The opening sequences of the film places the rider’s within the context of their profession – racing Supercross verges on dangerous, risky, with and without rewards. As Hunter states, ”yes, the money is unreal”, Jett: ”for a Championship we can earn a million”, and for Chase: ”the stakes are higher”. With tight tracks, cross rutting, concrete surrounds, and a margin of error that is not very big – the film explores what makes the challenge so appealing?
Hunter explains: ”Saturday night, when it’s the Main Event and you’re on the starting line, that’s the time that I really, really live for. You can feel in the air guys that are nervous, guys that are second guessing themselves”. Such a feeling cannot be replicated anywhere else.
As the story unfolds, shooting takes place at Honda HRC’s test track at Corona, California, 4 weeks prior to the Opening Round at Anaheim on January 11, 2025. In stark contrast to the lights, camera, and action of racing, dialogue focuses on the work ethics of Jett, Hunter, and their father – Darren – with Honda HRC Team personal. Discussions revolve around the all important suspension settings, options to tweak along with nailing the best possible ‘window’ of bike performance given the variations of track layouts across upcoming, consecutive Rounds.
Troy Adamitis – film producer – relays the unique elements of the partnership between Jett, Hunter and their Team, coupled with the trust-worthy confidence of Darren Lawrence who has supported the brother’s from day 1. Neither marginalized for being too close to his sons, Darren’s thought provoking conversations in the film reinforce the meaning of family in a sport which can pull people apart as well as keep them together.
As confirmed by Honda HRC’s Team Manager – Lars Linstrom – ”I think Hunter, and I’m sure he has learnt this from Darren his Dad – you put the work in now so that you can get the bike and everything you need in order”. Such insight and transparent communications between Team and rider’s not only cements the commitment to achieve objectives pre-racing but also serves as a benchmark for future success on the track.
For Troy Adamitis, the challenge to extract honest conversations from Jett, Hunter, Darren, and Honda HRC Team personal was exciting to execute and deliver. Troy: ”When Jeremy Malott rang and asked me if I was interested in working with him on a documentary about their athletes Hunter and Jett Lawrence, Chase Sexton, and Ken Roczen, I was excited for the opportunity right away. We had little time, and not many shoot days, but I like the idea of trying to turn around content quickly. I thought it worked out well, though it was a bummer we missed out on Roczen, he was under the weather the day we planned on filming him”.
The film, then transitions to exploring the racing world of Red Bull KTM rider – Chase Sexton. Adamitis uses subtle techniques to convey the changing dynamics of the sport to viewer’s by questioning the reasons why KTM had a great run winning Supercross Championships in 2015 – 2017, 2019, and 2021, and none since, followed by Chase’s decision to switch from racing with Honda HRC to Red Bull KTM ahead of the 2024 season.
Notwithstanding the personal and professional reasons why Chase made the move, the camera lense captures the motivations behind the decision, based on Chase’s own innate sense on doing what is best for him. Neither rattled by the challenges faced racing his first season with a new team, nor discouraged that bike set-up was still not on point, Chase remained steadfast that his self determination would achieve winning results in the near future.
Slicing through the hard and demanding pre-season testing, the film brings viewer’s to the Lawrence’s home base in Florida. The shots of Darren continuing the daily grind of prepping the track for Jett and Hunter’s return along with sharing his thoughts on the family’s journey – from living at home in Australia, to racing in Europe, to winning America’s Motocross and Supercross Championships – quells any notion that turning dreams into reality is no mean feat.
This unique aspect of the story highlights the strength of the Lawrence’s family bond. As Troy explains: ”I did not know the story of the Lawrence family before we began filming. I knew there was content out there about their journey to the top, but I tried not to watch a lot of it and approach the story as if it was being told for the first time. We leaned towards putting it together for the fringe fans that may not know the Lawrence’s and hoped that the core audience would enjoy our take even though they probably already knew the details”.
Troy: ”There is so much to say about the Lawrence’s and I feel like we just scratched the surface. Even in a long form show it feels like you never have enough time to go into depth and to really understand the sacrifices they made. I hope we did it justice because the family is the model for how to win a war as a unit. Fantastic people”.
Relative to beating the odds, the story shifts focus to understanding Chase Sexton’s cool, calm composure heading into Anaheim 1 in 26 days, filming at his home base in Florida. Adamitis reveals Chase’s self determination to use all experience, knowledge, and hard-knocks learnt racing over the seasons to further improve his own levels of performances on the bike.
As Chase states: ”I think throughout the years, all the things I’ve been tested with has kind of taught me to believe in myself and always better myself. When I’m on, I don’t think there is anyone on the track that can beat me. That’s why – if I don’t have a good Heat Race – I always go to the Live confident in myself and believe in what I can do”.
Such characteristics are evident when Chase remained ‘hard nosed’ on keeping his trainer, Peter Park, muting the requirement of KTM rider’s to train at Aldon Baker’s facility in Florida. Chase knew he had the best training programme, and proved his courage of conviction by winning AMA Motocross Championship in 2024, thereby fueling his motivations and momentum to achieve winning results in AMA Supercross Championship in 2025.
The climax of the story is on Race Day, at Angel Stadium, Southern California on January 11, 2025. Build-up of anticipation on who will take out the ultimate winning prize reaches crescendo amongst Media, fans, and global audience watching Live from Heat Races 1 and 2 to the Main event in the evening. Adamitis selectively raises awareness to viewer’s that the distance between nailing bike settings in pre-season can be on or off target come race day, and as the gates dropped, the sport unleashed all unknowns in the matter of split seconds.
Hunter crashed in Practice, Jett was unsure of the bike settings in the whoops, and Chase remained an enigma of confidence, that it was going to be his night, taking the first win of the season. Remarkably, the Lawrence’s shared their reactions back at the trailer straight after the race: Hunter: ”No, skimming the whoops and not getting around” Jett: ”every whoop it hit it was just zing, zing, zing”, and Darren: ”we’re just a bit behind on the bike so we will just have to go back to work on that”.
For Troy Adamitis, the film was a rare opportunity to tell a story with honesty and inspiration on how rider’s: Chase, Jett, and Hunter have achieved their goals and ambitions racing America’s Supercross Championships, along with exposing the vulnerabilities of each rider in sharing their journey.
”The people we like to work with are those that are not afraid of what others think. The best characters have nothing to hide. Chase Sexton, Jett and Hunter are those characters. They are honest and open about who they are and what they want. They don’t mind admitting their mistakes and showing a side of them that is vulnerable. The audience will not be able to connect with someone that is putting up a front or does an interview where they are not willing to say what they believe. I appreciate being able to ask these racers tough questions and they have the confidence in themselves to be honest. The viewer appreciates that as well”.
”For instance, when Jett and Hunter did not achieve what they wanted at the first round, I thought there was no way they are going to want to stand in front of the camera and talk about their shortcomings. But they took it on the chin and gave us the sound bites we needed to help close the story. I believe that goes back to what we talked about earlier, it’s because they were brought up well and know how to take their bumps and keep fighting. These racers are great people. They are role models. It’s important to tell these stories because I know there is someone out there that needs motivation in their lives”.
”I really want to thank Wes Williams, Tom Journet, Align Media, Michael Lindsay, Mikey Neal, Feld Motor Sports and of course you Sharon. Without the footage everyone contributed we would only have interviews and narration. Archive footage has such a huge value when it comes to telling someone’s backstory. It’s like gold”.
Header photo: Film Title image: How to Win the Biggest Race in Supercross – A1 All-access with Chase, Jett, @ Hunter. Image: Red Bull film.
Words: Sharon Cox.
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