A guy who won AMA titles and MXoN himself in the 80s and his worked with James Stewart, Ricky Carmichael and knew Stefan Everts had some big words of praise for his latest rider, Jett Lawrence, not just on his ability, but his dedication and determination to recover from his broken thumb in seven weeks in time for SMX – and to win straight away.
“This was big exclamation point on why he is very special,” admitted O’Mara in a TV interview with Jason Thomas. “There is a lot of work behind the scenes and I am part of that work. The day after he got his surgery which was on July 4th, it was physical therapy every day for seven straight weeks, with just one day off a week. It was intense, I think it would break most people, that’s how intense it was. Even on the mental side, ‘I’ve got to get up at 5.30 and do this…’ it’s just…I felt like I was at my breaking point (saying) ‘Let’s go Jett, let’s go, we have to be here, be there at that time.’ It’s not just one thing, it’s like seven things during the day but that does explain a lot.”
“I never doubted he could come back and do this, even for me, I go wow, the family, all of us. But it just shows how committed he is to his craft, he’s literally the best guy in quite a while.”
Carmichael added: “It’s not about the money for Jett, (why he came back), that guy is making plenty of cheddar. What you see from him I think is passion and pride, I truly believe that.”
Jett Lawrence is special and well on his way to becoming one of the greatest of all time.
