Australia will take a powerful line-up into the 2023 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations (MXoN) in France from October 6-8, with siblings Jett and Hunter Lawrence to be joined by fellow Queenslander Dean Ferris at the annual teams’ showstopper.
The triumvirate takes winning form into the MXoN, with Ferris (Yamaha) recently wrapping up a fourth MX1 title in the Australian ProMX championship, while the Lawrences stole the show on their factory Hondas across the Pacific in the AMA Pro Motocross series: Hunter easily winning the 250cc class and Jett utterly dominant in the 450cc division with a peerless, unbeaten season – 22 wins from as many starts. It was just the fifth clean sweep of the 450cc category since its inception, and the first by a rookie.
With stellar individual seasons etched into the record books, Ferris and the Lawrences now turn their attention to the high-stakes MXoN – an event where Australia has come tantalisingly close to victory in the past but without achieving the ultimate reward.
Last year’s MoN in America was a case in point, where the Jett-led Team Australia finished a close third behind the host nation and France. Australia also finished third in 2011.
With all three Aussies adding to their CVs in 2023 – Jett in the most emphatic, exhilarating fashion – Australian team manager Michael Byrne is an emboldened figure ahead of this year’s event at the 1.5km Ernee circuit, 300km west of Paris.
“The level of anticipation is high ahead of every Motocross of Nations is high, but this year it has gone to another level,” said the US-based Byrne, himself a former MXoN competitor.
“Hunter and Jett are in career-best form, and I continually marvel at the work rate, skill and temperament of Ferris – he’s the epitome of a tireless campaigner.
“The MXoN is a pinnacle event on the international calendar because it’s tough, pressure-packed and uncompromising – as it should be when the cream of the motocross crop from around the globe come together. I’m super confident Hunter, Jett and Dean will ride out of their skin and do Australia proud.”
Ferris is returning to Motocross of Nations action for the first time since 2019. Image: Foremost Media
Byrne will be supported at the MXoN by Gary Benn, who was previously a long-time Team Australia manager.
Hunter will compete in the MX2 class at the three-race MXoN, while Jett will take on MXGP duties and Ferris is in the Open category. All three classes compete against each other once, and a team can drop its worst result.
It will be the seventh MXoN appearance for Ferris, the fourth for Hunter and second for Jett.
The final entry list for the event will be released shortly, but will include all the European heavyweights such as France and Italy as well as New Zealand and the most successful team in MoN history – America.
