Motocross Statistics | Numbers at Ironman 1

"Any fool can know. The point is to understand," said Albert Einstein. This feature on Vital MX is produced to enlighten and educate. The results are etched into stone and will never be altered, yet there is so much more to unpack and delve into. This is the location for that. Consider the magnitude of what occurred at the finale and the fact that this text is focused on Jett Lawrence and Chase Sexton will make perfect sense. To construct this takes a considerable amount of time and so thank you for your attention.

• Twenty-two motos, eleven overall victories and ten pole positions. Qualification at High Point remains the only 'blip' on the Pro Motocross record that Jett Lawrence has just logged: Ken Roczen tore pole position from his grasp on that occasion. Lawrence was unstoppable in qualification besides that, of course, and topped the Ironman charts by 01.032. A substantial margin and yet one that is considered the norm now.

• Ironman was one of the smaller margins that he has had in qualification this term, in fact, because he had a more significant advantage at seven of the rounds. Fox Raceway remains the moment with the most 'wow' factor – he was 02.514 quicker on that day – but he was more than a second faster at all but two rounds. The margin that he had in timed qualification at each round has been laid out below in a transparent manner.

• There are two timed sessions at each motocross event and pole position is determined based on the combined results of those. Lawrence was the polesitter at ten stops, of course, and topped seventeen of the twenty-two individual sessions. Most of the 'losses' came in the last four rounds, so could that be interpreted as those giving chase closing the gap somewhat? It means nothing, of course, as it is the combined result that carries validity.

• Lawrence was more dominant in the first stint than the second. Chase Sexton was faster than him on seven of the nineteen laps, but those were sporadic and so the impact was minimal. Look at the table below, which covers the start of the moto, and it is clear at which moment Lawrence established the hierarchy and some breathing room. Lawrence posted his best time of the moto on lap seven, whereas Sexton did that on lap four.

• Lawrence and Sexton had the ten quickest laps in the first moto: Dylan Ferrandis logged the eleventh best. Such a figure does not scream 'soul crushing dominance' and yet that was how moto one played out. The deficit that Ferrandis, third, faced to Lawrence was at 37.781 in moto one, which ranked as the ninth biggest gap from first to third in this chapter of Pro Motocross. It would be appropriate to state that the bar was raised in a significant manner when gates fell for moto two.

• Aaron Plessinger placed third and 01:06.251 adrift of the eventual victor in the second moto. 53.073 (moto one at Southwick) was the largest distance that there had been between riders in first and third prior to the twenty-second moto. The last time that third was more than a minute behind was in moto one at last term's finale – Christian Craig crossed the checkered flag 01:17.327 after a triumphant Eli Tomac.

• In comparison, Lawrence and Sexton had the eighteen quickest times in the second moto. The number is significantly bigger than the one from the previous moto and indicates the way the 'red' pair tackled the last dance. Consider the final difference between first and third at the end, 66.251, and it becomes clear that Lawrence gained 03.486 seconds on Plessinger each lap on average. A jaw dropping figure that speaks to the level.

• It was conspicuous that Sexton was poised for a battle in moto two, but that early pace that Lawrence possesses threatened to halt those aspirations. '18' put time on his foe on all but one of the first six laps and made quite a statement. It was such a commanding start that some feared that Sexton would have no response. The moto was in its infancy in the period exposed below though and there was so much more to come…

• The time that Lawrence recorded on lap four was his quickest of the moto. Sexton did his best on the ninth lap, which was later than all but one rider. Harri Kullas posted his personal best on the very last lap and that, dear friends, is proof that the positions in the lower half of the top ten are do or die for so many of these athletes. Sexton posted his seventh quickest time on the last lap, which again points to the fact that he never relinquished his belief that a win was possible.

• It was on laps nine to thirteen, a period of five laps, that Sexton countered and ensured that Lawrence had to work mighty hard for his perfect season. Note that the average lap time that Lawrence secured (01:50.509) was just 00.021 quicker than the one that Sexton had (01:50.530). They were so evenly matched and such a notion makes it even more surprising that the latter could not halt the undefeated streak.

• There were some who pointed to the highest part of the circuit as the place where Sexton was losing time to Lawrence, yet their pace was comparable there. So comparable, in fact, that the duo had the same quickest time in the sector. A 28.349 for each rider meant that they were 00.687 quicker than the next best rider (Jason Anderson with a 29.036). Lawrence and Sexton posted the twenty quickest times in that sector, but it was the former with the better average (28.975 versus 29.033).

• It was in sector three where Sexton had the measure of Lawrence; his fastest time was 00.140 quicker than the one that his foe recorded. The best time that he had, a 31.399, was somewhat of an anomaly, as his second best was a 31.661. Sexton still had a better average than Lawrence on that part of the track (32.181 versus 32.215). '23' was the strongest there in the two qualification sessions and moto two, oddly, yet he was 00.254 off the pace in moto one.

• The last sector was 'the spot' for Lawrence in moto two; he was 00.206 better than Sexton there and had the two quickest times of the race. One would presume that he would have recorded more times in that realm, like Sexton in sector three, but it seems that it was tricky for him to nail that sector each lap, because his average time was slower (23.094 versus 22.980 from Sexton). What a testament to the game of cat and mouse that took place.

• Lawrence had the fastest time in each moto at Ironman, just as he did in seventeen of the twenty-two motos that were run this term. Sexton had the quickest time in four motos and Roczen did it once. It is of interest that Lawrence had the best time in every first moto, so it was in the second motos where he was vulnerable. Does this point to a potential strength or weakness? Perhaps, although the perfect run says otherwise.

• A random note is that the five hundred and fifty points that Lawrence obtained mark the highest tally for a champion since Roczen in 2016 Pro Motocross, even though there was one less stop this term. Roczen had five hundred and eighty-four points, because he was close to perfect, then the next most recent star to pass that threshold was Ryan Villopoto in 2013 Pro Motocross (five hundred and sixty-three points).

• One hundred and fifty-one points was the brilliant advantage that Lawrence had over the runner-up in the championship standings, Ferrandis, and it has been some time since a star decimated the field in such a way. The last time that there was an advantage larger than that was when there was last a perfect season, that being 2008. James Stewart was one hundred and eighty-six points ahead of Tim Ferry in second.

• Lawrence has clinched thirty podiums in a Pro Motocross career that totals forty-seven starts and yet twenty-five of those have been victories. '18' has been either second or third just five times in his life. Such a simple, yet striking, statistic and one that speaks to his sheer quality so early in his career. To add some more depth to this, thirteen of his twenty-three Monster Energy Supercross podiums have been wins.

• If one had approached Ferrandis at the opening round and told him that he would secure six podiums, with just two of those featuring a position better than third, then his rebuttal would have included a lot of expletives. The 450MX podium percentage that he possesses fell from eighty-six percent down to seventy-two percent. Nonetheless, he took his fortieth career podium in 2023 Pro Motocross and that is something of note.