In a performance reminiscent of his impressive 450SX debut at Anaheim 1, Jett Lawrence dominated AMA Supercross round 5 in Detroit, where the Team Honda HRC rider led every lap of the main event in the 2024 series’ first race outside of California and in an enclosed stadium. The success followed three atypical events—two affected by weather, the other featuring a Triple Crown format—and it moved the 20-year-old Australian up to second place in the title chase–just one point behind the leader.

The story of the 450SX main event was simple: Jett throttled his CRF450RWE to the holeshot and checked out—a couple of close calls being the only small flaws in an otherwise perfect performance. Jett’s eventual winning margin was 4.740 seconds. Meanwhile, Hunter Lawrence had a steady race, riding most of the laps in seventh or eighth place before turning in an eighth-place result—one behind Phoenix Racing Honda’s Dylan Ferrandis.

Detroit marked the start of the 250SX East Region series, and the 2024 racing debut of Team Honda HRC rider Chance Hymas. The Idaho native suffered a midweek practice crash before the race, reinjuring the knee that he had hurt last year. He still showed up to compete in Detroit and looked strong in his heat race but aggravated the injury. Following treatment, Hymas took his CRF250R to the main-event holeshot and settled into an early second position, setting the fastest lap of the race. Fire Power Honda’s Max Anstie overtook Hymas on lap 13 of 21, and Hymas slipped to fourth a couple laps later. Unfortunately, a late crash dropped him to 10th at the finish. Anstie posted an impressive second-place result, and TiLube Honda’s Henry Miller was seventh.

NOTES

  • With this being Chance Hymas’s 2024 racing debut, the Idaho native took part in a Feld-organized Tuesday virtual press conference, as well as Friday’s media-day activities, getting the opportunity for some track time.
  • Detroit is a rare AMA Supercross round with no Fan Fest, and the teams minimized time in the cold temperatures by working inside of their tractor-trailers and in an indoor pit area.
  • Detroit also featured an early schedule, with the main program kicking off at 3 p.m. local time.
  • The compact track resulted in low lap times and high lap counts. Jett Lawrence topped the combined 450SX times during morning qualifying, with a 43.190-second lap in the first session, while Hunter Lawrence was eighth-quickest. Hymas notched the sixth-best 250SX East time at his first race of the year, with Fire Power Honda’s Max Anstie an impressive second-best.
  • The 450SX heat races ran first in Detroit, and the first one saw Hunter Lawrence get a good start aboard his CRF450RWE and eventually finish in fourth place, three spots ahead of Phoenix Racing Honda’s Dylan Ferrandis. Jett Lawrence then got the holeshot in Heat 2 and, after an early challenge from Jason Anderson, led from lap 3 to the finish, for the first premier-class heat-race win of his career. Fire Power Honda’s Dean Wilson was sixth.
  • Chance Hymas jumped out to an early lead in the first 250SX East heat race. The Idaho native looked good, but he aggravated a knee injury when he dabbed his foot, slowing his pace and resulting in an eventual fourth-place result. Also advancing from the heat were TiLube Honda riders Luca Marsalisi and Trevor Colip. Their teammate Henry Miller made it through from heat 2, and Phoenix Racing Honda’s Cullin Park advanced from the last-chance qualifier.
  • With Jett’s win, Honda now has the most premier-class AMA Supercross wins in Detroit, with 21 compared to Yamaha’s 20.
  • Jett joins other Red Riders to have topped the premier class at Ford Field, including Davi Millsaps, Eli Tomac and Chase Sexton.
  • Jett’s victory vaulted him from fourth to second in the 450SX points standings, just one behind leader Chase Sexton. Hunter advanced one spot, to 10th.
  • AMA Supercross now returns to the 250SX West Region, with this Saturday’s round in Glendale, Arizona, where Jo Shimoda will be back in action. Then comes a weekend off.

Jett Lawrence
“It definitely feels nice to be up here after a rough couple of weeks on the riding side–it makes this win even sweeter. I know I’ve made some mental mistakes and had some silly decisions from wanting to win so bad. This was a nice reset, to get back to my old ways: getting a good start and hitting my marks.”

Hunter Lawrence
“It was a good weekend–another step forward. We’re trying to take all the positives we can at the moment. Eighth isn’t where we want to be, but we’ll keep working and keep getting better, week after week. It was a great night for the team though, with the win from Jettson.”

Chance Hymas
“Today was alright–a lot of positives to take away, but also some negatives we can work on. It felt great to get back behind the gate and race those guys after so long off. I definitely have some stuff to build off of for Arlington.”

Lars Lindstrom – Team Manager
“It was an interesting day for the team. I’m really proud of Chance Hymas for the speed, poise and starts he showed in the races. I’m hopeful he can rehab his knee now that he has a few weeks off so that he can continue his progress. I’m eager to keep building with Hunter so that he can race towards the front of the pack a little bit more; we know what we need to work on to make that happen. Obviously for Jett, his starts were perfect and his riding was exceptional, like we’ve all come to expect from him the last few years. It’s crazy after all the success we had last year, when you don’t get on the podium for three races how the feeling can change, but also how rewarding it is to get back up on top.”