Denver Look Back, Salt Lake City Look Forward with Broc Glover

Jett Lawrence – First Place – 450SX Class. Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.

Broc Glover’s insights: “What can you say about Jett Lawrence that hasn’t already been said? He came off a perfect pro motocross season and went into the SMX with high expectations and he proved that those expectations and accolades were well earned… [asked about strategies his competitors should use] Suggestions of how to beat him is going to be a tough one. One of the many things he does so well is starts. If he’s not the first one entering the first corner, he often comes out of the corner leading… This week he wasn’t even that far up [entering the first corner], and he just makes the right moves. He seems to not hesitate to slow up a tiny bit early in all corners, and then get himself in a position to then accelerate through the corner and have good exit speed where he’s able to make passes. If you watch the start of Philadelphia, he did the same thing; Eli came in and tried to protect the inside and he squeezed down on the inside, and it made [Eli] go a little wide in the first corner. And Jett was on [Eli’s] right-hand shoulder and just slowed it up, went underneath him, and came out first. And when you give Jett the lead in the first corner, or have him in the top couple positions in the first corner, he’s tough to beat… He’s a very, very smooth rider, and clever; he is able to make adjustments in the race. If he’s not doing a certain section correctly, like we saw at Nashville – maybe he wasn’t exactly doing what some of the other guys were [doing] early – he saw that and was able to make the adjustment. He instantly started lowering his lap times, closing the gap up front, and worked himself into the lead. [Jett has] not a lot of weaknesses, that’s for sure.”  

Cooper Webb – Fifth Place – 450SX Class. Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.

Broc Glover’s insights: “Regarding this year’s supercross season, he doesn’t have to hang his head low, by any means. I think he proved to everybody that he’s a tough competitor, one of the toughest out there. He’s obviously extremely talented – two-time Supercross champion – but when you’re saying, ‘Oh, who’s the most talented rider?’ You might not really bring Cooper Webb’s name into it. You’d say Jett’s full of talent, Sexton’s got a lot of talent; you say these names, but Cooper’s not always the name first off your tongue when you’re talking about raw talent. He is determination as much as any rider out there… He’s just a super strong competitor and [has] a really strong will and desire to win… Obviously he’s struggling with [an injury]. A thumb injury [makes it] pretty hard to hang on in Supercross. But he’s doing his best and at the end of it all if he ends up second in the championship, [then] there’s only one guy who did better and, with injury or without injury, to be able to do that is worthy of praise. [when asked about Webb in general] For me, when I saw Cooper Webb, as incredible as his two championships are, all the wins he’s had, what showed me more what kind of character he has was how he took a tough moment in his career [when he crashed at the 2016 Motocross of Nations]. I knew he had determination and grit and when I saw him in a moment where something he did, that he felt like he had control of, could cost the team the win. It hurt. I mean, it hurt. It was one of those moments all riders face, trust me. We all faced it… I knew that he was hurt not just for himself but the team and everything about it. And how bad he wanted to win showed with the emotion after the race, after they didn’t win. He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t throwing his helmet. He wasn’t blaming anybody. You know what? It happens, I’m sure he was mad at himself, but you could tell it, just, it was a painful situation. But I felt like he handled it well and he would – this guy wants to win. I never doubted that he wanted to win from that… Personally I don’t question his desire, his determination. I know he wants to win.” 

Eli Tomac – Tenth Place – 450SX Class. Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.

