We all know that current AMA supercross champion Jett Lawrence is going for records. The biggest of course is more AMA supercross championships than Jeremy McGrath (7), more main event wins than McGrath in supercross (72), but he also wants more AMA titles than Ricky Carmichael (16), more AMA motocross championships (10) than RC and more overall wins than Carmichael (150). It’s a tall order right?

In fact, it seems an impossible task, as currently, the Aussie has 8 AMA titles, half of that if RC, and 50 main events wins, some 100 down on the GOAT. He does have to dominate many of the next 10 years, but at just 21 years of age, he might have to race until his late 20’s to get to those goals and he would need a lot of wins each season, just as RC did.

Of course, Carmichael burst onto the scene at Gainsville, Florida back in 1997, when he won his debut AMA motocross race. I was there that day and still remember how excited the fans and media were about the young America. That positive energy sure helped RC to his goals, while Lawrence has admitted, he feels hated in America, but that hate drives him to bigger and better things, but can it drive him to the records of the GOAT?

Should also be mentioned, RC had to deal with three of the other all-time greats in McGrath, James Stewart and Chad Reed. Lawrence has a much easier task, as veteran Eli Tomac is past his best, as is another AMA legend in Cooper Webb and current AMA motocross champion, Chase Sexton doesn't yet below with the all-time greats.

RC – His Career

After a dominant amateur career, Carmichael made his professional debut in 1997 for the Splitfire Pro Circuit Kawasaki team. In his rookie Supercross effort, he showed promising speed, winning multiple main events. However, crashes and inconsistency ultimately cost him the title of Suzuki's Tim Ferry. Outdoors, Carmichael was more consistent, beating defending champion Steve Lamson for the overall win at round 1, and went on to win the overall 125cc title.

In 1998 Carmichael proved his ability to dominate indoors as well, winning all 8 of the 125cc East coast Supercross rounds, as well as the "East/West Shoot-Out" event. Outdoors, he defended his title comfortably despite early challenges from Lamson, John Dowd, and Mike Brown.

Carmichael jumped to the 250 class for Supercross in 1999 with the Factory Kawasaki team. He had moderate success in the early rounds, including top 5 finishes, but frequent crashes throughout the remainder of the season resulted in a finish outside of the top 10 of the final standings. For the outdoor season, he remained in the 125cc class, which he won handily for a 3rd consecutive year.

In 2000, Carmichael moved to the 250-class full-time. He showed more consistency in Supercross, getting his first premier class race win at Daytona. He finished 5th overall in the final standings. Carmichael again displayed his outdoor prowess in the 2000 AMA Motocross championship, winning the title in his rookie year despite challenges from Sebastien Tortelli.

Leading into the 2001 Supercross season, Carmichael showed a newfound commitment to his physical conditioning, bringing on former professional cyclist Aldon Baker to oversee his training regimen. After contests in the early rounds from defending 250 Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath, Carmichael established himself as the new leader of the class, winning 13 of 15 rounds along with the championship. He then continued his streak of outdoor titles as well, fending off challengers Sébastien Tortelli and Kevin Windham.

Carmichael moved to a new manufacturer, Honda, for the 2002 season. Despite a violent crash in round 1 of Supercross, he quickly rebounded and went on to win 11 of 16 rounds, as well his second 250 title over runner-up David Vuillemin. In the 2002 outdoor championship, Carmichael won an unprecedented 24 of 24 motos to take his third consecutive 250 outdoor title.

Ricky Carmichael – His Stats

1997 AMA 125cc Outdoor National Motocross Champion

1998 AMA 125cc East Coast Supercross Champion

1998 AMA 125cc Outdoor National Motocross Champion

1999 AMA 125cc Outdoor National Motocross Champion

2000 AMA Motocross Champion

2001 AMA Supercross Champion

2001 AMA Motocross Champion

2002 AMA Supercross Champion (Honda)

2002 AMA Motocross Champion (Honda)

2003 AMA Supercross Champion (Honda)

2003 AMA Motocross Champion (Honda)

2004 AMA Motocross Champion (Honda)

2005 AMA Supercross Champion (Suzuki)

2005 AMA Motocross Champion (Suzuki)

2006 AMA Supercross Champion (Suzuki)

2006 AMA Motocross Champion (Suzuki)

Overall Wins

12 Wins in 125/250 AMA Supercross

26 Wins in 125/250 AMA Motocross

48 Wins in 250/450 AMA Supercross

76 Wins in 250/450 AMA Motocross

Jett Lawrence – His Career

In 2014 at the age of 11, Lawrence won the 65cc Junior Motocross World Championship. In 2016, Lawrence raced the German ADAC series as well as the 85cc Motocross World Championship. In 2018 Lawrence at age 14 moved up to race in the 250 European Motocross Championship, where he won his first overall at the final round in Assen, going 1-1 in both motos.

