JETT LAWRENCE - GRIT 239 450SX

GRIT-239 | 450 SX

Looking to retain the confidence and attitude that comes with the points lead, Honda's Jett Lawrence portrayed a business-like demeanor when rolling to the start straightaway for practice for this early February weekend. Following a phenomenal showing amongst all of the qualification rounds, he would storm into the initial corner of heat two right alongside his familiar foe, Jason Anderson. They remained civil in the moments thereafter, leaping past one another on multiple occasions while keeping a significant pace at the pinnacle of the leaderboard. Though slight brake checks and instances of running high were cast by both parties, it was Lawrence who ultimately claimed the lead as the third lap was finalized and never looked back. His gap over Anderson, and Ken Roczen would stretch to multiple seconds for the duration of the ten lap contest...proving that Jett was in total control of the pace being established. He swept through the sand section on one final occasion to put a definitive stamp on the performance he had just demonstrated...winning with style and embodying a sense of rejuvenation prior to embarking on the main event. Clicking into gear for the finalé, his starting sequence was one of brilliance. The Honda rider was composed with arguably two of his greatest championship rivals just behind him, demonstrating fluidity while the track became more difficult by the minute. Steadily, he stood his ground as Tomac began to drift and Sexton remained engaged in second - monitoring each of his opponents whereabouts in paralleled sections that were behind him. Through the first quarter of the moto, he was incredible...which led to the halfway point where again, Lawrence could somehow remain focused and engaged without wavering to distractions. Dodging lap traffic while leaping from rut to rut and blasting through the sandy finish line corner, his lead began to hover around the five-second mark where he appeared in control while maintaining the reign of the pack. Seventy-five percent of the finalé was the next chapter to be conquered per se, and Lawrence bursted into the final leg of the moto with extraordinary prowess. Despite having a near-endo when leaping onto the tabletop just after the finish line (which he somehow saved), there was little else that could be critiqued as he powered forward to a victorious designation! Taking the win while forcing the field to acknowledge him, Lawrence's win in Detroit was enough to garner second place in the championship standings, while only one point behind KTM's Chase Sexton.

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