The RedBud weekend of the Pro Motocross season is always a special one for several reasons. It typically represents the halfway point of the outdoor season and falls on the fourth of July weekend, and is a huge fan favorite. These all add up to it being the must-watch weekend of the season, and it usually delivers in terms of racing action, too. We got to see Jett get an unusually bad start and have to work his way to the front from mid pack, a bike failure for Eli, and a weird get off by Haiden in qualifying seems to have affected his weekend results. This, along with the heat and that the Ducati bike would be racing for the first time on US soil, kept everyone interested.
450 Class
The opening moto of the afternoon began with Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire side-by-side exiting the first turn, with Lawrence narrowly securing the Pro Motocross Holeshot and control of the lead. Hampshire went on the attack, nearly making the pass, but the Australian fended him off. As this unfolded, Jett Lawrence closed in on Hampshire from third. The top three then settled in briefly, but Jett Lawrence pushed to make the move on Hampshire for second and gave chase to his older brother out front. Behind them, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger made the pass for third and was able to close in on the lead duo.
Just before the completion of the opening 10 minutes Jett Lawrence made his move on Hunter, briefly making the pass before Hunter responded to retake the position. Jett persisted and after a brief side-by-side battle eventually took hold of the lead. The increased pace allowed the Lawrences to pull away from Plessinger and the rest of the field, as the KTM rider was then forced to deal with a hard-charging Eli Tomac and his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing machine. Once he got to Plessinger’s rear fender, Tomac made quick work to move into third.
The top three settled in through the middle of the moto, with Jett Lawrence moving out to a lead of about five seconds. However, as the moto entered its final 10 minutes considerable smoke started to come out of Tomac’s Yamaha. He eventually came to a stop, which ultimately brought his moto to a premature end. That misfortune left the battle for third to be settled between Plessinger and Hampshire, with the Husqvarna rider able to make the move in the closing stages of the moto.
Out front, Jett Lawrence’s lead eventually surpassed 10 seconds as he surged to his ninth moto win of the season by 16.1 seconds over Hunter Lawrence. Hampshire captured his first career moto podium in third, followed by Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper in fourth. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Chase Sexton finished fifth, as the reigning series champion and defending RedBud winner made his anticipated return to action following a crash at the opening race of the season.
The deciding moto got underway with Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha’s Coty Schock out front with the Pro Motocross Holeshot, just ahead of Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jorge Prado, the back-to-back FIM Motocross World Champion. The Spaniard pressured Schock and eventually made his move into the lead halfway through the opening lap. Behind him, both Lawrences started from deep in the top 10. As he looked to make passes, Jett Lawrence went down and remounted in 18th place. Hunter Lawrence, meanwhile, looked to move forward from seventh.
After a wild opening five minutes the field settled in with Prado leading Cooper and Hunter Lawrence, while Hampshire, Sexton, and Jett Lawrence ran in sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively. Jett Lawrence was on the move and passed both Sexton and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson to break into the top five. He then passed Hampshire for fourth just over 10 minutes into the moto. The march continued past his brother, as Jett broke into the top three before the halfway point.
Out front, a patient Cooper waited for an opening to attempt a pass on Prado and successfully made his way into the lead with just over half the moto to go. That left Prado to fend with Jett Lawrence, who made quick work of the Spaniard to move into second. Prado then lost hold of third to Sexton, who was following Lawrence’s path to the front. As the fastest rider on the track Jett gained chunks of time on Cooper and easily took over the lead with less than five minutes remaining. Sexton was then able to make his way around Cooper for second but went down. He remounted in fourth as Cooper and Hunter Lawrence made their way past.
In arguably the most impressive single-moto performance of his young career, Jett Lawrence passed 17 riders to complete the sweep of the motos by 8.3 seconds over Cooper, who equaled his career-best moto result in second. Hunter Lawrence followed in third.
