After the spectacular year Jett Lawrence had in 2023, all eyes were glued to the Hunter Lawrence when he debuted on a 450 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, last year. A pair of accidents in his heat and the Last Chance Qualifier of Round 1 kept him out of the feature. Undeterred, Lawrence set his sights on San Francisco the following week.
A 10th-place finish in that race was equally underwhelming, but heavy rain and deep mud altered the finishing order, so it was onto sunny San Diego where Lawrence’s should begin to fulfill his promise. Nope. San Diego was impacted by rain as well. The sun finally peeked out for the feature, but the track was already soaked and heavy conditions reigned again. Lawrence finished 11th.
Lawrence finished eighth in Detroit the following week.
Jason Anderson will turn 32 early in the 2025 Supercross season, which puts some added stress on his performance this year.
If polled at the beginning of the season, no SuperMotocross expert would have predicted Lawrence would enter Round 6 without a single top-five. Lawrence’s prospects were in the process of being downgraded. He finished fifth in Glendale, Arizona, and again in Arlington, Texas, the following week but cruel Fate was not done with him yet.
Lawrence crashed on the hybrid track built on the frontstretch of the Daytona International Speedway and missed the inaugural race in Birmingham, Alabama the next week with a shoulder injury. He never fully got his groove back while the stadium series wound down. Lawrence earned two podium finishes in Supercross, in St. Louis and Denver, but his average finish of 8.4 left much to be desired.
Ken Roczen finished second in all three rounds of the 2023 SMX playoffs but missed his opportunity to improve last year because of injury.
Almost as if a switch was flipped, Lawrence became an immediate contender in Pro Motocross. He finished second to his brother Jett Lawrence in the season opener at Fox Raceway in Pala, California, and was the runner-up again in the next two races. Hunter stood on the podium every round until Round 8 in Washougal, Washington. In the 11-round outdoor season, he would fail to podium just twice and sported an average finish of 2.6.
MORE: Hunter Lawrence becomes third red plate holder after Thunder Valley
Lawrence had not yet won, but he finished second in the Pro Motocross Standings.
There was still one series left to contest. The SuperMotocross World Championship is held on tracks with elements of Supercross and Motocross and there was an open question about how Lawrence would fare on the more technical areas of the track. Lawrence came into his own in the hybrid series and swept the top five. Most importantly, he finally secured his first victory at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
Justin Cooper missed only one feature in his rookie 450 season and had a top-10 ratio of 90 percent.
With that taste of success, expectations are high once more as the calendar resets and dirt bike racing heads back to the stadiums for the first half of the SuperMotocross League. While there is still a question mark about Lawrence’s Supercross performance, one would be hard-pressed to predict his average finish in 2025 will be worse than eighth.
2024 Statistics
Feature starts: 29
Average feature finish: 5.59
Wins: 1
Podiums: 13
Top-fives: 18
Top-10s: 25
Best finish: Won (Texas SMX)
SMX Standings/payout: Second/$500,000
2024 News
Hunter Lawrence wins AUSSX Open in Melbourne
Lawrence wins SMX playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway
Lawrence debuts new Honda for final three MX rounds, SMX
RedBud by the numbers: Lawrence has the red plate
Jett and Hunter announce the return of the AUSX Open
Southwick by the numbers: Lawrence stands alone in top-fives
Lawrence becomes third red plate holder after Thunder Valley
Jason Anderson warned, Lawrence fined for Salt Lake City infractions
Jett and Hunter Lawrence make history in SX Denver
Lawrence out of SX Round 9 in Birmingham with shoulder injury
Lawrence’s season starts in San Diego
450 Countdown
7. Jason Anderson
8. Ken Roczen
9. Justin Cooper
10. Justin Barcia
11. Malcolm Stewart
12. Dylan Ferrandis
13. Christian Craig
14. Shane McElrath
15. Dean Wilson
250 Countdown
7. Pierce Brown
8. Cameron McAdoo
9. Ty Masterpool
10. Chance Hymas
11. Garrett Marchbanks
12. Max Anstie
13. Julien Beaumer
14. Coty Schock
15. Ryder DiFrancesco
More SuperMotocross News
2025 SX schedule | MX schedule | WMX Schedule
2025 Supercross tickets on sale | Pro Motocross tickets
2025 TV Schedule | Track Maps
WMX announces six-round schedule for 2025
Jason Anderson and the ticking clock
What might have been for Cameron McAdoo
Yamaha Star Racing announces seven rider team
Reid Taylor replaces injured Devin Simonson
Ken Roczen has the SMX Championship in mind
Devin Simonson injures wrist, will likely miss start of SX 250 East
Ricky Carmichael’s 2025 Daytona track design
On any given Saturday: SMX’s ‘Race Day’ campaign
Ty Masterpool’s second chance
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