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So much has been said about the Lawrence brothers thus far this year and it has been overwhelmingly positive. Such positivity would lead one to think that Hunter Lawrence’s path to the 250SX East crown was fairly simple. That would be recency bias, in a sense, but it’s crucial to acknowledge all that Hunter overcame to get to this point. Yes, Hunter. This is not about Jett nor is it about the family. This is time to place the spotlight firmly on the latest champion.
Being the older brother meant that Hunter was the first to face issues that the family had not seen or heard of previously. Mistakes were inevitably made, as they are in any walk of life, but that information aided Jett and ensured that he had somewhat of a shortcut. It is easier to overcome issues when they are expected, huh? Hunter was the guinea pig in a sense and it has not always been easy, despite the fact that he has had such success in different corners of the globe.
There was hype surrounding him when he first arrived in Europe as an EMX250 entrant for Kawasaki’s MX2 effort, CLS. The team had fallen from the heights that they once operated at but Hunter was able to make an immediate impact via a second place in the first moto of the season. It was at round three that he swept both motos and confirmed his status as a future champion. Such momentum was short lived as a knee injury ended his season and, unfortunately, this became a theme.
Hunter moved to Suzuki for the following season, along with Jett, and entered the MX2 ranks beneath the watchful eye of Stefan Everts, where he raced to three podiums and a victory in the final moto of the term. Suzuki’s interest soon waned and thus he was on the move again. A four-year contract with Honda was secured (one term in Grands Prix to be followed by three at the now defunct GEICO Honda). It was a dream deal. Well, on paper.
The Honda 114 Motorsports set-up that was established in Grands Prix was not ready for a contender like Hunter. There was a virus, broken metacarpal, underpowered bike and broken promises. It was a horrid year that meant that he left Grands Prix without an overall win and that seemed so unlikely just twelve months previously, when he was considered a title contender. A fresh start in the United States awaited Hunter though.
There were injuries on three different occasions in his first season aboard a GEICO Honda, 2019, then multiple shoulder dislocations awaited him in 2020. It was a tricky period for ’96’ and understandably so. So many riders would lose faith, after so many setbacks, and there were a handful of industry folk who had all but written Hunter off. It was in those two years that Jett began to grab headlines and so Hunter lost some of his identity. The “Jett’s brother” label was locked in.
To summarise the words above, Hunter faced countless troubles from the May of 2016 to the January of 2021. There were positive spots, of course, like a handful of Grand Prix podiums and moto victories in Pro Motocross, but those were overshadowed by the setbacks. Fortunately, the past two years and a half have included a steady rise. “Steady” is the understatement of the century, in fact, seeing as he has almost had a perfect season in 2023 Monster Energy Supercross.
Who would have ever thought that when he suffered yet another dislocated shoulder at the final round of 2020 Pro Motocross and serious questions were raised about his future? There is almost no doubt that he would have struggled to envision such success in the darkest days, but what a comeback story for the flamboyant Australian. This is why it’s important to separate Hunter from Jett in some instances; the similarities do end at a point.
Did they both travel from Australia and carve a career in international motocross? Sure. Jett’s tale can be summed up in fewer words though and certainly features less lows. Give Hunter the credit that he deserves and an extra pat on the back. After all, he re-emerged from the depths of hell.
