• Jett’s Best Ever: Jett Lawrence owned every stat in both motos, and it wasn’t even close. But his top lap in Moto 1 is the real eye-opener: 1.4 seconds faster than Hunter, who was another 0.5 seconds quicker than Tomac. Moto 2? More of the same.
  
• Deegan’s Mic Drop: In Moto 1, Deegan was 3.1 seconds faster than Kitchen, and nearly 4 full seconds quicker than anyone else. When he dropped the hammer, no one was close. And it wasn’t just his sprint pace, he averaged 1.25 seconds faster per lap. No wonder he won by 25+ seconds.
  
• Consistency Kings: Across both classes only three riders managed to score 90+ in both motos. Hunter Lawerence, Harri Kullas, and Mikkel Haarup. All three are former MXGP riders.
  
• Kitchen’s Closed: In Moto 2, Levi Kitchen’s fastest lap was just 0.08 seconds off Deegan’s, and he shot into second early… only to drop way off pace. He also matched Deegan’s Lap 99 time, and was  the only rider all weekend to statistically run at Deegan’s level. But only for a lap

The sands of Southwick can be punishing. Where lap times steadily drop each time riders hit the track, only a few can truly master it. This past weekend, that “few” came down to just two—Jett Lawrence and Haiden Deegan. Fans might’ve called it a snooze fest. Even RC commented on the entertainment value. 

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1939013063350300828&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Flitprolive.com%2Fblogs%2Fmoto-metrics%2Fmoto-metrics-25-southwick&sessionId=115aa6722c53d66b56440631c19a911ae3ee3f1b&siteScreenName=litprolive&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px

And for Jett and Haiden, it was exactly that. Domination on every level. There’s still plenty to unpack beneath the surface, and more to talk about than just our race winners.

Jett Lawrence didn’t look like himself this past weekend, but not in the way you might expect. His margin of victory tells the story best: 13.8 seconds in Moto 1, 20.2 seconds in Moto 2. For a rider who typically manages a 3–5 second cushion throughout a race, Lawrence laid down a statement ride. James Stewart called it Jett’s best ride of his 450 career. So now we’re left asking: at this point in the season, who’s going to challenge Jett? He’s yet to lose an overall, and we’re nearly halfway through the season. 

Track Breakdown:

The track map above shows who clocked the fastest average sector times in each motos. 

And yeah, this one’s all Jett. Still, there was one small “weakness” in Sector 3. While the map highlights average times, if you look at the fastest single laps, Jett owned every sector across both motos, except S3. Hunter Lawrence was fastest there in Moto 1, and Eli Tomac took it in Moto 2.

Even then, Jett was only losing fractions when looking at the average time—0.08 seconds to Hunter in Moto 1. So “weakness” might be a stretch.

But here’s the bigger point: out of 39 other riders on track, only Hunter managed to claim a single sector outside of Jett across both motos. That tells you everything you need to know. Jett is as close to untouchable as it gets in Pro Motocross right now. And I don’t even think Jett’s reached his prime yet. He is only 21. 

Elsewhere, regardless of who you look at, Southwick was a war. Between changing lines, blown-out berms, and the sheer physical toll of racing 30+ minutes in deep sand, consistency scores took a dive. No one part of the track stood out as the toughest. It was all brutal. The entire place is a gauntlet.

450 Moto 1:

SEGRiderAvg.
TimeFastest
Time (All)Sector
Consistency (All)

1	J. Lawrence	20.65	19.81	78.5
2	J. Lawrence	21.38	20.39	73.7
3	H. Lawrence	22.13	21.34	70.4
4	J. Lawrence	35.54	34.29	73.9
5	J. Lawrence	12.38	11.91	76.2
6	J. Lawrence	20.30	19.50	79.8

450 Moto 2:

SEGRiderAvg.
TimeFastest
Time (All)Sector
Consistency (All)

1	J. Lawrence	20.54	19.82	78.7
2	J. Lawrence	21.65	20.75	77.1
3	J. Lawrence	22.47	21.51	70.3
4	J. Lawrence	35.33	34.47	78.0
5	J. Lawrence	12.51	12.19	75.6
6	J. Lawrence	20.77	19.68	66.2

Lap Time Breakdown:

The histogram above highlights two key facts. First, Moto 1 was faster. But even then, it was sluggish compared to qualifying laps, which teetered right around the 2:00 mark. Second, and more interesting, is how widely spread the lap times were. Typically, we see most lap times fall within a 10 second window from the top 10% to the bottom 10%. Not here. At Southwick, lap times easily stretched across 20–25 seconds for the field.

Moto 1 Fast Laps (15 Timed Laps)

• J. Lawrence: 10
• H. Lawrence: 2
• Tomac, Plessinger, Prado: 1

Class Average Consistency: 68.0
Class Median Consistency: 82.0

Our Consistency Challenge is just wrapping up. Check out the final leaderboard here. And stay tuned for more global challenges. 

