The 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship was stuffed with almost everything we could wish for – apart from a fourth Lawrence championship – as Chase Sexton and Haiden Deegan claimed outdoors honours this year.
Off the back of consecutive 450cc championships in both the 2023 Pro Motocross and 2024 Monster Energy Supercross championships, Australians’ expectations were high that the Lawrence train would continue rolling on when we headed outdoors this year. After all, Jett was in the form of his life, and his Team Honda HRC team-mate and elder brother, Hunter, was also stepping up for his rookie year in the 450MX class. Even at the opening round at Fox Raceway, the ingredients were still all there for a Lawrence 1-2 this season, as Jett continued his perfect win-streak, and Hunter pushed him hard in the opening moto.
Then the wheels fell off. On the opening lap at Hangtown the following weekend, Jett crashed hard and limped home, while Chase Sexton scored the overall, thanks in no small part to an incredible ride from dead last to take the win in the second moto.
Jett miraculously rebounded to snatch a bunch of round wins, before he injured his thumb in a practice crash and had to sit the rest of the season out.
That put the burden squarely on Hunter’s shoulders, and although he tied on round points with Sexton at three rounds, the Red Bull KTM rider steadily eked out a lead, winning six rounds on the trot to finish the 2024 season with his first 450MX championship, as Hunter was forced to settle for a dissatisfying runner-up.
In the 250MX class, it was all about the Dangerboy, Haiden Deegan. The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider was in a league of his own all year, proving to be crazy-strong at the ends of motos where he could almost pass the guys ahead of him on a whim.
While there were five different round winners, (Deegan, Tom Vialle, Levi Kitchen, Chance Hymas and Ty Masterpool), the polarising Deegan won five motos, podiumed at nine rounds and never finished lower than P5 in any overall – impressive stats in the always unpredictable quarter-litre class.
Expect Deegan to stay down in the 250 class for next year’s supercross championship, before stepping up for his rookie season in the 450s against the biggest hitters in the business.
Catching up with Chase Sexton
After Ironman you said you’re in the best form of your career. How do you reflect on this year’s championship?
It started pre-season. The journey we took through testing and into supercross was a big jump, switching manufacturers to KTM. The bike’s a lot different, I went from an aluminum frame to steel, and there were struggles. In supercross it seemed every time we had a good race we’d follow it up with a bad one, and I never really got momentum.
The team kept pushing and allowed me to try a lot of different stuff that no-one’s really tried before, and if we hadn’t, I don’t think we would’ve got to this spot for outdoors. The bike allowed me to do a lot of things that I struggled with in years past and allowed me to use my strengths to win. After the halfway mark I didn’t touch the bike, I was really comfortable and it allowed me to grow as a rider.
It was a really special season, everyone talks about 2022 with me and Eli, but this year I took aspects from that year and the frustrations from last year into 2024. I feel I took a step up in my career and it’s nice to be a two-time champion.
With what you’ve learnt and applied to the outdoor bike and your own form, are you able to apply that for future seasons?
A lot of the stuff we learnt from outdoors we can take and switch over for supercross. The SMX Playoffs are a weird hybrid, so we’ll see the real finished product in 2025.
As for my form, I feel my speed and ability to put more pressure on the other riders this year was a standout.
Every race we started to improve, but Southwick has never been my specialty and I’ve never been a sand rider. Winning a moto there is crazy and that race was the kickstart to my run. After Southwick, I didn’t make many mistakes and that was about being comfortable with the bike and it allowing me to push. The KTM has a very stable front-end, which I like, this bike and chassis just loves being pushed hard.
After you won last year’s supercross title, Jett took the next two series. How difficult was it to work through that, how did you stay motivated?
In 2023 supercross I was starting to get to that point where I was getting to that new level, but then crashed at Pala and hit my head. I was also dealing with stuff with blood tests and I wasn’t in a good spot mentally. I came back early but I wasn’t feeling great, and I got my ass kicked all season. I never got back to 100 per cent. SMX I was better, but I was still teetering on the point of being good or not.
After switching teams during the off-season, I struggled with the bike changes in supercross but built towards the end of the season, then for this outdoor season I was able to overcome almost a year straight of struggles. It was a tough road, but when things get hard, I tend to shine. I’ve had a lot of people in my corner to try and get me through it, and it was very rewarding this summer to overcome it, as the battle inside your own head is the hardest one to win.
What would be the highlights of your season?
It’s hard to not think of the second moto at Hangtown. It’s something you never even think of accomplishing, nor do you want to! But that race was special, as was winning at my home race at RedBud as I grew up racing there. Ironman was also special because it was for the championship, and it’s another track that’s close to home and I had a lot of family and friends there.
Every race, I got better. Ironman was probably my best riding for the year.
Now that you’re in top form and the bike’s in a good spot, do you wish you’d had the chance to battle the likes of Eli Tomac and Jett Lawrence, both of who missed most of the season?
Definitely, because I’m a different version of myself. The guy who was out there last year isn’t the same guy who raced this year. This outdoor series has allowed me to unlock that new level, lots of people believed I could get there but it’s taken longer that we’d all planned. I’m excited and it’ll be a different story next year. I’m ready to go out there and battle everyone.
You’re now established in the 450MX class and have started most races so far. How have you ensured you’re able to line up for all of the races across all the championships?
It comes down to having fun. It’s so long and gruelling, that if you’re not having fun it’s going to get the best of you eventually. Growing up where I did, I could only ride in spring, summer and fall, and I think in a way that benefited me.
Kids who ride all year round might hit that burnout stage quicker, but I still love riding. I still play-ride during the week and make time to have fun. That’s allowed me to finish seasons strong as that’s when championships are won. I’ve always strived to finish strong and the last four or five races are always my best in any championship.
Is it more difficult to find that fun when you’re struggling during supercross, or if you have a costly crash?
It’s hard, but even when you’re winning you can’t let yourself get too high, and when you’re losing you can’t let yourself get too low. You’ve got to try and find that balance. I’m a pretty emotional person, so that’s tough.
Supercross taught me that when it’s bad, you can’t let that overwhelm you. You’ve got to push through. It’s tough, but you need to train yourself to mentally overcome that and be less emotional, and stay more even-keeled.
With the SMX Playoffs, is there anything you learnt from last year that you can take into this year?
Last year I won the first one, but we had no idea what it would be like. I’m just going to go there and be light on my feet and react to what the track’s like, and rely on all the years I’ve been riding a dirt bike.
You don’t really know what the track’s going to be like when you get there or what suspension to run. Last year we made the right call at Charlotte and won both motos, but at Chicago I ran supercross suspension, which wasn’t the right call, and Los Angeles went well until it wasn’t. It’s about reacting to the track, going back to the team and making good adjustments. Last year we made wrong ones, we didn’t know what to do and kind of panicked. This year we’ve got more experience, but it’s a weird little series.
You’ve now got two 250 supercross titles, a 450 supercross title and a 450 outdoor title. What are you most proud of, and what do you want to be remembered for when you retire?
It’s nice to have four championships and they’re all special in their own way but this outdoor title means a lot because I was never the best outdoor rider. In 2022 I was good, but I lost to Eli in the last race. So this one means a lot as I was able to overcome that and win.
At the end of the day, I want to be one of the best in the sport and I want to be someone young kids can look up to, to never give up. The more the years go by, the softer people get, but I want to be remembered as gritty, disciplined and determined.
How important is it for you to soak in and reflect on your success, and when do you get the chance to do that?
It’s kinda tough. When you win a supercross championship, you’ve still got over half the season to race. It’s not really until after the season that you can reflect back at what you’ve accomplished.
You dream of getting to this point as a racer, but the more you win, it’s like a sickening disease, you just want to do it more. Winning one or two or four is never enough, it’s addictive and it makes me want to win more and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon.
5 minutes with Hunter Lawrence
You always take an analytical approach to your racing, but after Budds Creek you seemed to get a bit mad and think ‘I really want a round win before the year’s over’, as you were always so close.
Yeah, I went 1-2 multiple times this year, and after the third or fourth time I was like, ‘this sucks’. It’s quite a substantial pay-day for first as opposed to second, especially after you let a couple slip by. So I wanted to make it happen, but it didn’t work out for me, unfortunately.
What do you think it’ll take to turn those 1-2s into that elusive round win next year?
It seems like it’s such a simple thing, with the second moto not being as good as the first. They’re still good, but they’re just lacking that few per cent. I think I managed it well by not riding above my ability and over my head to force that second place, which could’ve resulted in a crash or something worse. Maybe I’m not quite there at the level of 1-1s yet, and the number one guy, Chase, put together the whole puzzle this year and he’s a really strong competitor. For my first year, I think I did extremely well.
You had a couple times this year where you dominated a couple of races. Did you learn anything that you could’ve brought to the second races of the day?
Yes and no, I was just trying to get better throughout the year. I’m not racing any mediocre guys, and I just tried to do my best every time I was on the track. Apart from RedBud, I don’t feel like I put a foot wrong that’s ended up in a really big mistake, but that one bit me pretty bad. I can’t really rush progress to be where I should be in six months’ time, so it’s about taking it day by day.
As a rookie in the 450 class, what’s it been like riding the new bike and against guys you haven’t raced before?
You set new goals for yourself to try and achieve new things, so that’s one thing I’ve enjoyed, just getting better as a racer. One of the main goals I had moving up to the 450MX class is to keep developing as a racer. That’s been really cool, and that 450 is a hell of a machine.
Looking back on the year, you failed to qualify at Anaheim 1, but now you’re a podium mainstay. How much do you think you’ve grown?
There wasn’t anything analytical about Anaheim 1, it just plain sucked but that’s in the past, and I definitely built throughout the supercross season. Coming off my season last year, you have to abide by that old saying “trust the process”. It’s all good, we’re going to keep chipping away. The guys who win, they still go back to work during the week, so regardless of your result, you go back and work. That’s all we did this year, it’s been head down, bum up the whole time and we’ll continue to do that.
Championship points
450MX
1 Chase Sexton (KTM) 504
2 Hunter Lawrence (Honda) 462
3 Aaron Plessinger (KTM) 403
4 Justin Cooper (Yamaha) 371
5 Jason Anderson (Kawasaki) 362
6 Malcolm Stewart (Husqvarna) 297
7 Dylan Ferrandis (Honda) 288
8 Christian Craig (Husqvarna) 244
9 Jett Lawrence (Honda) 210
10 Fredrik Noren (Kawasaki) 204
250MX
1 Haiden Deegan (Yamaha) 481
2 Tom Vialle (KTM) 412
3 Levi Kitchen (Kawasaki) 405
4 Chance Hymas (Honda) 349
5 Ty Masterpool (Kawasaki) 316
6 Jo Shimoda (Honda) 289
7 Jalek Swoll (Triumph) 277
8 Pierce Brown (GasGas) 269
9 Jordon Smith (Yamaha) 253
10 Ryder DiFrancesco (GasGas) 250
WORDS | SIMON MAKKER
PHOTOS | VARIOUS
