By Will Burgess

Crawfordsville, Ind. — All eyes were on the Lawrence brothers, Hunter and Jett, at the Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Ind. this weekend as the pro motocross season came to a close.

Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) landed a historic perfect season, one of only four in the history of the sport. Jett had been hard to contain since his 2020 professional debut after coming of age to compete in the 250cc class; however, in the 450 MX class he completed all eleven rounds unbeaten, taking first place on the podium each time.

Meanwhile, brother Hunter Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) overcame a setback early on in Moto 1, after a crash beyond the first turn sent him to position 17, as he clawed his way back to take the first place at the 2023 Pro Motocross Championship 250 MX class and the overall win for the season.

“I saw the chaos in the second turn. I saw blue bikes and then the #32 and thought, ‘That sucks,’ said Hunter. “I was way, way back, trying to be patient and trying not to rush anything. Man, what a year. Never say die, never give up. It’s unbelievable.”

With these back to back championship titles clinched by the brothers from Landsborough, Australia, this 2023 season will go down in record as historic.

Fellow HRC teammate in the 450 MX and the 2023 450 SX champion, Chase Sexton, provided a raucous season, and managed to muster 4th place for the season, but a second place at the Championship race. Once the prospect of overall Championship was taken off the table, Sexton’s performance improved to deliver a solid effort for the season and the weekend race.

“Jett upped the game a bit, said Sexton. “I had to play catch up when I came back [from injury], but then he got better. You haven’t seen the last of me winning… I’m determined to come back stronger next season.”

Despite being out three races with an injury, Sexton managed 338 points this season.

Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) of Ohio took P3 with 386 overall points for the 450 MX, and Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) of France came in with 399 points to take second. Jett ended the season with over 150 more points than Ferrandis with a notable 550 points.

“It doesn’t feel real,” said Jett, talking about his perfect season victory. “I started off so nervous hitting the gate [in Moto 2]. I don’t know how I led the first lap. Now we’re undefeated. To all the people who doubted me, here we are now. Also, congrats to Hunter. No one deserved that [250 Class] title more than him.”

In 250 MX standings, Jo Shimoda (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) of Japan managed 393 season points, Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) took 399, and Hunter Lawrence pulled 419.

Attention is now directed toward the brand new Super Motocross World Championship Final, coming up on Sept. 23 at the LA Coliseum, in Calif.

Cover: Jett Lawrence stands on the podium alongside Chase Sexton (left) and Aaron Plessinger (right) in second and third places for the 11th round race, respectively. | Source: MX Sports Pro Racing / Align Media

Will Burgess is a journalist with Adrenaline Powersports Mag