The 2025 Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, came to a captivating conclusion on a balmy afternoon in Southern Maryland, as Budds Creek Motocross Park hosted the 11th race of the summer campaign and the 28th and final round of the SMX World Championship regular season. The Yamaha Racing Budds Creek National Finals locked in the field of athletes that will contest the upcoming SMX Playoffs, but more importantly crowned a 250 Class Champion as Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan captured the Gary Jones Cup for the second consecutive season in a dominant effort. With the championship already decided in the 450 Class, Honda HRC Progressive’s Jett Lawrence enjoyed another solid afternoon to wrap up his second title-winning summer with a ninth victory.
Moto 1
The first pivotal moto in the smaller displacement started with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle leading the field to the Pro Motocross Holeshot, with Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker and Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda in tow. However, a red flag before the completion of the opening lap necessitated a restart. When the gate dropped for the second time, it was once again Vialle at the head of the pack, followed by the rookie duo of Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies and Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Drew Adams. Title combatants Deegan and Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda started fourth and sixth, respectively. Vialle then crashed out of the lead, which allowed Davies, Adams, and Deegan to move into the top three while Vialle remounted just ahead of Shimoda in fifth.
In his first opportunity to lead a Pro Motocross moto, Davies sprinted out to a lead of nearly three seconds over the field as Deegan made the pass on Adams for second and Shimoda moved by Vialle for fourth. Shimoda continued his push forward and passed Adams for third. Meanwhile, Deegan erased his deficit to Davies and began to apply pressure on the lead 10 minutes into the moto. Deegan showed patience and made his move count just a few minutes before the halfway point. Not long after, Shimoda caught Davies and made quick work of the rookie to move into second. With 15 minutes left in the moto, the top two riders in the championship were separated by 3.5 seconds. While Shimoda closed initially, Deegan responded and was able to stabilize the lead at nearly six seconds.
The Yamaha rider added to his advantage in the closing stages of the moto and went on to take the win by 9.3 seconds over Shimoda, while Davies captured his first career moto podium result in third. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen finished fourth, with Adams in fifth.
At the conclusion of the moto, race officials determined that multiple riders violated the procedures surrounding a red cross flag for a downed rider, which precipitated the red flag at the beginning of the moto [Section 3.1.8, E. 1st Offense*]. The riders penalized included Deegan and Shimoda, with an implemented penalty of one deducted position apiece and the subtraction of 5 championship points for each rider. As a result, Davies was awarded the moto win as Deegan dropped to second and Shimoda dropped to third.
*3.1.8 At-Track & On-Track Violations; E. On-Track Violations & Penalty Table, 1st Offense: Red Cross Violation in a Moto, Advantage Gained – Position Gained Penalty + 5 Championship Points & Purse (2 positions).
Moto 2
The final moto of the summer saw Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Nate Thrasher grab the Pro Motocross Holeshot just ahead of Deegan, while Shimoda started third. A spirited opening lap saw the lead trio in an all-out sprint. While Thrasher held on to complete the opening lap in the lead, Deegan applied heavy pressure and soon seized control of the moto. Shimoda made the move for second not long after that to set up a head-to-head battle between the class’ top two racers. As the field settled in through the opening 10 minutes, a second red flag brought the race to a halt to tend to a downed rider.
A staggered restart continued the action with a little more than 23 minutes left in the moto as Deegan and Shimoda reasserted their positions at the head of the field, while Kitchen went on the attack to pass Thrasher for third. Deegan picked up where he left off and pulled away from Shimoda to establish a multi-second lead.
The front of the field went unchanged the rest of the way as Deegan cruised to his 13th moto win of the season by 13.5 seconds over Shimoda. Kitchen finished third.
Overall
With the Moto 1 penalty, Deegan’s 2-1 finishes were enough to not only wrap up his seventh win of the season but also back-to-back 250 Class titles. He completed his 250 Class career with 14 career victories, which places him in a four-way tie for eighth all-time with Blake Baggett, Broc Glover, and Jett Lawrence. Shimoda earned his eighth podium finish with a runner-up effort (3-2), while Kitchen landed on the overall podium for the first time since the fifth race of the season at Southwick (4-3).
Deegan completed the championship with a winning margin of 48 points over Shimoda and will enter the SMX Playoffs as the top seed, where he’ll chase a third straight World Championship. Shimoda finished as a championship runner-up spot for the second time in his career, while Marchbanks, who finished fourth (8-4), completed the best season of his career with third in the final standings.
The lead trio from Pro Motocross will also serve as the top three seeds for the postseason.
250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points)
- Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (2-1 // 47)
- Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Honda (3-2 // 42)
- Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki (4-3 // 38)
- Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki (8-4 // 32)
- Nate Thrasher, Livingston, Tenn., Yamaha (7-5 // 32)
- Ty Masterpool, Fallon, Nev., Kawasaki (6-6 // 32)
- Cole Davies, Waitoki, Auckland, New Zealand, Yamaha (1-17 // 30)
- Drew Adams, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Kawasaki (5-10 // 29)
- Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., GASGAS (10-8 // 26)
- Dilan Schwartz, Alpine, Calif., Yamaha (13-9 // 22)