Jett Lawrence on bike changes and learning from Tomac!

Image: Feld Motorsports Inc.

He usually can’t abide second place but after 12th last week, Jett Lawrence was smiling and happy with his second place and going bar-to-bar with the legend Eli Tomac in a race for the ages in San Diego!

Pretty happy honestly, it’s better than twelfth!” said Jett in the press conference. “I’m happy with second, we’re ten positions better, so you got to take the positives when you get them.” 

We asked Jett if he learned anything form Tomac once the Star Yamaha rider passed him early in the main event: “He got me on the start there and we went back and forth I think on the first few laps but then he consolidated and go me back again after the whoops. He was riding really well. I picked up on it, but it took me too long to pick up on it after the mechanics area, entering the turn a littler later and using the fresh end of the berm, especially the second one going outside before the tripled again.

Those little things, and after the other big supercross triple, he was “race car-ing” it there and I was trying too hard to get back to the right side and waste a little bit of time there and he would get a little bit more, then I’d have to work my butt off around the rest of the track just to try and get close again. That’s what wrecked my chances of trying to make any attempt or pass on him. It was a lot of fun, I like that kind of racing, it was clean, we were both pushing the limit. It was cool to watch from my standpoint. I wish you guys got a POV from my angle. It was cool!”

This article continues below

“I have a lot of fun with those races,” added Lawrence. “You’re trying and you’re thinking the whole time, and I’d rather have that than a big lead… I learned a lot and it makes for better racing in the future. I had a lot of fun racing behind him, It’s cool seeing the different race craft and how he picks apart a track compared to how I am with our bike differences. He was on rails in that one, that’s what I would imagine as Beast Mode.”

On his bike set-up changes Jett said the bike was better, but he was still searching and even changed his bars for the night show!

“The previous bike was so high in the rear and I like to weight the shock a lot, so in the turns I would almost be a bit lazy and lay back a bit and it would still turn really nice. This (bike) has bit more sag to it, which is better traction, it tracks way nicer, but I have to keep myself forward a bit, so we ended up making a bar change before the heat race. We realized I was being a bit lazy and dropping my head back.”

We kind of just found more control you could say in the forks and the rear, its crazy to think that our frame from last year is actually a stiffer frame so we are able to run softer suspension. Another big change for us was gearing. We went back on gearing for the start because last weekend we were just wheelie boys. I still messed up a bit, Cooper nailed his start in that main but that and just getting that full control and feel where the front is, we had kind of a crust on top at A1 and it would blow through in the front and the rear was pretty stiff.”

The real Jett Lawrence looks to be back… it only took him one week to sort that Honda and be back at the front, but with Tomac and Sexton seemingly back to their best and Roczen and Webb also at the sharp end, the 2025 season looks set to be a barnburner!

Hear from Jett’s dad, Darren Lawrence, on a rollercoaster first two rounds for the brothers below: