Jett Lawrence on going 450 and his last 250 race
Jett Lawrence has raced his last 250 race as he looks ahead to stepping up to the 450 class full time in two where he will take on new 2023 supercross champ and teammate Chase Sexton (and Dylan Ferrandis) for the title in a field that remarkably, thanks to injuries and WSX, might not be as deep as the 250 class outdoors!
“It still hasn’t quite sunk in as my last,” said Jett in the press conference. “I think once I start racing 450 in outdoors it will kind of sink in as my last. It was a fun one. The track got pretty technical. The dirt was actually really sick for that one which was great. In the heat race it was like ice, so we weren’t looking forward to it. It didn’t really cross my mind until after. I was like, that’s really kind of my last one. I’m not going to go up to 450 and come back down for a few. I’m up to 450 now and we’re staying there for a while. It’s an exciting step for me. It’s a new kind of step in my life, that new chapter. I’m excited for it. It was a good way to end it, I think, for my last 250 race.
On not getting to race Hunter this summer, Jett said: “It’s going to be different, that’s for sure. It’s going to take a bit to realize, I feel like at the first round, once he starts getting dressed, I’m going to get dressed also. It’s going to be kind of a different schedule for me throughout the day, so it’s just kind of going to be getting used to that. But I like it. It’s time for a change for me. 250s has started to get pretty repeated for me, the same stuff. So I think it’s time for me to go up. It’s going to be fun, exciting. Really exciting to cheer on HJ on 250. It won’t be long until he’s back up on 450. So, it will be good.”
“For me it looks like there’s going to be a lot of really good battles,” continued Jett regarding racing the 450 outdoors. “I can tell you that. It’s going to be fun. Outdoors I get to race against my teammate, Chase [Sexton]. That’s going to be exciting. We all know he’s got a lot of speed up his sleeve. It’s going to be exciting. We get to kind of start at the bottom again, like I did going when I first went pro. Start at the bottom and kind of make your way up. I get to start there again and kind of just learn new stuff that you don’t learn while you’re watching TV. So, I’m excited for it. It’s always good to learn more and more stuff, to get my experience a little bit more and better. I’m excited for it. It’s going to be fun. Just go out there and have a fun outdoors and just go from there.”
With the speed he showed on a 250 and at the MXoN on a 450, Jett will be expected to contend for the outdoor title but the big test will come in supercross and 17 rounds week after week and full field of supercross specialists, but can anyone not put Jett in as a title contender fro his first outdoor season and his first supercross season? He’s that good that it shouldn’t be.
Image: Honda
