Jett Lawrence sacrifices SMX title shot to repair ankle
Despite doing his best to hide the pain and anguish, it was obvious that Jett Lawrence was in agony at the AMA Pro Motocross finale after aggravating his already troublesome right ankle in the opening moto.
As someone with my own significant history of ankle injuries, that still intrudes on my daily life three decades later, I know how long the pain can linger and just how debilitating it can be.
There was still a fourth consecutive SMX crown and a million-dollar championship payout on the table, but neither seemed enough to justify the risk of doing still more damage to an ankle that had troubled him throughout the summer. Once the outdoor title was gone, the risk-to-reward equation looked horribly skewed.
I had immediate doubts that Jett would contest the three-round SMX postseason. Honda has now confirmed that the young Australian phenom will sit out both the Playoffs and the World Championship Final.
An injury that never truly went away
Lawrence originally injured the right ankle in a training crash last December. The injury and subsequent surgery ruled him out of the entire 17-round 2026 AMA Supercross Championship, but he recovered sufficiently to line up for the full 11-round AMA Pro Motocross season.
Being fit enough to race, however, was clearly not the same as being pain-free.
Jett remained remarkably competitive. He won four outdoor rounds and took the championship fight all the way to the final moto of the season, eventually finishing just two points behind Honda HRC Progressive teammate and older brother Hunter Lawrence.
Honda has now revealed that Jett battled varying levels of pain and discomfort throughout the series. The situation deteriorated sharply when he aggravated the ankle during the opening moto at Ironman Raceway, producing what the team described as renewed intense pain and instability.
Jett struggled home 11th in that opening race before somehow regrouping to finish third in Moto Two. Hunter’s 8-4 results were enough to secure the championship by two points, completing an extraordinary season-long contest between the Australian brothers. We took a closer look at that turbulent Ironman decider and Hunter’s breakthrough 450 crown here.
Jett is now scheduled to undergo follow-up surgery at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado, on Wednesday, September 9. Honda has not detailed the exact procedure or placed a timetable on his recovery, with the immediate priority simply to restore the ankle and eliminate the continuing pain.
Jett Lawrence
“I’ve made the decision with my team to sit out the SMX series to get my ankle back to 100% for the longevity of my career. I suffered through the summer and did everything I could to win the outdoor championship, but my ankle hasn’t felt right since the start of the season, and it’s even worse now after Ironman.
“I want to do everything I can to get back to being me. The most important thing is that I get back to being pain-free as I work towards next year. I appreciate the patience of my team, family and fans as I do everything I can to make that happen!”
The SMX reset had put Jett back in the title fight
Jett was not withdrawing from a championship in which his missed Supercross season had left him with no realistic chance. The unusual SMX postseason format had done precisely the opposite and placed him firmly back in contention.
The 17-round Supercross season and 11-round Pro Motocross Championship form the 28-round SMX regular season. Points scored in the corresponding class across the two championships are combined to determine the postseason seed order, with the top 20 qualifying directly for the two Playoffs and World Championship Final. Riders ranked 21st through 30th contest a Wild Card race for the last two places in each 22-rider field.
Those large regular-season totals do not carry into the postseason. Instead, points reset by seed: first receives 25, second 22, third 20, and fourth 18, followed by one-point reductions down to two points for the 20th seed.
Hunter amassed 820 combined points to secure the top seed, while Jett’s outdoor-only tally of 472 placed him fourth. The 348-point difference between the brothers would therefore have been compressed to just seven points at the start of the Playoffs: Hunter on 25 and Jett on 18. Jorge Prado will start on 22 as the second seed, with Cooper Webb third on 20.
Each postseason round uses two 20-minute-plus-one-lap motos. The moto finishes are combined using Olympic scoring; the lowest combined score wins the round, after which championship points are awarded according to that overall classification.
Playoff One uses the standard points scale and awards 25 to the winner. Playoff Two pays double points, making victory worth 50, while the World Championship Final pays triple points and awards 75 to the winner.
With 150 race points available across the three rounds, a seven-point starting deficit was slender. Jett remained a genuine threat to win a fourth consecutive 450SMX crown and another US$1 million championship payout.
The format wiped away almost all the numerical damage from missing Supercross and offered Jett a fresh title fight, yet his ankle was serious enough that he and Honda still judged the long-term risk too great.
As Jett put it, this is about the longevity of his career. For anyone who has lived with a major ankle injury long after the original accident, that reasoning is painfully easy to understand.
Hunter now carries Honda’s 450SMX challenge
Jett’s absence ends his pursuit of a fourth straight SMX Championship and leaves Hunter as Honda HRC Progressive’s representative in the premier class.
Hunter enters the postseason as the number-one seed after finishing just three points short of the 2026 AMA Supercross crown and then winning his first 450 Pro Motocross Championship. He also pushed Jett closely before finishing runner-up in the 2025 450SMX title chase.
Brandon Wilson — American Honda Manager of Racing & Experiential
“We’re sorry that Jett won’t be able to go for his fourth consecutive SMX Championship, but the entire team supports him in this decision. Although it would be great to see him battle for another SMX title, he has a long career ahead of him, and we’re in full support of doing what’s necessary to get back as close to 100% as possible.
“In the meantime, we look forward to taking on the SMX Playoffs with Hunter, Jo and Chance, all of whom should be very competitive.”
The postseason opens at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on September 12. Playoff Two follows at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, on September 19, before the World Championship Final at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena in Ridgedale, Missouri, on September 26.
Jett’s vacant place among the 20 seeded riders will also create an additional opportunity for a provisional competitor to qualify through the Wild Card race at each round.
Playoff One will be held at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on September 12. Playoff Two follows at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, on September 19, before the World Championship Final at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena in Ridgedale, Missouri, on September 26.
Leading 450SMX seeds
- Hunter Lawrence – 820 combined points; 25 reset points
- Jorge Prado – 590 combined points; 22 reset points
- Cooper Webb – 579 combined points; 20 reset points
- Jett Lawrence – 472 combined points; 18 reset points
- Dylan Ferrandis – 445 combined points; 17 reset points
- Garrett Marchbanks – 438 combined points; 16 reset points
- Haiden Deegan – 404 combined points; 15 reset points
- Eli Tomac – 396 combined points; 14 reset points
- RJ Hampshire – 384 combined points; 13 reset points
- Ken Roczen – 349 combined points; 12 reset points
Leading 250SMX seeds
- Cole Davies – 638 combined points; 25 reset points
- Levi Kitchen – 541 combined points; 22 reset points
- Ryder DiFrancesco – 490 combined points; 20 reset points
- Chance Hymas – 402 combined points; 18 reset points
- Julien Beaumer – 369 combined points; 17 reset points
- Kayden Minear – 324 combined points; 16 reset points
- Nate Thrasher – 316 combined points; 15 reset points
- Seth Hammaker – 314 combined points; 14 reset points
- Carson Mumford – 314 combined points; 13 reset points
- Daxton Bennick – 302 combined points; 12 reset points
