Main image courtesy of Mitch Kendra.
AMA amateur rules now allow racers to compete in up to three professional events without losing eligibility for the Pro Sport classes at the Monster Energy AMA Amateur National at Loretta Lynn's. As such, we've seen quite a few amateur riders try rounds of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross before heading back to Loretta's. Levi Kitchen, for example, raced the RedBud National last year, taking 9-19 scores before going to Loretta's and taking the AMA Nicky Hayden Amateur Horizon Award.
Kitchen's Monster Energy/Star Yamaha teammate Matt Leblanc was expected to take a similar path this year, racing the first two pro races before heading back into the amateurs. Instead, Star chose to just keep Leblanc going, and he's in for all 12 rounds and out for Loretta's.
Now Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki will use the rule to give prospect Ryder DiFrancesco a shot at the pros before Loretta's. Ryder D will race the upcoming RedBud and Spring Creek (Milville) rounds of the series.
DiFrancesco missed Loretta's last year with injury but holds eight national titles from the event. Last year he won both of the new Motocross Scouting Combine events, taking the Ironman (Combine East) and Fox Raceway (Combine West) overalls.
Here's Kawasaki's press release on Ryder DiFrancesco:
Ryder DiFrancesco to Compete for Monster Energy®/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki in Select Rounds of the 2022 AMA Pro Motocross Championship
Foothill Ranch, Calif. (June 23, 2022) – Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki announces that Ryder DiFrancesco is set to make his AMA Pro Motocross Championship debut at the RedBud National on July 2nd. The rising Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green™ star will compete in the 250 Class at RedBud and Millville before returning to the AMA Amateur National Championship at Loretta’s Lynn’s where he is an eight-time champion at the ranch. Following the Loretta Lynn’s National, DiFrancesco will rejoin the AMA Pro Motocross Championship for the final four rounds of the 2022 season.
After an outstanding year of amateur motocross racing, having won both 2021 MX Sports Pro Racing Scouting Moto Combines and four of the five 2022 SX Futures events, DiFrancesco looks toward this next step in his career.
“I’m really fired up to be racing with the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team at the pro level in these upcoming weeks. It has been a dream of mine to race for Mitch Payton’s team for a long time, so this is a huge step and I’ve put in a lot of work to be prepared for it. I’m ready to go out there and give it my best effort each weekend with the main goal of learning and improving every time I hit the track.”
– Ryder DiFrancesco
The 2022 Pro Motocross RedBud National is set to take place in Buchanan, Michigan on Saturday, July 2nd at RedBud MX.
