A series of set-up refinements implemented following Anaheim 1 led to a significantly improved Jett Lawrence in San Diego, where he landed his first podium of the 450SX season after taking Eli Tomac down to the wire.

It was no secret that the Honda HRC Progressive premier class team of the Lawrence brothers – Jett and Hunter – struggled with the 2025 CRF450RWE at the opener, but ongoing development saw both riders gain strength at round two of Monster Energy Supercross.

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While lap times weren’t directly impacted at A1, it was being in a position to do them lap in, lap out, that caused most concern, and starts were also compromised as a result of the set-up that they started the season with. For defending champion Jett, improving the balance of the bike and reverting to a more familiar gearing was instrumental in his turnaround.

“We kind of just found more control, you could say, in the forks and the rear,” the Australian detailed post-race at Snapdragon Stadium. “It’s crazy to think that our frame from last year is actually a stiffer frame, so we’re able to run softer suspension.

“And then another big change for us was gearing. We went back on gearing for the start, because last weekend we were just wheelie boys… For me, especially me – Hunter nailed his start – but for me, I just struggled to keep that front-end down. It kind of got me in a bit of a pickle at the start of the race already, so we went back on gearing, and it just kind of still eliminated such a bad start.

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“I still messed up a bit, but that and just getting that full control and feel where the front is, we kind of had a bit of a crust on top at A1, and it would blow through on the front, and the rear was pretty stiff, so just figuring that out.”

Another critical part of the process as well is personally adapting to the latest generation model. Despite the team debuting it in the latter stages of outdoors last year and Jett going on to clinch a second SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) title in September, the tighter, more technical confines of Supercross place all aspects beneath a finer microscope.

“Also just trying to break habits from the previous bike,” Lawrence added. “The previous bike was so high in the rear, and I like to weight the shock a lot, you know, so in turns, I would kind of almost be a bit lazy and lay back a bit, and it would still turn really nice.

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“This one has a little bit more sag to it, which is better traction, it tracks way nicer, but I have to keep myself forward a bit. We had it in SMX, but it’s still so different, so I’m excited for it – I always like learning and a good challenge.”

Two rounds into the 17-round series and with 12-2 scores to commence his title defence, Lawrence has already climbed to fifth in the championship standings, 10 points outside of new red plate-holder Tomac – who finished fifth in Anaheim and won his first main event of the year in San Diego.