The rider’s journey from Down-under to the winning plate – small in numbers, big in status. In fact, in the 51-year history of AMA Supercross Championships and 53-year history of AMA Motocross Championships, Australia has claimed Titles with rider’s: Chad Reed, Jett and Hunter Lawrence, and New Zealand’s Ben Townley has won sole AMA Supercross East 250 Championship.
The domination of American rider’s since the founding year in 1974 for AMA SX and 1972 for AMA MX is startling, with only a smattering of rider’s from outside the US taking the accolades over the past 6 decades. For aspiring, young, talented rider’s from Australia and NZ, the dream of racing in America is even more challenging given the physical distance rider’s cut their grass-roots skills away from the competitive racing scene in Europe and America.
As Hunter Lawrence explains in an interview, racing on debut in MX2 at MXGP of Qatar in 2017: ”coming from Juniors in Australia to here, in Europe – they race 25 minutes plus 2 laps. In Australian Junior MX Championships, I did 12 minutes plus 1 lap. Last year, when I raced the first 5 Rounds in European MX Championships 250, I never felt out of my depth. When I finished P2 in Race 1 at the Opening Round at Valkenswaard, I thought, I can really run with these guys”.
Such tests of ability was first brokered by Chad Reed when he made the transition from racing in Australia to Europe’s World Motocross 250 Championship in 2001. Reed not only won his first GP race on debut, but finished P2 overall prompting the decision to race in America’s AMA Supercross and Motocross Championships. Setting precedent for future down-under rider’s to follow suit, Chad etched his name in Motorsport history books, winning AMA SX 250 East Championship in 2002, AMA SX 450 Championship in 2004, and 2008, along with clinching AMA MX 450 Championship in 2009.
Hot on the heels of Chad, was NZ’s Ben Townley who made the move to race in Europe, winning his first World Motocross MX2 Championship in 2004. Like Reed, BT was hell-bent on following his dream to race in America, taking the giant leap of faith in 2006 and making history winning AMA Supercross East 250 Championship in 2007.
As Ben stated in an interview recently: ”racing in Europe was such a massive opportunity, so I took it with both hands and never let it go because I knew that this was probably my best shot at achieving my dream. When I went to the States, everything was different as I was under a very old school regime of running and cycling more than riding. The dirt bike became front and centre of the training programme which took a huge toll on my body. I dropped 8kgs in the space of 3 months”.
Fast forward to Ben’s role today, with his son Levi Townley winning World Junior Motocross Championship 85cc in 2024: ”it’s a tough road to make it to Pro from NZ, so we will have to wait and see how it goes for Levi. I love going through the process with them, seeing them achieve milestones and goals. It’s a tough sport and there are so many great lessons that you learn that will take you through life, in general”. Interview credit: Gatedrop.
The momentous success of Jett and Hunter Lawrence defies all odds of rider’s reaching the pinnacle of their chosen sport from growing up riding dirt in Australia, to gracing the top step of the podium in AMA Supercross and Motocross Championships. The journey undertaken has been massive, with the family leaving their home in Australia to pursue racing goals in Europe from 2016 to 2018, to moving everything again, to race America’s elite rider’s in AMA SX and MX Championships in 2019 to the present day.
Jett was just 12 years old and Hunter was 16 years when they left home in Australia, and with Dad – Darren – and Mum, each step of the journey has proved more than many could bear – as guarantees of achieving top results remained unknown. Yet, the desire for the family to stay united, focused, and committed to realizing the dream proved a winner with Jett taking 2021 AMA MX Championship 450, 2022 AMA SX East 250, 2022 AMA MX Championship 250, 2023 AMA SX West Championship 250, 2023 AMA MX Championship 450, 2024 AMA SX Championship 450, and Hunter winning 2023 AMA MX Championship 250, and 2023 AMA SX East Championship 250.
Given the current line-up this season, it goes beyond reasonable doubt that up-coming rider – Cole Davies from New Zealand could very well continue the pathway set way back by Chad Reed in 2001 – with Cole taking his first ever AMA SX East 250 podium of P3 at Anaheim 2 on debut, on January 26, 2025.
Header photo: A1 Red Bull Film. Image: Red Bull film.
Words: Sharon Cox.
Comments are closed.