Image: Foremost Media.

Australia’s Jett Lawrence was forced out of the AUSX Open just one race into his high-profile homecoming after a crash left his CRF too damaged to continue last night.

Lawrence qualified fastest and then topped Superpole in emphatic fashion, before finishing second in the opening SX1 final after working his way through the pack into P2.

The 20-year-old defending AMA 450SX champion went down in the early stages of race two, ending his night prematurely just moments before US rival Cooper Webb also crashed out. The multi-rider incident damaged his production-specification CRF450R, with limited spare parts at their disposal.

“Sadly, I miscalculated that turn and ended up washing the front, and ended up having a pile-up,” Lawrence reflected. “My bike got mangled up and I wish I was racing, but we have no spare parts… The crowd was unreal – I still get goosebumps thinking about the opening ceremony.”

It was elder brother and Team Honda HRC Progressive teammate Hunter Lawrence who went on to win the overall after winning the final two premier class races of the night at Marvel Stadium, while the five-round national SX1 championship belonged to Joey Savatgy.