated late in the race as a lapped rider while Anderson was battling Webb for third. Lawrence blocked Anderson in the first corner and the Kawasaki man lost touch with Webb in the process. Both Anderson and Hunter Lawrence had plenty of words with each other after the race as well.

Troy Lee Designs Red Bull GasGas’ Justin Barcia rounded out the top five ahead of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Malcolm Stewart, the aforementioned Jett Lawrence in P7, Phoenix Racing Honda’s Dylan Ferrandis in eighth, MotoConcepts Racing Honda’s Mitchell Oldenburg in ninth, and Firepower Honda’s Dean Wilson rounding out the top 10.

Jett Lawrence’s 450SX crown makes it three championships in three tries on a 450 as he won AMA Pro Motocross in 2023, followed it up by winning the SuperMotocross World Championship, and is now Supercross champion in 2024. Quite a big moment for not only Lawrence, but the sport as a whole.

Detailed results

Recent