Team Honda HRC’s premier class rookie Jett Lawrence captured the 450MX title over the weekend at round nine of the 2023 Pro Motocross Championship at Unadilla, sweeping the motos and remaining undefeated across the 18 races that have been run. The 20-year-old spoke to the media after wrapping up the title for this Conversation feature.

Image: Octopi Media.

Jett, amazing season so far. So, what’s it feel like to continue with the streak and win the championship as a rookie?

Unreal day, I’ve always liked coming to this track. I feel like when they rip it like how they do normally, it’s an unreal track. It kind of brings back almost European vibes with all the ruts and that stuff. It’s pretty cool to see what I’ve done so far. It’s cool, coming in mentally I was like, I know I can do those guys pace, it’s whether I can beat them or not or if I have the knowledge. After the first few rounds, it wasn’t confidence, but I just started to know, I just need to get my starts and kind of just think it through more. It’s good because a lot of the media guys on the podcasts doubted me, saying I’m going to have one of those rookie seasons where I may crash. I mean, the last person I remember getting a championship in their rookie season dominating was the guy next to me [Dylan Ferrandis]. So I had that as my goal. It was hard with him in there, and Chase [Sexton]. Definitely tough competitors, they have that never-die in them. So, it was a fun season so far. I’m still excited for the last two rounds.

Let’s talk about the guys next to you. Chase put some early pressure on you in the first moto and you guys actually came together in one corner. Then Dylan came on very, very hard at the end of the first moto.

Yeah, the incident with Chase was kind of funny, we both came back and I thought I was going to go in that second rut and then I saw out of the corner of my eye in that other rut. Chase obviously was coming in hot and that was his main line, I’m pretty sure. I decided to switch it up. I’m like, ‘Mate, that line looks better.’ So, I just tried to switch it up. I didn’t know he was there, those bikes are so hard to hear. It wasn’t really anyone’s fault, I felt like, it was just a bit of a bummer situation. Thankfully, we both stayed up, then at the end, Dylan started doing some really good laps. I started racing against lappers. Dylan was coming closer, those last few laps I was very nervous. I could see that blue bike getting closer and closer. I was just thinking in my head, ‘If I lose this because of a lapper I’m going to be so pissed.’ But thankfully I was able just to get it across the finish line.

Jett, there were some changes to Unadilla. What did you think of the track and also the difference between last year?

Layout-wise, I thought the track was pretty fast last year and I’m like, there’s no way we can get the track faster. But, then we decided to go straight after the Skyshot jump and they proved me wrong. It was scary at first to go full gas on the 450, those things go fast. Chase was telling the team to go get a speed radar gun. This year, I think it’s more like Unadilla should be, I think they could have even ripped it deeper, but I think they were a little nervous with the rain coming. So, we got pretty lucky with that, thankfully. This year it was a lot closer to being normal Unadilla with the ruts than last year, for sure. But, I felt like it was a lot of fun today, especially with the edges and that stuff. Kind of kept you thinking. There were some sections with slippery, loose dirt, then kind of having more deep ruts like normal.

How does it feel to win a championship in your rookie season?

It’s a pretty awesome feeling. It’s definitely something that you don’t really dream of just because it was always so far out of reach that it wasn’t possible for us. So, it’s better than a dream, to be honest. It’s such a cool feeling. I don’t know my history that good, but most recent person I know is Dylan who has done it. I feel like coming into a rookie season, you have to be a pretty bad dude and have to be patient, smart, and I felt like I executed those pretty well. Just made smart decisions I was pretty happy with. Just learning to manage races and deal with guys that are sometimes faster than me. I didn’t really deal with it that much in the 250 class, the only time they were faster was probably when I kind of de-horsepowered with the Star guys. Most of the time it was pretty easy just to kind of put a few laps and gap them. With Chase or Dylan, you’ve got to do a whole lot of laps and hope that they make a mistake to get a gap. It’s an awesome feeling, it’s definitely a cool accomplishment. We’re definitely just going to try and keep on clicking them off from now on and just trying to do my best to keep consistent and injury-free.

What is it that you did you be able to jump from the 250 up to the 450 and ride with this much confidence right away?

Obviously, you’re running off of a bit of a high with 250, but coming in you kind of get humbled before you even really race just because you’re going up against some pretty gnarly guys. But just coming in, I just knew the work, I believe in my program, I believe in my team, the bike. I feel like our bike is one of the best-handling ones out there in the paddock. This year, the thing was stupidly fast, so I think it’s just all those things are lining up, just believing in your work. I feel like after Pala, obviously, that confidence went up a bit with going 1-1. I don’t know if it stays, but I think with the crew around me and my family, they keep me humble so I don’t get too confident, thankfully. But it definitely helps.

Jett, you had a crash in qualifying. You were looking back at Phil Nicoletti. Did he scare you and startle you? Walk us through what happened there.

No, I think it’s quite the opposite, [laughs]. I feel like I scare Phil. I feel like he’s very scared. I gave him a little bit of roost, I looked back because I thought he almost crashed. I saw his front wheel wash, and then I kind of got karma for laughing at him almost crashing. I looked forward and the rut was there and I ended up tipping it down. I ran out of it, but I was chuckling to myself, that was a good one.

Your riding style, obviously you stand up a lot. Where did you learn that riding style? Is that something you learned living in Europe?

I feel like it’s from training at Lommel a lot. You very rarely get time to sit down. Look at some of the really, really good sand riders. You look at Jeffrey [Herlings], Jorge Prado, we obviously learned a bit from Stefan Everts or Harry Everts a lot, the grandpa and father of Stefan, and Liam. I think that has helped me and my brother with standing up a lot more. It’s a lot easier to handle a bike when you’re standing instead of sitting down, so just those days training at Lommel in the winter, standing up, not getting a break to sit down. It makes your back pretty tired [Laughs], but now we’ve got it strong enough to stand a lot more.

You mentioned this title, it wasn’t even a dream because you were so young and you just didn’t even think it was possible. If you could tell yourself back then that it would happen, would a younger version of you even believe that this was possible to be here in the US, be in the top of the 450 class and get that title? What would your younger self say?

I think my exact words would be, ‘You’re smoking!’ As I said, we never really thought we would get this far, even when we were in Europe. The struggles we went through there, we actually got to meet Dylan along the way, which was nice. But the times that we had there were such a struggle that we just kind of were in a hole the whole time. Just working every single day, lasting off only a couple cents for lunch and dinner. We got sick from just hanging our clothes inside because we got mould in an apartment that we were staying in, in France in the last year. So, we’ve gone through so much struggle even once we got to America, it was like, this is sick. We’re going to work to maybe one day try and get a championship, but a 450 championship in your rookie season, how I’ve done it so far, no. I feel like I would definitely say, ‘You’re smoking.’

Image: Octopi Media.

Obviously, Chase has the supercross title and you have this title now. For you guys to be GEICO Honda riders and now HRC riders, what does that mean for you to deliver a title to that team that you started your pro career with here in the US?

I feel like I could speak for both of us. This team is an awesome team. For me, they’re like family. They work their butts off and I feel like our bike this year, with Trey [Canard] helping with testing and stuff, he’s set up a really good bike for us with supercross and outdoors. Chase had an awesome season in supercross. In outdoors, our bike is handling great. Like I said before, I feel like our bike is some of the best handling in paddock in 450 and I feel like our team definitely deserves a pat on the back because they work their butt off to get our bike to this stage.

Are you a student of the game? Your riding style is really getting a lot of praise for obvious reasons right now. Do you study film? We know you as a kind of happy-go-lucky, fun guy, but behind the scenes are you studying all the time to refine your game?

At this point, I feel like in the earlier seasons when I was younger I was kind of looking at more, but I feel like it’s more kind of studying myself and critiquing small things that I’ve kind of got bad habits in and just kind of critiquing and making myself better and better. Obviously, training harder and just getting myself to that fitter stage. I’ve still got kid muscles on me, I haven’t really got my adult size yet. I’m a 30-size pants. I’ve got a slim waist. I’ve still got to wait until I buff up a bit.

Are you the kind of guy that you’re always thinking racing, or do you switch it on and off? Some guys are obsessed 24/7, some guys are better when they step away. How do you approach it during the week?

I approach it when I’m at work, I’m thinking of everything, and when I’m off the bike, I’m focusing on how I can make myself better with cycling and training and doing gym stuff. That basically only takes up a few hours if I do it back-to-back, and then the rest of the day I’m just being a normal 20-year-old kid. Playing video games, going golfing if I can, just normal, regular stuff, I’m not doing anything crazy like I feel like people would think. I’m just doing my job first because it only takes so many hours, which I’m very lucky and grateful for. I feel like a lot of jobs are an all-day thing. We’re lucky enough that I can get my job in the first half of the day on off days. Then on riding days, it might go a little longer and pass into three o’clock or four o’clock.

You’re on 20, it’s cool we’ve watched your career so far, but when was that second when you were like, I’m going to take it from this level to this level? I just want to know your mind process of when you decided. You’re already a champion, but let’s make sure that we’re in there forever.

I think it was whenever after Europe and that stuff, and we got to here and went through that tough time, and Hunter went through even more of a tougher time with injuries and all that stuff. I think that was when it really switched for me and kind of went to, ‘Alright, I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but somehow at some point in my career I want to be at top of it.’ Every day I just kind of wake up and just make sure I stay to that goal. Ever since when I first moved over here with amateurs, I always hated losing as a kid. It carried over into the bigger bikes now, it’s probably even worse now when you lose. You get that grit that when you go back, you train even harder. So, it’s been a bit difficult this year when you’re at the top, I spoke to Ricky [Carmichael] multiple times. When you’re winning and that stuff, it’s a lot harder to try and motivate you because you are winning, but thankfully I have these two boys next to me that are making me wake up each morning and having them chase me and make sure I execute everything and make sure each weekend I come in and be even better than the weekend before.

You just got a big bonus. What’s the best thing you’re going to buy yourself as a little treat here at the end of the year?

Sadly, normally it would be a car but I’m on a little bit of a restriction from Daz. He said the smarter move is probably investment, [laughs] I think it’s stupid, but I am probably going to invest and hopefully that doubles in a couple of years. Most likely going to be a car, but I ended up getting some toys earlier this year, so that should do me for now.