Moto 2 Fast Laps (15 Timed Laps)

• J. Lawrence: 11
• H. Lawrence: 3
• Tomac: 1

Class Average Consistency: 62.3
Class Median Consistency: 76.5

450 Moto 1 Analysis

RIDERAverage
TimeMedian
TimeFastest
TimeLap 99Consistency

J. Lawrence	2:12.65	2:11.91	2:09.37	2:07.56	86.6
H. Lawrence	2:13.40	2:12.34	2:10.72	2:09.75	91.1
E. Tomac	2:14.39	2:13.80	2:11.19	2:09.73	86.0
J. Prado	2:15.35	2:13.92	2:11.58	2:09.75	86.2
R. Hampshire	2:16.58	2:15.65	2:13.91	2:11.79	92.0

Rider’s sorted by median lap time.

Top Performances:

What can we say? Jett owned every stat here. It wasn’t particularly close, either. But his top lap time from Moto 1 is the real eye-opener. 1.4 seconds faster than Hunter, who was, in turn, another 0.5 seconds faster than Tomac. At what point do we start to feel bad for Hunter? If it weren’t for his pesky brother, he’d be locked in a neck-and-neck battle with 4x champ Eli Tomac, and likely have multiple overall wins. Instead, Hunter is still searching for his first overall after putting together one of his best performances of the season.

We also need to talk about Jorge Prado. Unfortunately, I walked away with more questions than answers. Sure, he was finally running near the front and looking more like himself. But was that just comfort in the sand? Or did the weekend off actually give him and Kawasaki the reset they needed? Either way, it sounds like Prado is more frustrated than confident.

“I mean, I’m a sand rider and I finished P5 today. It’s a track where I should be winning, and I know I would win with different stuff. So yeah, we just need to keep working.” – Jorge Prado on his performance at Southwick. 

RedBud should hopefully clear a few things up.

LITPro 10-Lap Consistency:

Two guys really stand out when it comes to consistency, but only one of them is expected. First, Hunter Lawrence. The guy is a machine when it comes to laying down laps. You can always count on him to be near the top. But R.J. Hampshire? A pleasant surprise. Especially after Moto 1, where he charged from nearly last place. R.J. is finding his stride on the 450 and gaining confidence. He might just be a consistent Top 5 threat for the rest of the season.

Lap 99 Analysis:

Yeah… Jett was untouchable. Worth noting here: his fastest lap in both motos was quicker than anyone else’s Lap 99.

450 Moto 2 Analysis

RIDERAverage
TimeMedian
TimeFastest
TimeLap 99Consistency

J. Lawrence	2:13.38	2:12.51	2:09.76	2:08.87	87.6
H. Lawrence	2:14.48	2:13.75	2:11.56	2:10.36	90.4
E. Tomac	2:15.38	2:15.15	2:10.73	2:10.10	79.3
A. Plessinger	2:19.91	2:16.52	2:12.72	2:11.64	79.0
R. Hampshire	2:17.82	2:16.78	2:13.49	2:12.77	85.6

Rider’s sorted by median lap time.

Top Performances:

Once again, Jett sat on top. But take a look at Hunter Lawrence. His median lap time was 1.4 seconds better than Tomac’s. Sure, Jett was another 1.2 seconds faster than Hunter, but still, Hunter is quietly having a stellar sophomore season. Living in Jett’s shadow might be discouraging, but make no mistake: the guy is a stud.

LITPro 10-Lap Consistency:

Just as impressive is Hunter’s consistency. Only two riders managed to score above 90 in both motos: Hunter and Harri Kullas. Speaking of Kullas, he’s not having the explosive season we saw from him last year, but the veteran from Estonia still laid down some fantastic laps in the sand.

Lap 99 Analysis:

Looking at Lap 99 times, Hunter and Tomac are nearly identical. But when you compare their fastest laps from Moto 2, Tomac’s is over half a second quicker than Hunter’s. This is where Hunter still struggles. He just doesn’t have that sprint pace in the opening laps. While he finds his speed and settles into a rhythm over 30 minutes, he’s losing valuable time early on—particularly to Jett.

Can we get to Deegan vs. Jett already? Alright, I know Deegs still has a lot to learn when he moves up to the 450s, and there’s a whole lineup of guys he’ll need to beat too, but right now, he’s clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the 250 field. Is he the best 250 rider on the planet at the moment? It’s starting to feel like it.

Another perfect day for the superstar. No one was touching him. Jo Shimoda could have — and that’s a strong could have — given him a run. But a bad start in Moto 1 and Deegan’s holeshot and strong early laps in Moto 2 left Jo playing catch-up. Still, at least Shimoda kept Deegan honest in the second moto.

Track Breakdown:

Once again, the track map shows which riders had the top average sector time in each moto, and it just highlights how dominant Deegan really was. Doing his best Jett impression, he was the fastest everywhere except Sector 3. That said, Deegan’s disadvantage in that sector was more noticeable. Deegan lost upwards of half a second per lap in Moto 2 in S3 to Shimoda.

But when you’re faster nearly everywhere else, and you bring Deegan-level intensity to the track, that weakness was hardly a chink in the armor.

The 250s as a whole struggled in the sand. Consistency scores were all over the place, and lap times were significantly slower than the 450s. Usually, the top 250 riders come close to matching the upper-tier 450 lap times. However, with the 250s running second this weekend, and less power to carry momentum in the sand, things looked different.