450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish // Points)
- Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Queensland, Australia, Honda (1-1 // 50)
- Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Queensland, Australia, Honda (2-3 // 42)
- Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (4-2 // 40)
- RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (3-6 // 36)
- Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., KTM (5-4 // 35)
- Jorge Prado, Lugo, Galicia, Spain, Kawasaki (7-5 // 32)
- Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GASGAS (8-9 // 27)
- Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Husqvarna (11-10 // 23)
- Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha (15-8 // 21)
- Harri Kullas, Tallinn, Estonia, Husqvarna (12-11 // 21)
250 Class
The first moto saw the Shimoda surge to the front off the start for the Pro Motocross Holeshot, his first since 2023, but he was soon passed by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle, with Triumph Factory Racing’s Jalek Swoll in third. Defending champion and point leader Haiden Deegan started deep in the top 20 aboard his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing machine. The clear track allowed Vialle to quickly establish a lead of more than two seconds over Shimoda, while Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker made the pass on Swoll for third.
As the leaders settled in, all eyes were on Deegan as he made a charge through the field. The season’s most dominant rider clawed his way into the top 10 a mere five minutes into the moto. However, as he looked to move closer to the top five Deegan tipped over and lost a few positions. Back out front, Vialle’s advantage grew to more than five seconds nearing the halfway point of the moto.
As the final 10 minutes approached, Shimoda’s pace picked up and he started to chip away at the deficit to Vialle. Behind him, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen was the rider to watch, as he made multiple passes to make his way into the top three. Shimoda, meanwhile, caught Vialle to initiate a battle for the lead. The Japanese rider bided his time and waited for the opportunity to make a pass attempt on the Frenchman and successfully did so to take over the top spot with just under nine minutes remaining. Behind them, Deegan had worked his way up to fifth as smoke began to come out of his Yamaha. He then crashed on one of the track’s downhill sections and remounted outside the top 10.
As Shimoda closed out the moto in emphatic fashion a last-lap battle for second emerged as Kitchen was on a torrid charge in the closing laps. He caught the Vialle and after a brief battle made the move to take over second. Shimoda took his first moto win since Southwick last season by a margin of 7.2 seconds over Kitchen, followed by Vialle in third. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Michael Mosiman finished fourth, with Hammaker rounding out the top five. Deegan soldiered home in 14th for his worst moto result since the penultimate round of the 2023 season.
The final moto of the day kicked off with Swoll edging out Shimoda for the Pro Motocross Holeshot as Shimoda then dropped to third behind another Triumph Factory Racing rider in Jordon Smith. Kitchen slotted into fourth and made the move around Shimoda for third. Deegan, meanwhile, started outside the top 10 but was able to climb up to ninth in the early stages of the opening lap. Back up front, Kitchen passed Smith for second but then lost traction and slid out, quickly remounting in 11th place.
As the top three settled in, Smith went off track and crashed, which allowed Shimoda to move into second and Mosiman into third, just ahead of Deegan in fourth. Deegan then went down and dropped two positions to sixth. Not long after Deegan’s misfortune, Kitchen was forced to visit the mechanics area, which dropped him outside the top 30 and ultimately out of contention.
Ten minutes into the moto Swoll continued to lead Shimoda, with about a second separating the two riders. Shimoda started to get pressure from Mosiman in third, which forced him to pick up his pace and take the lead from Swoll. Mosiman quickly followed into second. From there a battle for the lead took shape between Shimoda and Mosiman, who quickly distanced themselves from Swoll. After some initial pressure, Shimoda fended off Mosiman and soon built a near three-second advantage.
As the moto wore on, Shimoda continued to build on his lead and eventually moved nearly 20 seconds clear of the field as Mosiman encountered misfortune and lost his hold of second to Swoll. Mosiman was then forced to contend with Deegan in the closing stages for third, with the championship leader able to make the pass. Deegan wasn’t done as he put in a late charge to catch Swoll and made the pass with two laps to go.
Shimoda dominated en route to the 10th moto win of his career, finishing 17.7 seconds ahead of Deegan. Swoll earned his first moto podium since the 2023 season.
250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points)
- Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Honda (1-1 // 50)
- Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Triumph (6-3 // 36)
- Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., Yamaha (4-4 // 36)
- Mikkel Haarup, Silkeborg, Denmark, Triumph (5-6 // 33)
- Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (14-2 // 30)
- Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., GASGAS (12-6 // 26)
- Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki (2-19 // 25)
- Parker Ross, Herald, Calif., Yamaha (11-10 // 23)
- Seth Hammaker, Bainbridge, Pa., Kawasaki (5-16 // 23)
- Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki (10-12 // 22)