Jett Lawrence answered most of the questions surrounding his health last week in the Hangtown Motocross Classic with a sweep of the motos and overall win. He limped on and off the podium, but was not nearly as hindered when he walked into the post-race media scrum.
Hunter Lawrence needs to provide some answers this week at Thunder Valley Motocross Park in Lakewood, Colorado, in Round 20 of the SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX), Round 3 of Pro Motocross, as to whether he can challenge his brother head-to-head.
Hangtown was likely a preview of what motocross fans can expect in the coming weeks. Jett rocketed out to significant leads in both motos and then adjusted his pace for minimal strain on his ankle. Even at 80 or 90 percent, he is simply that much faster than the competition.
Hangtown was the 19th time that Jett has finished 1-1. It was also his 25th overall victory in 29 starts, an overall winning ratio of 86 percent. By comparison, the GOAT Ricky Carmichael won 22 of his first 29 starts (76 percent).
Hunter showed patience, perhaps too much so, as he followed Haiden Deegan for half of the first moto before assuming the second position. He earned the holeshot during the second moto before a red flag gave Jett a second chance to lead the field.
Deegan rounded out the podium after finishing third in both motos. He started with the leaders once, and barely inside the top 10 during Moto 2. Those riders should dominate the box again this week.
The Thunder Valley National has run uninterrupted since 2005, and its recent history has been dominated by Jett, who has three overall wins in three starts. During last week’s post-race media scrum, he refused to commit to how the Colorado track surface would affect his ankle, but it’s unlikely he will struggle. He also won the 2022 250 overall and finished second in that division in 2021.
Last week, Justin Cooper crashed hard on the first lap of the second moto when Mikkel Haarup laid his bike down in his path. Cooper’s fans hope that he mounts up this week, because this is his best venue, according to WeWentFast.com. In two 450 starts, he’s earned one overall podium and stood on the box three times in four motos.
Last week was the first time in his 450 career that Cooper missed a moto.
UPDATE: Justin Cooper out with a concussion, eyes RedBud return
Lucas Coenen leads a brigade of visiting international riders that will highlight all three classes. His brother, Sacha Coenen, will race in the 250 class. Lotte van Drunen will race in the WMX Series this week.
Both Coenen brothers are coming off overall victories in their last Grand Prix in Latvia.
Lucas is the current MXGP points leader by 62 over Jeffrey Herlings.
250 Notes
Levi Kitchen scored the overall victory last week with second-place finishes in both motos. Those strong rides elevated him to second in the championship standings, and he hopes to do something he has never done: affix the red plate to the front of his bike.
Kitchen has a solid chance. He finished third three times in the past four 250 Thunder Valley rounds, including last year when he crossed under the checkers behind Chance Hymas and Deegan.
Seth Hammaker and Cole Davies won the motos at Hangtown.
Sacha Coenen is the current MX2 points leader, 37 points ahead of Simon Längenfelder.
2026 SuperMotocross Top-10 finishers
450s
Hunter Lawrence (6 wins, 14 podiums, 16 top-fives, 18 top-10s) [5 Moto wins]
Ken Roczen (5 wins, 11 podiums, 15 top-fives, 17 top-10s) [3 Moto wins] *
