Two Sunshine Coast riders have broken records by becoming the first brothers to finish in the top three in the United States motocross championship standings.
Jett Lawrence won the American Motorcycle Association Pro Motocross 250MX championship for the first time, with older brother and racing teammate Hunter Lawrence coming third.
At the end of 2015, the Lawrence family packed their stuff and moved to Europe to chase the brothers’ motocross dreams.
Jett Lawrence was 12 years old at the time of the move, and Hunter was 16.
“We used to do the junior world titles and we knew if we just kept doing those we might get noticed in Europe,” Jett said.
“Thankfully, my brother got noticed and we were like, sorry guys, we are kind of like a packaged deal, so I got lucky on that.
“The plan was to just try and get known because the sport in Australia is obviously awesome – it’s great.
“But the motocross industry in Europe and America was just so much bigger with a lot more money in it.
“So, we decided that if we were going to do this as a sport that we had to go 100 per cent all in.
“We packed up, moved to Europe and did three years over there and then we got the call-up to move to America, which was the dream.”
Brotherly love
Jett stated that he would not have been able to win the title without the help of his older brother.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today without him. He’s helped me all through my career and he’s not just a great brother — he’s an awesome racer,” he said.
“I’m very proud of him for finishing third overall and second in the Supercross because during the off-season he was sitting on the couch with an injury.
“2020 was such a rough year for him and, as a brother, you hate to see that and to see him dig himself out of that hole.
“I’m more pumped for him than I am for me”
The 18-year-old said that the sibling rivalry had improved his riding skills.
“As a younger brother, the only thing I wanted to do was beat my brother,” Jett said.
“He was just the target to try and beat and it’s great to have someone there always pushing me in training and I always push him.
“We always give it 100 per cent because we don’t want to be the brother that is sucking.”
International move pays off
In just his second season as a pro, Jett totalled eight moto wins and four overall victories across the 12 rounds.
Hunter Lawrence won two motos and one overall.
The 18-year-old admitted that becoming a champion had not yet hit him.
“After the race, I was pumped but it wasn’t until the next day when I woke up and I was like, wow, I can finally call myself a champion now,” Jett said.
“It was awesome to get that and it’s always been a dream of mine and it was sick that it came true.”
The plan, according to Jett, was to win the championship in the first moto by finishing ahead of competitor Justin Cooper, but two crashes and an eighth-place finish meant it would come down to the season finale.
“God had a different plan for me that’s for sure,” he said.
“It was a bit wild but I tried going in with the same mentality as I did with every other race — go in like I lost the weekend before.
“I was very angry after that first one, I was kind of like well at least I’m making this weekend exciting — I guess I can’t get this championship easy.”
Investing for the future
Winning a motocross championship is no easy task, but the rewards are substantial.
The 18-year-old is already thinking about life after motocross.
“With the prize money, I’ve got two different plans,” he said.
“I want to buy a house but the market is very expensive in Florida right now.
“I think I might be investing in a car wash so I can eventually get money flowing back from that so once I retire, I don’t have to do anything else and work any other job.
“That money is more going towards my future.”
The brothers are now focusing on the indoor Supercross season, which begins in January.
The uniforms of MOTOCROSS racing drivers are currently available at the following websites for a reasonable price:
