Most of you know that, out of the myriad of motorcycling pursuits that are available, my focus is almost solely on road riding and road racing. Despite being mildly interested in all of the others, these two more than occupy my time. Now that’s not to say that I don’t take NOTICE of the other things happening in the world of motorcycling, I just don’t get passionate about them.
However, I’m going to take a dive off the beaten track (did you see what I did there?) and report on an outstanding motorcycling achievement which has been largely (why are we not surprised?) ignored by the local mainstream media.
Last weekend, two Australian brothers, achieved what no motorcycle riders have been able to achieve before. Jett and Hunter Lawrence, from Queensland, became the first siblings to win the 250cc and 450cc AMA Motorcross championships in the same year. Jett’s performance was particularly meritorious as he won all 22 rounds of the championship in the 450cc class being unbeaten for the season.
Hunter’s win in the 250cc class wasn’t quite as dominant as he had to overcome some early-season jitters but he ended up on top by the time the regular season was completed.
Hunter is only 24 years old and Jett is only 22. Given that most MX riders start racing before they’re 10, both boys have had plenty of racing experience but to go to America, a country of over 300 million people, a country where MX is almost a religion and beat the best that the Americans have to offer is nothing short of sensational.
Just a pity that their achievements are not receiving the media coverage at home that they should.
The last MotoGP meeting before the flyaway rounds happens this weekend with the (especially) Italian web sites going into overdrive with silly season speculation. I’m not even going to dignify it with a comment except to say that it will be great when they are all proven wrong by the end of the year as they always are.
That’s all for today, catch you next time.
