450SMX
The question of the day was
how Lawrence would fare in his
return to racing. Just 66 days
after undergoing UCL surgery on
his thumb, the reigning champi-
on solidified his recovery at SMX
round one with a statement
overall win. Jett showed pa-
tience in race one and claimed a
strong second to start the day.
He battled brother Hunter for
most of the race but ultimately
outlasted him for the runner-up
position to Eli Tomac.
The real show came in race
two when Jett went toe-to-toe
with the fully healed Tomac. Jett
waited until the closing parts of
the race to secure a pass. He
used a technical double line into
the sand section to make his
move and held a close margin
to the finish, using 2-1 scores
to claim the day's overall win.
After just one race back, Jett
Lawrence carries the momen
-
tum while sitting second in the
overall SMX points.
"I was still dealing with my
own stuff obviously in the first
one, trying to get back in my
flow, and lost time in the first
part," Jett said. "But, yeah, that
second one was fun. We were
going hard. That Yamaha is
loud, and our bike is definitely
the opposite. Even once I got
around him, I still couldn't hear
my bike. It was cool to experi
-
ence it [racing Tomac], and I
hope he sticks around—Beast
Mode—because it's always fun
to race someone with such
knowledge and speed, too."
Tomac continues to show
speed in the closing stages
VOLUME ISSUE SEPTEMBER , P85
94 KEN ROCZEN
5TH (5-5) 450SMX
Ken Roczen's consistency paid off
with a pair of fifths for fifth overall.
"Solid weekend at round one with 5-5
moto scores for fifth overall. I was
able to push both motos and improve
myself. It's great to build on and get
better. If I find myself a bit further up
front off the start, I think we can be in
podium position. Certainly improving
week by week."
16 TOM VIALLE
5TH (4-7) 250SMX
Tom Vialle rode to a quiet fifth overall
to kick off the Playoff champion-
ship. "My starts were really bad, so I
finished fifth overall. I'm still third in
the championship, and we all know
that the next couple of races are
most important with double and triple
points available, so we will come out
swinging next week."
MYOWNRACE
(Above) The
Lawrence
brothers, Jett (1)
and Hunter (96),
were on the track
together again
at Charlotte.
Jett went on to
take the overall
450SMX victory.
(Left) Eli Tomac
looked like his
old self in the
first 450SMX
moto. He
grabbed the win
and went on to
place second
overall with 1-2
scores.
