Jett Lawrence wins Thunder Valley Moto 1 after intense pressure from Aaron Plessinger

NBC Sports

2 days ago

LAKEWOOD, Colorado: Jett Lawrence was pressured by his brother Hunter Lawrence and Aaron Plessinger, before claiming the win of Moto 1 at Thunder Valley Motocross Park.
'First, I knew it was AP [Aaron Plessinger] there, and then I looked back and it was Hunter, and then I made the mistakes and I see AP right there and I was confused,' Jett said from the top of the podium. 'My lines weren't the best in that one. Once AP got around he showed me a couple of good lines and I picked up on them and was able to get him on that lap.'
In the post-race news conference, Jett quipped that he thought he was going color blind for a moment with the rapidly changing complexion of his competition.
While the box score recorded another moto win for the Australian phenom, the competition gap closed significantly in this race with Plessinger able to pass him on track in the second half of the race.
'I don't think I'm frustrated at all,' Plessinger answered Peacock's Jason Thomas. 'All I can ask for is to be up here with those guys. These guys are going so fast, and man, I just battled with a dude that went 22 and 0 in 2023. To think I've come this far to battle with that dude and a multi-time champion, it's crazy. I just have to smooth some things out and I will be able to beat him.'
Plessinger settled for second, but after leading laps in Hangtown in Moto 1 and becoming one of the rare riders to pass Jett in race conditions in Thunder Valley, he is moving up the grid.
Tomac had a difficult time getting out of the fourth-place position. He attempted to pass Hunter early in the moto and failed. This took him out of his flow, and Tomac seemed to be destined for fourth until Hunter crashed on the final lap and handed him the position.
Hunter had a big enough gap to fifth-place Justin Cooper that he held onto fourth in the first race and kept his hope for the overall win alive.
Moto 1 Results
In-Race Notes
Hunter and Jett get their accustomed strong start with Plessinger and Tomac in tow. Jett was only fourth-fastest in qualification, which is the worst of his career.
By the end of Lap 1, Jett settled into the lead but Plessinger continued to pressure.
The top four settled in with Plessinger staying within two seconds of Jett.
Tomac had difficulty getting around Hunter as the top two pulled away away.
RJ Hampshire passed Justin Cooper for fifth-place spot on Lap 2.
Tomac finally got alongside Hunter on Lap 5, but couldn't close the deal. This battle was four seconds behind the leader.
Hunter wanted to get out of the contest with Tomac, so he passed Plessinger on Lap 6 for second.
On Lap 8, Hunter closed the gap on Jett to under one second.
After a couple of laps to give his brother confidence, Jett stretched the lead to 2.3 seconds on Lap 10.
Plessinger and Tomac were riding their own pace.
Cooper and Hampshire battled for fifth, 17 seconds behind the leader.
The race action heated up on Lap 11 with Plessinger repassing Hunter and pressuring Jett.
Mark Lap 13 on your scorecard. Plessinger passed Jett for the lead. That does not happen often.
Jett didn't let that go on for long. He's back up front half a lap later.
Jett won by 3.3 seconds over Plessinger.
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