Eli Tomac (4 wins, 9 podiums, 11 top-fives, 12 top-10s) [1 Moto win]
Chase Sexton (2 wins, 3 podiums, 9 top-fives, 15 top-10s)
Cooper Webb (1 win, 8 podiums, 12 top-fives, 16 top-10s)
Jett Lawrence (1 win, 2 podiums, 2 top-fives, 2 top-10s) [2 Moto wins]
Justin Cooper (4 podiums, 10 top-fives, 15 top-10s) [2 Moto wins]
Jorge Prado (3 podiums, 5 top-fives, 10 top-10s)
Malcolm Stewart (1 podium, 3 top-fives, 12 top-10s)
Haiden Deegan (1 podium, 2 top-fives, 2 top-10)
Joey Savatgy (4 top-fives, 11 top-10s)
Justin Hill (2 top-fives, 7 top-10s)
Jason Anderson (2 top-fives, 3 top-10s)
Dylan Ferrandis (1 top-five, 13 top-10s)
Garrett Marchbanks (1 top-five, 8 top-10s)
Aaron Plessinger (7 top-10s)
Shane McElrath (5 top-10s)
Christian Craig (4 top-10s)
Dean Wilson (3 top-10s)
RJ Hampshire (3 top-10s)
Colt Nichols (2 top-10s)
Justin Barcia (2 top-10s)
Jordon Smith (1 top-10)
Mikkel Haarup (1 top-10)
*Supercross Champion
250s
Haiden Deegan (7 wins, 8 podiums, 10 top-fives, 10 top-10s) [3 Moto wins] **
Cole Davies (6 wins, 10 podiums, 12 top-fives, 12 top-10s) [5 Moto wins] +
Seth Hammaker (2 wins, 8 podiums, 11 top-fives, 11 top-10s) [3 Moto wins]
Levi Kitchen (1 win, 6 podiums, 10 top-fives, 11 top-10s) [1 Moto win]
Max Anstie (1 win, 3 podiums, 5 top-fives, 9 top-10s)
Nate Thrasher (1 win, 2 podiums, 4 top-fives, 7 top-10s) [1 Moto win]
Pierce Brown (1 win, 2 podiums, 3 top-fives, 3 top-10s)
Ryder DiFrancesco (3 podiums, 8 top-fives, 10 top-10s)
Jo Shimoda (3 podiums, 6 top-fives, 7 top-10s)
Cameron McAdoo (3 podiums, 5 top-fives, 5 top-10s)
Daxton Bennick (2 podiums, 6 top-fives, 9 top-10s)
Michael Mosiman (2 podiums, 4 top-fives, 6 top-10s)
Julien Beaumer (1 podium, 2 top-fives, 2 top-10s)
Devin Simonson (1 podium, 1 top-five, 7 top-10s)
Chance Hymas (1 podium, 1 top-five, 4 top-10s)
Landen Gordon (1 podium, 1 top-five, 2 top-10s)
Caden Dudney (1 podium, 1 top-five, 1 top-10)
Maximus Vohland (2 top-fives, 9 top-10s)
Coty Schock (2 top-fives, 8 top-10s)
Henry Miller (1 top-five, 5 top-10s)
Kayden Minear (1 top-five, 2 top-10s)
Hunter Yoder (7 top-10s)
Nick Romano (5 top-10s)
Parker Ross (4 top-10s)
Derek Kelley (4 top-10s)
Carson Mumford (4 top-10s)
Cullin Park (3 top-10s)
Dilan Schwartz (2 top-10s)
Avery Long (2 top-10s)
Jalek Swoll (2 top-10s)
Maximus Vohland (2 top-10s)
Kyle Peters (2 top-10s)
Drew Adams (2 top-10s)
Marshal Weltin (2 top-10s)
Josh Varize (2 top-10s)
Lux Turner (2 top-10s)
Anthony Bourdon (1 top-10)
Luke Neese (1 top-10)
Izaih Clark (1 top-10)
Gavin Towers (1 top-10)
Robbie Wageman (1 top-10)
** Supercross East Champion
+ Supercross West Champion
[Moto wins include Feature wins from the Supercross series.]
Recent Thunder Valley races
450s
2025: Jett Lawrence (Followed by Eli Tomac, Aaron Plessinger)
2024: Jett Lawrence (Hunter Lawrence, Justin Cooper)
2023: Jett Lawrence (Aaron Plessinger, Cooper Webb)
2022: Ken Roczen (Eli Tomac, Chase Sexton)
2021: Ken Roczen (Dylan Ferrandis, Adam Cianciarulo)
250s
2025: Chance Hymas (Haiden Deegan, Levi Kitchen)
2024: Haiden Deegan (Chance Hymas, Tom Vialle)
2023: Hunter Lawrence (Justin Cooper, Levi Kitchen)
2022: Jett Lawrence (Hunter Lawrence, Levi Kitchen)
2021: Justin Cooper (Jett Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence)
Motocross Previews
Supercross Previews
Anaheim 1 | San Diego | Anaheim 2 | Houston | Glendale | Seattle | Arlington | Daytona | Indianapolis | Birmingham | Detroit | St. Louis | Nashville | Cleveland | Philadelphia | Denver | Salt Lake City
