Press Release | December 2, 2020
Seventeen-Year-Old Australian Rider Celebrates his Rookie Season by Taking on Custom-Built Supercross Track
Story Provided by Red Bull Media House
Groveland, FL (December 2, 2020) – Jett Lawrence has never been one to turn down a challenge. After winning the 2014 FIM Junior Motocross 65cc World Championship as a 14-year-old, the Australian moved with his family to Europe to take his skills to the next level. Now, at the age of 17, Lawrence has one year competing as a pro under his belt in the 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship and is already kicking up dirt with his fourth-place finish in the rider standings this season, thanks in part to his first 250MX win at the Fox Raceway Finals in Pala, CA.
To celebrate a demanding, but successful first year, Lawrence took on a new challenge in the off-season, one that tested him in a way he’s never experienced before. The project, called “On Rails,” pitted him against a custom-built supercross track that was dramatically reduced in width (only handlebar-wide in some areas), showcasing the riding precision that helped him become one of the most talked-about current pro riders. This one-of-a-kind track built by world renowned track designer Jason Baker of Dream Traxx provided the perfect playground for Lawrence to demonstrate the accuracy and bike control needed to ride on the edge and succeed in the pro ranks.
Jett Lawrence “On Rails” Video
“It was definitely a little nerve-wracking because it’s sorely different from what I race on,” Jett said. “I race on a track that is 18-feet wide and most of the obstacles here were three-feet wide at best, so it was way different for me – both mentally and physically.”
The track crafted for Lawrence was a much slimmer iteration of a larger supercross track (which measures a standardized 20-feet wide), with the custom track width whittled down to as narrow as three-feet wide in some sections. Not only was it the skinniest track Lawrence has ever ridden, but he also faced it a night, demanding additional focus. Unfazed, Lawrence rose to the occasion and displayed a level of precision you’d expect from a tour veteran, ripping around the track as if he were actually “on rails.”
Times are changing for the young rider who many in motocross have high hopes for. Now calling Central Florida home for much of the year, Lawrence has his sights set on more podiums in what he hopes will be a long career.
“Success to me would be if I won every single championship from here on out until I retire,” Lawrence joked. “That would be a successful career.”
For this offseason and 2021, his outlook is a little more modest. “Train, train, train, get better and faster,” Lawrence explained. “I feel like this is what I’ve been working towards my whole life and I believe my second year as a pro will be a lot better.”