Deegan’s median lap time was 4–5 seconds slower than Jett’s, depending on the moto. For comparison, in Moto 2 at Thunder Valley, Deegan was only 0.6 seconds off Jett’s median.

250 Moto 1:

SEGRiderAvg.
TimeFastest
Time (All)Sector
Consistency (All)

1	H. Deegan	21.07	20.44	74.0
2	H. Deegan	22.00	20.61	61.1
3	J. Shimoda	23.08	22.39	69.0
4	H. Deegan	36.63	35.48	70.7
5	H. Deegan	12.59	12.03	73.2
6	H. Deegan	20.66	19.90	71.9

250 Moto 2:

SEGRiderAvg.
TimeFastest
Time (All)Sector
Consistency (All)

1	H. Deegan	21.09	20.07	68.8
2	H. Deegan	21.77	21.02	65.0
3	J. Shimoda	23.26	22.15	68.0
4	T. Vialle	36.97	34.96	72.7
5	C. Hymas	12.77	12.18	71.5
6	M. Haarup	21.43	20.35	65.9

Lap Time Breakdown:

Just like in the 450 class, the 250s saw a massive spread in lap times. The blips at the beginning of the chart? That’s Deegan dropping heaters. Spoiler: he smoked the field in top lap times.

But unlike the 450s, the 250s didn’t slow down as much between motos. Most likely due to the 450s running first and getting the best of the track conditions in Moto 1.

Moto 1 Fast Laps (15 Timed Laps)

• Deegan: 8
• Shimoda:  3
• Kitchen: 2
• Masterpool, Vialle: 1

Class Average Consistency: 74.9
Class Median Consistency: 83.6

Moto 2 Fast Laps (15 Timed Laps)

• Deegan: 8
• Shimoda: 6
• Mosiman: 1

Class Average Consistency: 60.9
Class Median Consistency: 69.3

250 Moto 1 Analysis

RIDERAverage
TimeMedian
TimeFastest
TimeLap 99Consistency

H. Deegan	2:16.75	2:16.93	2:12.30	2:11.00	77.3
L. Kitchen	2:18.02	2:17.49	2:15.47	2:14.30	89.3
T. Vialle	2:18.44	2:17.77	2:16.04	2:13.75	92.5
M. Mosiman	2:18.94	2:17.96	2:16.27	2:14.06	92.1
J. Shimoda	2:19.98	2:18.49	2:16.55	2:14.55	89.7

Rider’s sorted by median lap time.

Top Performances:

Deegan. Just look at those fastest lap times. 3.1 seconds quicker than Levi Kitchen, and practically 4 full seconds faster than anyone else. When Deegan dropped the hammer, no one was anywhere near him. And it wasn’t just the hot laps, he was 1.25 seconds faster on average. No wonder he won by over 25 seconds.

LITPro 10-Lap Consistency:

Sure, Deegan had the lowest consistency score among the Top 5, but let’s be real, there was zero reason for him to try and run 4 seconds faster than everyone else the entire moto. So he managed the pace.

The real standouts? Tom Vialle and Michael Mosiman. Each had their own hiccups, but both put together solid rides. And check out the vets cracking into the 90s club: Jordan Smith, Austin Forkner, Mikkel Haarup, and Ty Masterpool all put in work.

Lap 99 Analysis:

Tom Vialle’s comeback ride in Moto 1 was one of the highlights of the day. After tipping it over, he still managed a Lap 99 time that came the closest to Deegan’s… and it was still nearly 3 seconds off the mark.

And just like Jett in the 450s, Deegan’s top lap time crushed everyone else’s Lap 99. Nobody matched that sprint pace.

250 Moto 2 Analysis

RIDERAverage
TimeMedian
TimeFastest
TimeLap 99Consistency

H. Deegan	2:18.16	2:17.47	2:12.52	2:11.37	75.2
J. Shimoda	2:18.45	2:17.52	2:14.95	2:13.40	86.8
M. Mosiman	2:21.23	2:20.28	2:17.25	2:15.55	85.2
T. Vialle	2:20.76	2:21.11	2:15.58	2:14.35	69.0
L. Kitchen	2:21.30	2:21.16	2:12.60	2:11.43	54.8

Rider’s sorted by median lap time.

Top Performances:

We’ve got to ask: what the heck happened to Levi Kitchen? His fastest lap was just 0.08 seconds off Deegan’s, and he launched into second place early… only to fall way off the pace.

It’s rare to see a nearly 10-second swing from best lap to median lap without some kind of crash or bike issue. But nope. Kitchen kept it on two wheels. He just faded. And apparently didn’t fight it much either until his mechanic threw out a “?” on the pit board.

LITPro 10-Lap Consistency:

Remember all those guys who cracked 90 in Moto 1? Yeah, only one did it in Moto 2. Mikkel Haarup, barely squeaking in with a 90.42. The former MX2 rider seems to be finding his rhythm here in the States.

Lap 99 Analysis:

Kitchen also matched Deegan’s Lap 99 time. He was the only rider all weekend to statistically run at Deegan’s pace. But it was really just one lap and one theoretical lap.