MXP: Hey Newf! Let’s start by talking about some Canadian racing and the opening weekend of the 2025 Rimbey AX. You had some fast pro riders there, so the racing was undoubtedly exciting. Overall, how did it go?
RL: Todd McBride, Les Nemeth, and their crew knocked another one out of the park: fun track, good organization, and some good racing made for a fun weekend in Rimbey. The amateur gates were full as well as the stands with spectators. There was a cold front running through Alberta so it was not pleasant to be outside but thankfully the arena had good heat inside. On the pro side of things, it was great that all these guys came, made some money, and got some gate drops in. Julien Benek went out on Saturday with a hit to the head so that was a bummer and loss for the championship. Blake Davies seemed to be in control but I was very impressed with Quinn Amyotte as he had not ridden a bike since November. Tiger Wood has never seen snow before and has never raced in an arena and he was much improved on Saturday compared to Friday. Tyler Gibbs has some issues this past weekend but I would think he will have it figured out for this weekend. It’s going to be a good final two rounds.
MXP: On Saturday night we watched some memorable moments from Tampa. First, Malcolm Stewart took his first-ever 450SX main event win, which was cool to see. What did you think of that, and do you remember a SX race where we saw so many top riders hit the deck, or get injured like we saw with Tomac?
RL: I did not have Malcolm winning on my bingo card in 2025 but once again, what he did on Saturday goes to show how mental this sport is. It was really cool to see and I hope he can keep the momentum going for the rest of the season. As far as the injuries go, I believe there are a few things to this. 1) These guys have to push the limits to the absolute max and things happen quickly. 2) They have been grinding since the beginning of November and with the level being so high it’s not a matter of if they will get hurt, it’s a matter of when. Either way, it’s unfortunate to see and it really feels like the air has been sucked out of the series. When you look at the points now it would appear to be a two-man race between Sexton and Webb.
MXP: Let’s go back to Glendale and Jett Lawrence’s knee injury. You’ve had multiple issues with your knees over the years, so you’re no stranger to having to battle back from surgery. If all goes well, when do you expect to see Jett back, and will this injury affect him even after his knee is healed?
RL: Knees are tricky for sure, but the thing that will be on Jett’s side is that he has access to every resource out there available to make it the quickest recovery possible. It will be close but I bet we see him back for the start of the Pro Motocross Championships. He might not be 100% but by mid-June, he will be which will still give him a shot at the outdoor title and of course there’s the SMX Playoffs in September, as well as the MXON in October.
