Shocking news for the 450 class defending champ Jett Lawrence, as Honda has announced he suffered a thumb injury on his private track in Florida, forcing him to miss the remainder of the Pro Motocross season. The injury will require surgery, but the goal for the Australian is to recover in time for the first SuperMotocross Playoff on September 7th.
It is also expected to be ready for the Motocross of Nations (October 5 & 6) and for the Paris Supercross and AUSX-Open in December.
Without Jett, the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross 450 title battle will focus on Hunter Lawrence and Chase Sexton, who currently sit 2nd and 3rd in the championship tied with 210 points. It’s also a new opportunity for Justin Cooper, currently 4th with a 34-point deficit.
Check the press release by Honda:
Having injured his thumb in a small practice crash Tuesday, Team Honda HRC rider Jett Lawrence will undergo a procedure this week, which will result in him sitting out the remainder of the AMA Pro Motocross series.
The fall took place on Tuesday, July 2, at the “Dog Pound” (the Lawrence family’s private training facility in Florida). Later the same day, Jett underwent X-ray and MRI scans, and it was determined that he had a torn ulnar collateral ligament, or UCL. [Technical diagnosis: proximal thumb avulsion fracture at the insertion of the UCL, a sprain of that same ligament, and an avulsive ligamentous tear of the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) volar plate from its metacarpal attachment.]
Jett is scheduled to undergo a procedure on Thursday, July 4, at the Steadman Clinic in Colorado, after which he will focus on making a return in time for the SuperMotocross opener on September 7 in Concord, North Carolina.
“It’s obviously a bummer, but it’s part of our sport,. It was honestly a pretty small crash, but it is what it is. I’ve been pretty lucky with injuries in my career so far, so I guess it’s just my turn. I was happy with the progress we’ve made in the championship since my setback at Hangtown, and I was excited to try and keep my championship. That obviously won’t happen now, but I have a good team around me and will focus on getting healthy again and coming back at 100 percent. I look forward to cheering on Hunter and doing whatever I can to help him the rest of the series.”