Broc Glover’s insights: [This interview was given prior to Eli Tomac’s 5.9.24 announcement of a Bennett Fracture and torn ligaments in his thumb, and the news that he will miss the Salt Lake City Supercross and the opening rounds of the motocross season]  “For Eli, it’s been an interesting season. He’s had the highest of highs along with some unquestionably frustrating lows. When you’re coming back from a major injury you always question where you’ll be against your competition, and if you have some poor results you start to doubt yourself, your program, your bike set-up, and you’re almost questioning everything, and you start searching. In St. Louis he quieted many critics and hopefully gained confidence that he still has championship-level speed… The lows were obviously Detroit and Denver where we’ve seen something go on; where he was running up front and then he worked his way backwards to positions that we’ve rarely seen with him. I did not hear what happened in Denver, but I heard there was an issue with bike [set-up] in Detroit. He’s just had a couple of those moments where – I really don’t know… Eli’s the type who plays things close to the vest, so I don’t know if he’s riding with an injury… Where Cooper openly discussed his thumb injury…. I’m sure after the Denver race Eli was disappointed. I’m guessing for Eli, his performance in Denver would be similar to if I had a really bad day at the San Diego Supercross when I was racing. You want to do good in front of your hometown crowd with a lot of friends and family there. That was certainly not the result he was looking for. It made the crowd go incredibly quiet.” 

Chase Sexton – Eighth Place – 450SX Class. Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.

Broc Glover’s insights: “The first turn crash seemed self-inflicted… that often happens when they prep the track, and it looks pretty good, but underneath that surface is rock hard. His crash was certainly something – an unforced error in the first corner is what it looked like. And he worked really hard coming through the pack. Unfortunately, like we all saw, that second fall [after he passed Cooper Webb] really crushed his momentum… You wonder, mentally, what happened there… [He’s] looking better and better on the KTM. It’s taken a little bit of time to get adjusted, but I’ll be interested to see how it all plays out for the Nationals… For the Denver round it was tough, with all that hard work coming through the pack but only salvaging an eighth place… Unfortunately, we’ve seen that from Chase even when he’s leading, and you wonder if he just… When he’s talking about his training and program with his people, does anybody talk to him about that? Say, ‘Listen, you need to know that the track’s [traction is] going to be there in the beginning and it’s not going to be there at the end.’ Riders need to make adjustments… [asked for prediction for Sexton’s outdoor season] At this point the Supercross series [title] is gone, obviously. The number one plate is gone, it’s time for him to kind of regroup. He’s got the new number 4… it’s one of my favorite numbers that I had and obviously Ricky Carmichael did that one well. And then you’ve got also got Dylan Ferrandis, who’s a much better outdoor rider. It’s going to be interesting, too, with Eli signing an agreement to stick around another season outdoors. We’ll see what happens there… The optimist is me of course wants to see Chase get back to the level where we saw him battling with Eli in 2022. I hope he gets back there.” 

Jason Anderson – Third Place – 450SX Class. Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.

Broc Glover’s insights: “You know what? He was pretty solid at Denver, pretty damn solid. He won there two years ago, so he probably has a good feeling about that stadium. Growing up in the Albuquerque area he’s used to that type of arid, high-elevation dirt and those conditions. [And] the Kawi bike a pretty good bike when it gets hard and slippery. It has a real smooth power delivery. In Denver I thought Jason rode well… When you’re saying who’s the fastest three or four guys right now, you have to throw his name into the mix. He’s just riding really, really well… He won the second heat at Philly and it’s like he’s starting to get more and more confidence. If you remember a couple years ago, he won seven races [in 2022], winning a bunch at the end, four in a row… Jason is again coming on strong towards the end of the season here… He’s starting to show some end-of-the-season form that could land him on the podium in Salt Lake City.” 

Hunter Lawrence – Second Place – 450SX Class. Photo Credit: Feld Motor Sports, Inc.

Broc Glover’s insights: “He’s starting to ride better and better… If you’re talking about stock, Jett’s stock is one of the best of the best. It’s a blue-chip stock. But then if you’re asking whose stock is on the rise you have to throw Hunter’s name in there… He has had some nice, promising runs here towards the end. Hunter earned his first podium in St. Louis, took a heat race in Nashville, and topped the entire field in qualifying at Philadelphia. You know, when you start laying down fastest qualifying times, including against your brother Jett, you know you’re getting around the track at a pretty high pace… Then he led for nearly half the main in Denver, finishing second to Jett, becoming the first brother 1-2 ever in the premier Supercross class.”