Due to undergo further scans on Monday after early Glendale exit.
450SX champion Jett Lawrence’s season remains up in the air after exiting the final Triple Crown race with an apparent knee injury in Glendale, with his Honda HRC Progressive team optimistic that he has avoided major damage while awaiting MRI scans on Monday.
Lawrence qualified quickest and then went 2-2 in the opening pair of finals, only to exit the decider on the opening lap after dabbing his foot on the ground and experiencing immediate pain in his right knee.
The 21-year-old Australian wasn’t able to continue, which bumped him back to eighth overall for the night, and underwent initial tests trackside within the Alpinestars Mobile Medical Unit. According to HRC team manager Lars Lindstrom, the signs are positive so far and he will undergo further evaluation early next week.
“It sounds like from Jett when he had to put his foot out to catch himself there, he just got a pain like he’s never gotten before – he’s never had any issue like that before,” Lindstrom explained. “Same thing happened to Ken Roczen at Salt Lake City in 2023, when he’d never had that feeling, and it’s really scary.
“It’s that immediate pain that you feel, it’s just is a really awkward, weird pain. After the initial look from the doctors it seems stable, so we’re pretty hopeful that it’s just what you’d call a stinger – at least that’s what we’re hoping. He’ll get an MRI on Monday, see where we’re at, but right now we’re hoping that we got away with something that could have been a lot worse.
“He’s not very happy,” he added. “Obviously he had good two first races, and was looking to win the overall, then to have something like that ruin the night for him – he still got P8 – he’s upset with the situation, really. It’s one of those things you wish you could take back, because it’s not something that he really did that wrong. Just frustrated, but hopeful.”
On a night where title rival Chase Sexton (Red Bull KTM) became the first two-time winner of the year to reclaim the points lead, Lawrence has been demoted to fifth in the standings, now 13 points outside of the red plate following round four of the 2025 season.