At a press conference earlier in the week both Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart talked very positively about the super hyped rookie, Jett Lawrence. Both Stewart and Carmichael have both been in Jett’s position with the hype coming in 05 for Stewart and 99 for Carmichael but RC believe Jett is in a better position that he was in 99.
Ricky told us he believes the experience Jett had racing the 450 outdoors and SMX, especially at the LA Coliseum will prepare Jett for the 450 supercross series far better than Ricky himself was in 1999 with RC having not races any 250 races to that point in America. He also feels the man who helped guide him, Johnny O’Mara, will be a big influence on Jett but the advice he gave to Jett was “take what the night gives you,” and don’t lay it all on the line for the A1 win if it’s too risky and and the a third is the best he can do because it’s a long series.
James Stewart who famously said in 2005 “my life is all about January 8th” the date of A1, said he would now retract that statement because his life should not have been all about January 8th, with the big picture needed, that brought a few smiles from the attending media!
And Stewart says of all the title contenders it is Jett Lawrence who’s boots he would like be in. No new bike and no injuries were the primary reasons and, while Stewart expects Jett to win races, he feels that because of Jett being a rookie it almost takes away some pressure, so that if Jett throws a few races away he can put it down to rookie errors and the rest don’t have that luxury.
Stewart also said he heard Sexton and the KTM aren’t quite gelling yet, so that could be one to watch tomorrow night but both of the greats, who will be part of the TV broadcast again in 2024, are very high on the ability of Jett Lawrence to deliver in 2024.
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Article: Jonathan McCready