2020 was Lawrence's first full AMA Supercross and Motocross season. However, in his third Supercross race, he broke his collarbone, which put him out for six weeks. After returning, he made his maiden supercross podium at Salt Lake City 5 at only 16 years old. He finished the season 10th overall.

For AMA Motocross, Lawrence had a solid debut season, finishing in the top 5 four times and winning his first overall at round 9 at Fox Raceway. This put him at 4th in the final standings and won him the 2020 Marty Smith Rookie of the year award.

Prior to the 2021 season, it was announced that Lawrence would sign a factory deal with HRC Honda, and also sign a sponsorship deal with Red Bull.

In supercross, Lawrence won his first race in the 250cc class at round 2, then again at round 7 and 17. He finished on the podium at 5 of the 8 rounds he raced, which would place him 3rd overall for the year. In Pro Motocross, Lawrence won his first AMA championship. He won 4 rounds and finished on the podium 8 times.

2022 was a year of domination in 250cc East Supercross as well as 250cc Motocross. Lawrence won the East title at round 15. He won 4 races and had a 100% podium percentage.

Lawrence with 18 years old began the nationals by winning the first 4 rounds until a bike malfunction at round 5 in Red Bud. He responded by winning 5 out of the next 7 rounds and at Fox Raceway II, he successfully defended the 250cc title.

Before the '23 season, it was announced that Lawrence wouldn’t defend his East title, but switch coasts to the West, in an effort to become one of the select few to have won titles on both coasts.

Lawrence clinched the 250cc West title at round 16, Denver. He raced his final 250cc race the following week at Salt Lake City, which he won.

Lawrence became the youngest rider to win his 450cc AMA Motocross professional debut at round one of the nationals with a 1-1 score, in Fox raceway, Pala. Lawrence clinched the 2023 450cc AMA Motocross Championship in his rookie season at round nine, Unadilla. He ended the season undefeated in moto scores at 22-0, an achievement that hasn’t been accomplished since James Stewart in 2008, and is the first rookie to reach the achievement.

At round one of the SMX championship, Lawrence struggled in the first moto, but persevered and ended the day 7-2, for 4th. Round two saw Lawrence win race one, and lead race two for a majority, before making a controversial decision in which he waved Ken Roczen by, believing that the races scored individual points. Round three of the SMX championship saw a return to LA Coliseum for the first time since 1998. Lawrence ended the evening with a 1-1 score, the inaugural SuperMotocross Championship, and $1 million dollars.

Lawrence became the first rider in Supercross history to win their 450cc debut at the opening round in Anaheim 1. He became only the third rider in Supercross history to win the premier class championship as a rookie after Jeremy McGrath (1993) and Ryan Dungey (2010).

Lawrence won round 1 of the Motocross seasons with a 1-1 score, extending his moto win streak to 24. After holeshotting Race 1 at Round 2, Lawrence misjudged a downhill section which resulted in a crash that subsequently ended his 24 moto win streak & relegated him to 24th. He ended the day with scores of 24-6 for 12th. After the injury sustained at round 2, Lawrence would win the next 3 rounds before being sidelined due to ucl injury to his thumb.

On his return to racing, Lawrence won the opening round of the SMX Championship with 2-1 scores. Round 2, moto 1 saw Lawrence battle his brother Hunter & Eli Tomac, in what would be one of the best races of the year. Lawrence ended the day with 3-2 scores for 3rd. Heading into the finale, Lawrence was 9 points behind Hunter & 8 behind Chase Sexton. An early racing incident in moto 1 saw Sexton unable to continue, therefore leaving the brothers to battle for the $1 million. Jett secured his 2nd 450cc SuperMotocross Championship with a 1-1 finish.

Jett Lawrence – His Stats

2021 AMA Motocross 250cc

2022 AMA Supercross 250cc East

2022 AMA Motocross 250cc

2023 AMA Supercross 250cc West

2023 AMA Motocross 450cc (22-0)

2023 SMX 450cc

2024 AMA Supercross 450cc

2024 SMX 450cc

Overall Wins

AMA 250cc Supercross: 13

AMA 250cc Motocross: 14

AMA 450cc Supercross: 8

AMA 450cc Motocross: 15