Image: Octopi Media.

Defending 450SX champion Jett Lawrence has indicated that he is still ‘trying to figure this bike out’ after recovering from multiple mistakes and finishing 12th on debut in Supercross with the updated 2025 CRF450R.

The 21-year-old Lawrence qualified in P2 and then claimed fifth in his heat, but the main event proved to be more challenging from the rear of the field when he was caught up in a first-turn incident.

Still, the Honda HRC Progressive rider is confident that the team will quickly be able to develop the factory bike in a Supercross setting, when they go back to the drawing board and complete more instrumental testing over the coming weeks – a factor that will become a race against time if a solution isn’t found sooner, rather than later.

“Most of the day today was just trying to figure this bike out,” Lawrence told MotoOnline. “We wish we could have got a lot more test days under our belt and figured it out, but I mean, nothing brings out the worst in your bike than race day, and especially on this type of dirt.

“But no, we’re learning more and more about the bike. Hunter and I, like, we’re both feeling good and I know my speed’s there, and we’ll figure it out. We always do, and we’ll see at the end of the championship where I am.”

The main event was a game of patience for two-time SuperMotocross world champion while picking his way through the pack, which saw him positioned 22nd coming into lap four. He was trying to manage the balance between sprinting and making further mistakes on his way to salvaging 10 points.

“It’s more so taking your medicine because I could sprint and I could make up a lot of time and positions, but then I’m creating more of a higher risk of crashing, especially on this dirt that’s so unreliable,” he added. “One minute you’ve got great traction, next minute it’s just sliding out from underneath.

“Especially with a bike that we’re not 100 percent confident with yet. We’re close, but it’s still such small things. At this level, you’re looking for tents and that stuff, so you kind of just got to take your medicine. I think I’ve learned that the more I’ve grown up now, the more I’ve raced.

“I think a younger me would have kept trying pushing and sending… I might have got away with it, might not have. But no, we got another 16 rounds to go, and I think I always back myself in a championship situation. And yeah, we’ll see at the end.”