Foot injury recovery continues to limit Jett Lawrence

After winning the first moto of the RedBud National in Buchanan, Michigan, Jett Lawrence slammed his helmet to the ground, and on a hot microphone, said that is was difficult to ride with only one foot.

Jett took the lead from Jorge Prado on Lap 4 and led the next 10 laps before being overtaken by his brother, Hunter Lawrence, with three remaining. Hunter built a lead of more than five seconds, but on the final lap his bike stalled after collecting a rock, handing the moto victory back to Jett.

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Hunter Lawrence had a six-second lead before stalling his bike on the last lap.

In post-race media, Jett detailed his frustration.

“Normally I weight the rear quite a lot and I’m struggling to do that with one leg right now,” Jett said. “Coming into braking is where I really need it to hold that rear end. I can’t get my knees back and brake as well. It’s just a bit of a struggle on just my behalf.

“It’s difficult because I’m trying to work it out myself, but also the team’s obviously helping and trying to make the bike that will make it a little easier on me as well. It’s a bit difficult trying to race with one leg.”

Since Jett finished third overall at Fox Raceway in the season-opener, speculation has centered on whether he can fully recover from his type of injury. Talus bone injuries have on occasion proved to be career-ending, but after struggling in the opening round, won the next two rounds with a sweep of the motos.

Jett often rides only as hard as needed to develop and maintain a gap to second-place. For that reason, it is difficult to assess whether he is pushing as hard as necessary.

Despite his four consecutive moto victories, Jett has not appeared quite as dominant as he did during previous seasons. At the same time, Hunter Lawrence is arguably riding the best motocross of his career in 2026, making direct comparisons to past performances more complicated. Whether Jett is still limited by his injury, facing stronger competition, or some combination is not immediately clear.

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RedBud provided unique circumstances.

“Normally, I really like these conditions and I can ride them well,” Jett said after finishing off the podium in Moto 2, only the second time this year that has happened. “I don’t lose it just out of nowhere. I just struggled with my foot today and trying to be balanced, especially with these ruts. This like muddy sand, just pulls you in and obviously I have all my weight on my left foot, so then coming in, it just really makes it more drastic instead of being even. So I struggled a lot with my balance. And I gave my foot a good few flex. So, this was a rough day in the office, but we’ll go back and get better and try and be a little bit better for Southwick.”

Regardless, questions that seemed to be answered remain open as the Pro Motocross series hits the one-third mark. NBC Sports’ James Stewart is one of the experts who believes there is no reason to panic.

“Jett Lawrence kind of has to bounce back a little bit,” Stewart said after RedBud. “You know what older brother’s doing and to be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jett comes out and beats him next weekend at Southwick 1-1. The guy is that good, but it is exciting to kind of think about the best guy in the world, Jett Lawrence, has to step his game up.”

Jett’s comments are a little less assured.

“I don’t need to prove anything; everyone knows my record of wins, so it’s not like I need to go out there and prove something to everyone,” Jett said with a slightly defensive tone. “It’s just more so racing for myself.

“I normally love riding and right now it’s been a pain in the butt with my foot so it’s taken one of the things I love doing. It’s just a struggle.”