450SX
Jett Lawrence is on a bit of a roll
right now. With a win in Birming-
ham, he's now the first back-to-
back 450SX winner in 2024 and
has taken three dubs in the last
five races. A sneaky line through
the first turn put him in the lead
going into sector one, which
spelled trouble for the rest of
the field.
From there, it was smooth
sailing for the current points
leader. The "New Jett," as he
referred to himself, rode a smart
race and kept things under con
-
trol with few mistakes.
"I think the biggest thing is
staying focused and, every now
and then, giving up a few tenths
in the rhythms," Lawrence said
in regard to his new mindset.
"Normally, if I'd over jump, I'd
still try and go for it… and mess
up the whole rhythm. The big
-
gest thing is it's okay to give
up a few tenths every now and
then if you have to, because
before I'd always have to be so
perfect."
Despite the rutted track
surface, he managed the gap
from the front and led all 23 laps
for a wire-to-wire victory. While
the repeat victory is significant,
Lawrence also added another
three points to his now 13-point
lead over Cooper Webb. As
the series crosses the halfway
point, Lawrence looks to be the
emerging favorite.
"The whole main I felt fo
-
cused," Lawrence said. "Cooper
[Webb] was there the whole
time; he didn't give up the whole
time so that was cool to have
that to help keep me focused."
VOLUME ISSUE MARCH , P67
33 JALEK SWOLL
6TH 250SX EAST
Triumph's Jalek Swoll nearly grabbed
a podium but a fall dropped him to
sixth. "Tonight could have been a
whole lot better if I didn't tuck the
front!" he said. "I had two good starts
to put myself in the mix, and I also
showed tonight that I'm not getting
pushed around anymore. I recovered
well after the crash, and I just need to
keep putting myself up there."
MYOWNRACE
Yamaha rider off the track. I just wasn't
expecting that for seventh place. A
wise man told me that '18-year-olds
will do what 18-year-olds will do.' I
chalk it up to a racing incident, and I
will learn from it and move on."
3 ELI TOMAC
7TH 450SX
Monster Energy Star Racing Ya-
maha's Eli Tomac won his heat race
early in the night and looked to be a
contender for the main, but it wasn't
to be. All the former champ could do
was a seventh in the main event and
had no detailed explanation other
than not getting the start that he
wanted. "I had a bad start in the main
event and made some passes early
in the race but could only make it up
to seventh place," he said.
(Above) Jett
Lawrence is now
the first back-
to-back 450SX
winner in 2024.
(Left) Cooper
Webb kept
Lawrence honest
in 450SX while
running in
second place.
