South Coast Plaza gets down and dirty in kickoff of 2022 Supercross Championship

Costa Mesa’s South Coast Plaza got down and dirty Wednesday as an appearance by Supercross brothers Jett and Hunter Lawrence gave spectators a taste of dust and what the upcoming season has in store in a makeshift dirt track demonstration.

Aussies by birth, the pair came to the Costa Mesa center, where Hunter showed off his bike-handling skills just days before the 2022 Supercross season opener Saturday at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.

Afterward, in a roundtable media conference at South Coast Plaza’s Ancillary Studios, the brothers sat down with host Daniel Blair to discuss their careers and meteoric rise into the sport’s highest levels of competition.

Jett Lawrence signs a helmet for motocross rider Rylee Cooper, 12, of Fallbrook, Wednesday at Ancillary Studios at South Coast Plaza.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

“We were just kids going to school and having fun,” Hunter Lawrence, 22, said of the brothers’ early days. “Who would know it would turn out to be like this — it’s crazy.”

Jett Lawrence, 18, fresh off his September win of the 2021 National Motocross Championship, said while he will not be competing in the weekend event due to a recent rib injury, he will be there to cheer on brother Hunter when he hits the premier dirt circuit track this weekend.

“It should be fun,” Hunter Lawrence told the crowd. “What a great way to kick off the season.”

The Monster Energy American Motorcyclist Assn.’s Supercross season begins Saturday at Angel Stadium before moving on to 16 Saturday night rounds, with stops in Oakland and San Diego, ahead of the season’s May 7 final competition in Salt Lake City.

For more, visit supercrosslive.com.

Motocross riders Jett, left, and Hunter Lawrence are interviewed by Daniel Blair Wednesday at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

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